About the Book
-
Author:
- Jennifer Kincheloe
- Genres:
- Historical Fiction
- Mystery
- Voices:
- Cis Girl
- White (Non-Specified)
Cover Story: Big Hat
BFF Charm: Single White Female
Talky Talk: Oh Biscuits!
Bonus Factors: Sweet Ride, Fashion
Relationship Status: You Fill My Dance Card
Cover Story: Big Hat
Since this is a Grownup Book, I’m going to give the Big Hat a pass here (although it does kind of look like a romance novel, which is misleading). I love the Art Nouveau feel of it with the typesetting and the purple wallpaper-like motif, but I’m not sure I would pick it up off the shelf if I’d seen it in a bookstore.
The Deal
Nineteen-year-old Anna Blanc is a socialite living in 1907 Los Angeles, trapped under her father’s watchful eye and longing for a little more excitement in her life. When she encounters a murder that seems to go uninvestigated by the LAPD, her interest is piqued, and through a series of semi-fortuitous events, she manages to get a job with the police as a matron. Of course, she has to buy off her chaperone, and pretend to be a married woman, and no one at the station takes her the least bit seriously, oh, and if her father found out he would disown her, but those mere details won’t stop Anna.
What’s a girl to do, though? She can’t unsee what she’s seen, and once she gets an idea into her head, she can’t let it go. The Secret Life of Anna Blanc follows Anna through her pursuit of her romantic notion of being a lady detective, engagements to at least two men, and countless scandals.
BFF Charm: Single White Female
Anna is too self-centered to be a best friend, but I want to know what it’s like to be that self-confident—and possessed of an innate ability to get out of any scrape. (Also, the clothes. THE CLOTHES!) Despite her carefree attitude, though, she’s smart and dogged, ultimately loyal to her friends, and genuinely wants justice.
Swoonworthy Scale: 7
Anna has a lot of suitors, but there’s one in particular who really revs her engine. Reading about her coming to terms with her feelings for him (including physical ones) is hilarious, and his tolerance for her high jinks is impressive.
Talky Talk: Oh Biscuits!
Jennifer Kincheloe absolutely nails Anna’s voice—a voice that is exactly what you’d expect from a self-centered, flighty socialite with a nagging conscience and a knack for falling into scandals. Anna is eminently quotable, definitely incorrigible, and completely charming. You’ll love her even when she’s busy being an inspiration to herself or passing judgment on the ladies in brothels who are getting murdered, one by one. Anna is at once a product of her time and environment, yet also ahead of the game in several key ways.
Like Libba Bray’s The Diviners series, you’ll be completely immersed in Anna’s world, yet never bogged down by the details and language. The amount of research that Kincheloe must have done to build this world is impressive, but it goes down as light and fluffy as cotton candy.
The single criticism I have of the book is that the mystery itself had a few weak points, but I didn’t feel like they detracted much from my overall enjoyment of the book. It’s still a fast-paced, fun ride through Los Angeles (before the smog descended).
Bonus Factor: Sweet Ride
Anna drives a canary yellow Rolls Royce convertible. WANT.
Bonus Factor: Fashion
The descriptions of the fashion in this book make me want to toss out my beloved lounge pants (Official Work Uniform Of Bloggers Everywhere) and swan around in silk nightgowns, beaded evening gowns that require a corset, and elegant gloves. Anna’s got a hankering for French fashion and the finer things in life… and now I do, too.
Relationship Status: You Fill My Dance Card
Book, I went into our date only knowing you were a historical mystery with a female protagonist, but you swept me off my feet with your dry witticisms and blithe inner monologue. Now I just want to write your name as every entry in my dance card, so I can live in your world a little longer. And I hear there will be a sequel…
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a free review copy from Seventh Street Books. I received neither money nor a pet unicorn for writing this review, despite how hard I wished for one. The Secret Life of Anna Blanc is available now.
