Monday, February 19, 2018

Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper - HFVBT Book Review and Giveaway

Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper by Ana Brazil



Publication Date: November 1, 2017
Sand Hill Review Press
Formats: Paperback & eBook

Genre: Fiction/Historical/Mystery


Amazon | Barnes and Noble


Golden Lines

There's blood everywhere.  Blood, blood, blood, and blood," the woman's litany continued.  "Everywhere." (12)

"Is that one of your father's ideas?" 

"It was," Fanny smiled.  "But now it's all mine." (137)

"In New Orleans, the police see what they are paid to see and little else,"... (305)

"No good woman would wait at that spot at that hour.  Even you should know that.  Conner's Court is a well-known meeting place for prostitutes and men." (217)

"...We can afford two churches but we can't afford to clean up the houses our people inhabit..." (334)


Why?

I've always been interested in the history of New Orleans.  And you can't have New Orleans without the seedier side of the city.

First Impressions

When I first started reading, I felt a little confused, wondering whether Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Ripper was going to be more about life in Gilded Age New Orleans or Fanny Newcomb's suffragette type story.  There was so much to pay attention to embedded in the story.  It took me a while to really get hooked.
I wanted to read the descriptions and setting slowly...but I wanted to find out who the killer was as well!  I made it about half-way before I flipped to the back and read the end :(  Yes, I know.  I'm shameless.
But, once I could slow down and actually enjoy the writing, I was a much better reader.  I actually feel like I might could read this one again.  It reminded me of so many things.


The Publisher's Summary

Gilded Age New Orleans is overrun with prostitutes, pornographers, and a malicious Jack the Ripper copycat. As threatening letters to newspaper editors proclaim, no woman is safe from his blade.
Desperate to know who murdered her favorite student, ambitious typewriting teacher Fanny Newcomb launches into a hunt for the self-proclaimed Irish Channel Ripper.
Fanny quickly enlists her well-connected employers—Principal Sylvia Giddings and her sister Dr. Olive—to help, and the women forge through saloons, cemeteries, slums, and houses of prostitution in their pursuit.
Fanny’s good intentions quickly infuriate her longtime beau Lawrence Decatur, while her reckless persistence confounds the talented police detective Daniel Crenshaw. Reluctantly, Lawrence and Daniel also lend their investigative talents to Fanny’s investigation.
As the murderer sets a date for his next heinous crime, can Fanny Newcomb and her crew stop the Irish Channel Ripper before he kills again?


My Perspective

Teaching business classes after her father's death and no husband, Fanny Newcomb tries her best to find her place in a man's world.  When one of her young students is murdered and "Jack the Ripper of the Irish Channel" claims responsibility, Fanny knows there's more to the story and breaks tradition to do what her father taught her to do...leave no stone unturned. Find the truth.  And barrel over the men if they try to stop her!

Gosh, I wanted more of Fanny's pre-story...to know more about her relationship with her father and even the history between she and Lawrence Decatur would be so interesting.
The ladies of Wisdom Hall also reminded me of Jo's Boys...except with women students.
There's another novel!

The church's involvement in New Orleans and its immigrant populations along with the overwhelming prostitution and a burgeoning pornography business so prevalent in New Orleans with the Redeemers who tried to "save" them was fascinating as well.  I'll be Googling more about this.


The Author - Ana Brazil




A native of California, Ana Brazil lived in the south for many years. She earned her MA in American history from Florida State University and traveled her way through Mississippi as an architectural historian. Ana loves fried mullet, Greek Revival colonnades, and Miss Welty’s garden. She has a weakness for almost all things New Orleans. (Although she’s not sure just how it happened…but she favors bluegrass over jazz.)
The Fanny Newcomb stories celebrate the tenacity, intelligence, and wisdom of the dozens of courageous and outrageous southern women that Ana is proud to call friends.
Although Ana, her husband, and their dog Traveller live in the beautiful Oakland foothills, she is forever drawn to the lush mystique of New Orleans, where Fanny Newcomb and her friends are ever prepared to seek a certain justice.

For more information, please visit Ana Brazil’s website and blog. You can also find her on FacebookPinterest and Goodreads.






Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, February 5
Interview at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, February 6

Thursday, February 8

Friday, February 9

Monday, February 12
Review at Fervently Curious

Friday, February 16

Saturday, February 17
Review at Cup of Sensibility

Monday, February 19
Review at Peppermint Ph.D.
Interview at Fervently Curious

Wednesday, February 21
Feature at The Reading Queen

Monday, February 26
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Wednesday, February 28

Friday, March 2
Feature at A Bookaholic Swede

Monday, March 5

Wednesday, March 7

Friday, March 9

Monday, March 12
Review at Buried Under Books

Thursday, March 15
Review & Excerpt at Clarissa Reads it All

Friday, March 16

Monday, March 19


Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a paperback copy of Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.
Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on December 15th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.




Fanny Newcomb #2

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting the Fanny Newcomb Blog Tour, Patti!

    Amy
    HF Virtual Book Tours

    ReplyDelete