All 20 A Benjamin January Mystery Books In Order at Book DNA

1
A Free Man of Color

This lush and haunting novel tells of a city steeped in decadent pleasures and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.

It is 1833. In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the…

Eleanor's list on the best historical mysteries with a dash of social commentary
Gloria's list on the best historical mystery novels that will both enlighten and ensnare your imagination
Sharon's list on the best books set in new orleans

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2
Fever Season

Benjamin January made his debut in bestselling author Barbara Hambly's A Free Man of Color, a haunting mélange of history and mystery. Now he returns in another novel of greed, madness, and murder amid the dark shadows and dazzling society of old New Orleans...

The summer of 1833 has been…

3
Graveyard Dust

Bestselling author Barbara Hambly's A Free Man of Color and Fever Season established Benjamin January as a man to be reckoned with--and one of this decade's most exciting mystery heroes. Now he returns in a powerful new novel, a sensual mosaic of old New Orleans, where cultures clash and murder…

4
Sold Down the River

In A Free Man of Color, Fever Season, and Graveyard Dust, Benjamin January penetrated the murkiest corners of glittering old New Orleans to bring murderers to justice. Now, in bestselling author Barbara Hambly's haunting new novel, he explores a vivid and violent plantation world darker than anything in the city....…

5
Die Upon a Kiss

In A Free Man of Color and Sold Down the River, Benjamin January guided readers through the seductive maze of New Orleans' darkest quarters. Now January joins the orchestra of the city's top opera house — only to become enmeshed in a web of hate and greed more murderous than…

6
Wet Grave

In such stunning novels of crime and character as Die Upon a Kiss, Sold Down the River, and A Free Man of Color, Benjamin January tracked down killers through the sensuous, atmospheric, dangerously beautiful world of Old New Orleans. Now, in this new novel by bestselling author Barbara Hambly, he…

7
Days of the Dead

The New York Times hails Barbara Hambly’s novels featuring Benjamin January as “masterly,” “ravishing,” and “haunting.” The Chicago Tribune crowns them “dazzling…January is a wonderfully rich and complex character.” Now the bestselling author returns with a story that leads January from the dangerously sensual milieu of New Orleans into a…

8
Dead Water

Nineteenth-century New Orleans is a blazing hotbed of scorching politics and personal vendettas. And it's into this fire that Benjamin January falls when he is hired to follow Oliver Weems, a bank official who has absconded with $100,000 in gold and securities. But it's more than just a job for…

9
Dead and Buried

The new 'Benjamin January' novel from the best-selling author

New Orleans, 1836. When free black musician and surgeon Benjamin January attends the funeral of a friend, an accident tips the dead man out of his coffin - only to reveal an unexpected inhabitant. Just one person recognises the corpse of…

10
The Shirt on His Back

The new 'Benjamin January' novel from the best-selling author

Abishag Shaw is seeking vengeance for his brother's murder - and Benjamin January is seeking money after his bank crashes. Far beyond the frontier, in the depths of the Rocky Mountains, both are to be found at the great Rendezvous of…

11
Ran Away

The new Benjamin January novel from the best-selling author

RAN AWAY. So began a score of advertisements every week in the New Orleans newspapers, advertising for slaves who'd fled their masters. But the Turk, Hüseyin Pasha, posted no such advertisement when his two lovely concubines disappeared. And when a witness…

12
Good Man Friday

“Hambly brings back to life a world where Congressmen obliviously pass chained men without a glance, forcing her readers to wonder painfully with January, “Jesus, where are you now?”” - Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Benjamin January's search for a missing man takes him into a dark world filled with grave…

13
Crimson Angel

Benjamin January is forced to travel to Haiti to seek his family’s lost treasure, in order to save everything he holds dear

When Jefferson Vitrack – the white half-brother of Benjamin January’s wife - turns up on January’s doorstep in the summer of 1838 claiming he has discovered a clue…

David's list on the best books that explore the historical, cultural, and psychological landscapes of 1800s america

14
Drinking Gourd

Benjamin January investigates the murder of a ‘conductor’ of the Underground Railway, helping slaves to freedom.

Benjamin January is called up to Vicksburg, deep in cotton-plantation country, to help a wounded “conductor” of the Underground Railroad – the secret network of safe-houses that guide escaping slaves to freedom. When the…

15
Murder in July

Benjamin January investigates the murder of a mysterious Englishman in this absorbing New Orleans-set mystery.

When British spymaster Sir John Oldmixton offers Benjamin January a hundred dollars to find the murderer of an Englishman whose body has been found floating in the New Basin Canal, Benjamin turns him down immediately.…

16
Cold Bayou

Everyone at the family wedding was hoping someone would murder the bride … The intriguing new Benjamin January mystery.

“Don’t go to Cold Bayou, brother … Nuthin’ good waiting for you there.”

New Orleans, 1839. Despite his misgivings, Benjamin January has agreed to play the piano at the wedding of…

17
Lady of Perdition

Benjamin January heads to the "Slaveholders' Republic" of Texas to locate a kidnapped girl and help a woman who saved him from the noose.

April, 1840. Benjamin January knows no black person in their right mind would willingly go to the Republic of Texas but when his former pupil Selina…

18
House of the Patriarch

No one can talk to the dead . . . can they? Free man of color Benjamin January gets caught up in a strange, spiritual world that might lead to his own demise, as he hunts for a missing teenager in this gripping, atmospheric historical mystery.

New Orleans, 1840. Freshly…

19
Death and Hard Cider

Musician, sleuth and free man of color Benjamin January gets mixed in politics, with murderous results.

"The historical backdrop is vivid, and the writing is exquisite. One of the best in a not-to-be-missed series" - Booklist Starred Review

September, 1840. A giant rally is being planned in New Orleans to…

20
The Nubian's Curse

20 A Benjamin January Mystery books in order

1 A Free Man of Color

Eleanor's list on the best historical mysteries with a dash of social commentary

Gloria's list on the best historical mystery novels that will both enlighten and ensnare your imagination

Sharon's list on the best books set in new orleans

2 Fever Season

3 Graveyard Dust

4 Sold Down the River

5 Die Upon a Kiss

6 Wet Grave

7 Days of the Dead

8 Dead Water

9 Dead and Buried

10 The Shirt on His Back

11 Ran Away

12 Good Man Friday

13 Crimson Angel

David's list on the best books that explore the historical, cultural, and psychological landscapes of 1800s america

14 Drinking Gourd

15 Murder in July

16 Cold Bayou

17 Lady of Perdition

18 House of the Patriarch

19 Death and Hard Cider

20 The Nubian's Curse