Lady of Perdition by Barbara Hambly is seventeenth in the Benjamin January series of historical mysteries, this one beginning in April, 1840. I’ve already caught up on the previous book in this series for this year’s challenge, but this one fit the theme so well I couldn’t resist one more. Benjamin January knows no black person in their right mind would willingly go to the Republic of Texas but when his former pupil Selina Bellinger is kidnapped and enslaved, he has no choice. Once there he is saved from being hanged by Valentina Taggart, wife of the wealthy landowner of Rancho Perdition. After Valentina is accused of the murder of her husband, she in turn calls on Benjamin for help.
As usual with this series, the peril is baked in with the historical setting and protagonist, who is a free man but always at risk of being kidnapped and sold. On this dangerous journey to The Republic of Texas, his risk is even worse; but he cannot allow a sixteen year old to lose the rest of her life due to the single mistake of falling in love with a predatory man. His best friend Hannibal Sefton, an Irish musician, poses as his “owner” despite his constant ill-health, and their friend New Orleans policeman Abishag Shaw, ruthless and practical, serves as their undercover agent and muscle. The story is actually two stories, linked by a few characters: first, the rescue of Selina, which includes an accidental encounter with Valentina, a guest character from a previous book in the series, and glimpses of a familiar man named Gervase Hookwire, also traveling to Texas from New Orleans. After Shaw escorts Selina out of Texas, Ben and Hannibal are entangled in a murder investigation via Valentina, and then find a second murder has taken place. Ben’s skills as a trained surgeon help out with the second investigation as it’s clear to him that the second victim had not, in fact, been killed by the Comanche, who do not appear in the story except as a constant threat of danger.
This installment had a large cast and a fair amount of plot relating to 1840s Texas history that I mostly knew nothing about, so I felt I learned something as well as enjoying the difficulties of figuring out a murder while being in danger the entire time. While I missed the New Orleans cast, it was good to see Shaw again, however briefly, and Ben and Hannibal’s friendship is always a joy. Every detective needs a sidekick! I am very glad that Hambly has apparently decided that Hannibal’s tuberculosis is in abeyance for as long as the series requires! A few books ago, he also kicked his opium habit, so it’s a bit more plausible that he continues to survive, though that aspect of his character is represented by coughing and tiring easily. It’s a good thing his best friend is a surgeon.
