The Secret Life of Anna Blanc: An Anna Blanc Mystery, Book 1

I started reading the book, hoping for an in depth look at women's rights and the history of early 20th century L.A. I also expect and enjoy a soupcon of romance.What I got was a cursory glance at the suffragette movement, wherein the wealthy, beautiful heroine takes part in one parade.Slight spoilersShe does become a police matron, but only because her borrowed clothes (so she can go incognito) conveniently pop open and reveal part of her breast in the interview. The randy policeman hires her on the spot. Hardly a blow for the equal rights for women.That was my first qualm about the book, but I plowed on. I felt that the author was trying to blend two genres; historical mystery and romance.Anna's "zany" exploits were mismatched against the serious social issues of the early 20th century. The mystery deals with.the plight of women driven by poverty and abuse to prostitution. Anna alone believes a serial killer is preying on the prostitutes. As the male members of the police are uncaring and dismissive, Anna goes undercover to catch the murderer.Against this grim and dangerous work, the antics of her love life belong to a different book. The author found convoluted ways for Anna to canoodle with one of her love interests all over L.A. At the police station, in the dressing room of a department store (where Anna is only partially dressed), at the seashore, again partially dressed, and during a stake out for a dangerous serial rapist. The latter seems a real buzz kill for romance.What capped it off was the local newspaper published a very revealing picture of of the heroine. I may be wrong, but surely a reputable early 20th century paper did not show nudity on the front page. Like her prior make out sessions, this incident evoked a modernity that jarred with the rest of the book.The two disparate parts never gelled for me..Will not pursue the series.

An intractable and pampered debutante with plenty of pluck turns detective in Jennifer Kincheloe’s award-winning debut The Secret Life of Anna Blanc.The year is 1907 in Los Angeles. Anna Blanc may be privileged and beautiful, but the one thing she lacks is freedom. Escaping from her possessive father is more difficult than she thinks since she keeps getting caught in humiliating circumstances, which only taints her social status. Regardless, Anna has a mind of her own and determines to get involved in one area that is entirely unladylike: police work.Finding an ad in a local paper, Anna finagles her way into an assistant matron position at the LAPD. While on her first assignment at a local brothel, Anna overhears a conversation between of a police officer and a coroner as they examine the corpse of a prostitute. Although the men rule the young woman’s death a suicide, Anna is convinced that the cause of death is murder, especially when she learns that the harlot’s death is just one in a string of murders.Anna commences undercover investigations, which she keeps under tight wraps. In the meantime, the LAPD sets up a sting operation to catch a rape fiend. Anna volunteers, working alongside the handsome but unpredictable Joe Singer. While romance seems to brew between the unlikely pair, Anna’s father makes plans for her to marry a wealthy banker, Edgar Wright. Amid the strange love triangle, Anna hopes to nab both the rape fiend and prostitute murderer. Whether or not she can convince the LAPD of her sleuthing capabilities before another murder occurs remains to be seen.Kincheloe does a killer job keeping her audience hooked from one page to the next as her protagonist heroine whose insular life evolves as she faces perils of one kind or other. Kincheloe’s highly-developed cast includes only a handful of supporting characters while the bulk of her cast is made up of colorful foils and red herrings, coming in every shape, size, sex, and demeanor imaginable that befits an early 20th-century setting.Tight sentence structures dripping with rich metaphorical descriptions and hyperbole laced with sarcasm, wit, and humor grace the pages of this award-winning debut novel. Scenes heavily peppered with romantic tension, sexual innuendoes, replete with unremitting twists and turns shift between characters resulting in a mighty fine read.A top-rate novel “inspired by police matron Alice Stebbins Wells, who in 1910 became the first woman police officer in Los Angeles,” The Secret of Anna Blanc has all the elements of going beyond the bookshelf and onto the Silver Screen.

Not since Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan have I fallen in love with a character so fun to read. Anna Blanc is a little bit crazy, but she was made that way by privilege, an over-protective father, the loss of her mother and more curiosity than was fashionable for a woman of her time. Her thought processes were laugh out loud funny, and poor Joe Singer, who felt like a yo yo being toyed with by this little bit looney broad who knew exactly what she wanted... until she didn't, was just along for the roller coaster ride. So much fun!

I finished it, which is an endorsement in itself. I found the characters simple and predictable and thereby unrealistic. SPOILER STOP HERE.Petty rich girl who wants to have her cake and eat it too. Overprotective father who is clueless about life, business, and his daughter. As was his daughter clueless about life, business, and her father. We never did find out if Daddy truly disowned her, but chances are he welcomed her back. The author saved us from the cliche that the father took poor boyfriend into the family business that had been miraculously saved b6 the jilted fiance who probably also became the firstborn’s god father. I would like to have seen more character development, less slapstick and less predictability. I would also like to know what happened to Mr Melvin’s coat... ;-)

I genuinely enjoyed this book. One of the reviews I read before I started it described Anna as irritating and when I started the book I could see what she meant. The character very quickly grew on me though. Anna is a girl of her time and class trying desperately to be something else and her determination in the face of overwhelming odds is really engaging.The book has a good sense of period and is very funny in places, fast paced and easy to read. I’m not going to give any spoilers about the plot and how it goes, but Anna has got me hooked and I’m looking forward to reading book two. I’m a fan of historical mystery series, especially those with a sense of humour, and I’m hoping that Anna runs and runs - I’d like to see how she grows up.

Anna Blanc is a great character, very much looking forward seeing how she develops , interesting relationship with her 'love interest' and think they could have quite an number of adventures together. This would make a fantastic TV series!!!

Such a poorly written book, one of the worst I have read in a long time. Such poor character and plot development that it was really confusing to understand what was going on. The ending was just confusing drivel.

This book is my cousin's wife's first novel.... Hence I am bias!... I haven't read it yet as I haven't had the time & it has only just been released in Britain. However by all accounts it should prove a fantastic read. She has researched the subject extensively & put her discoveries of a formidable character into a great story. It has also become a Best Seller in Denver, Colorado. I truly hope you find this book an enjoyable read.