User:Sarahdaly44/Blanche on the Lam

Blanche on the Lam is a mystery novel by author Barbara Neely. The book won the Agatha Award and the Anthony Award  for Best First Novel, and the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery. The series continues with Blanche among the Talented Tenth (1994), Blanche Cleans Up (1998), and Blanche Passes Go (2000).

Major Characters
Blanche White: She is the central character on Blanche on the Lam. She is a black woman, who is a housekeeper and cook, on the run from a jail term for a minor offense. She hides out as a domestic worker for a dysfunctional white family. According to Mildred Mickle, Blanche is "a domestic heroine, a very human, compassionate, and honest yet tricky figure."

Critical reception
According to Elsie Washington in a review for Essence, the novel is considered "the first mystery by a black woman with a Black woman as the heroine".