I'm sad that this is the last book featuring Blanche, but while there are some unresolved story arc, Blanche Passes Go is otherwise a fairly satisfying conclusion to Barbara Neely's series. As with previous installments, this is technically a murder mystery in that a murder occurs and Blanche is interested in finding out who committed it, but there's no real hunting for clues and not a single cop appears. Neely instead uses Blanche's trip back to her home town in North Carolina as a backdrop for her exploration of domestic violence, generational trauma, and racism. At times a tough read, but Blanche's voice is always distinct and clear enough to keep me reading on. ( )

I loved this. This had a focus on sexual and domestic violence. ( )

This was an entertaining read. I can't say that I loved it, but it was enjoyable. I liked the character of Blanche, and her budding romance with Thelvin. The mystery was entertaining, but I didn't really like the resolution. Justice was not served. Maybe this was the point of the book, who knows. At times Blanche was a little too introspective, and had a tendency to read to much into people's motivations. Her relationship with Thelvin would have been a whole lot smoother if she didn't over analyze everything. The author tries to explain Blanche's fears, and it does make sense, but it also makes me wish she could just put aside her fears and go for the happiness. ( )

This is the fourth and final book in the series, and I was so glad to finally read it after enjoying the other three several years ago. Yes, it's a mystery, but it is also a novel about race and class in America (the story takes place in the year 2000 in North Carolina). As Linda Ellerbee notes on the book jacket, "Neely writes from the perspective of Blanche, an intelligent, perceptive, poor, working-class black woman with a wry sense of humor and a healthy sense of place." Blanche is feisty, honest, and independent, the kind of girlfriend I'd like to hang out with. ( )

This is a four book series and this is the last of it. I've now read all four.

Blanche is coming back to North Carolina to help her best friend, Ardell, with her catering business over the summer. Both Malek and Taifa are in their teens and working summer jobs, so Blanche is free to go. She is also coming back to face a man and an event, from her past, that have had sway on her life ever since.

On the train down she meets Thelvin, and there seems to be an instant attraction between them. Thelvin is the conductor and just happens to live in Durham, which is in close proximity to where Blanche will be staying in Farleigh. This thread of attraction runs through the book and is also influenced by Blanche's past.

Blanche is happy to be back and see Ardell. It is topped off when she finds that she will be living in the Miz Alice: the little two room cottage built by Ardell's Uncle Russell and named for the first, and pretty much only, tenant to move in, Miz Alice. This gives Blance privacy and freedom. Freedom to investigate into the life of the man whose actions caused Blanche to flee her town in the first place.

There are twists and turns, and Blanche has to really pry to get any information. It seems the place may consider itself to be part of the New South, but not much has really changed in the relationship between the blacks and whites. The information she is able to uncover and the reactions among the white community lead to unexpected results, for Blanche, her investigation and the people she is investigating. ( )