100 Pages A Day.... Stephanie's Book Reviews
  • Blog Tours
  • Historical Fiction
  • Sci Fi & Fantasy
  • Thriller & Horror
  • Non-Fiction
  • Middle Grade & Children's
  • Literary Fiction and Other Genres
  • Challenges
  • Promo's
  • Product Reviews

The Life and Deaths of Blanche Nero

6/13/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
About the Book: 
The Life and Deaths of Blanche Nero
by Ken Brigham
Publication Date: August 1, 2016
Secant Publishing
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback & eBook
Genre: Thriller & Suspense/Historical Fiction/Mystery


At fifteen, Blanche Nero watches the electrocution of her Italian immigrant father, punishment for the inexplicable brutal murder of his recently acquired friend Old Man Flaherty. She resolves to do something with her life that values humanity over justice, mercy over sacrifice. But she is forever haunted by the mystery of her father. She is also drawn irresistibly to the bigger human mysteries of violence and death.
​
After a grueling but successful academic career at some of the nation’s finest university hospitals, Blanche is almost sixty. Her long career as a trauma surgeon at Charity Hospital in New Orleans has been abruptly ended by Hurricane Katrina. She takes a year sabbatical from the medical school and leases a small flat in Venice, seeking an understanding of her father in the place where he lived his formative years—and of herself by reliving and recording her own remarkable life.

On a cold morning in Piazza San Marco, Blanche meets Count Lorenzo Ludovici (Ludo) an aging, elegant, and charming Venetian who is dying of AIDS. Blanche is drawn to him and is uncharacteristically self-revealing as he introduces her to his beautiful city. As their relationship develops and his health deteriorates, Blanche becomes ever more fond of the count.

As she relives her past by writing down what she remembers, she sees the girl she was and the woman she became with new eyes: the mystery of her father’s death; her distant mother; her sometimes misguided adolescent efforts to grow up. And then discovering the thrill of medicine, especially the sensual thrill of trauma surgery and losing herself in that career, immersed in violence. She recalls her attempts at relationships, especially with Jesse Pinto, the one man whom she has ever loved, and how she ended that. She remembers her love affair with the Big Easy and Charity Hospital (the Big Free) that came suddenly to a violent end.

Through a series of painful and revealing conversations, Blanche and Ludo discover that each of them has private knowledge of interlocking pieces of their history.

Available on Amazon

Review: 
Blanche Nero's life has been punctuated by a series of important deaths.  At fifteen years old, Blanche's father was executed for the killing of their neighbor.  This death caused Blanche to have an interest into her father's past and sparked a curiosity for violence and death .  After excelling academically in high school and college, her mother's death provides enough money for Blanche to go to Med School.  Blanche is able to train with the best doctors in the field and becomes a successful trauma surgeon at Charity Hospital in New Orleans.  After Hurricane Katrina hits, Charity closes and Blanche takes a leave to Venice.  In Venice she rents a flat and befriends Ludo, or more precisely, Count Lorenzo Ludovici.  Ludo is dying of AIDS, but before he goes Ludo has a secret to reveal to Blanche that will unravel the mystery behind her father's death.  Ludo's death will also open up another door for Blanche to move on with her life.


From the moment Blanche's father murders their neighbor, I was pulled into the mystery of the Nero family.  The name Blanche Nero literally means 'White Black.'  From Blanche's birth, everything has been one or the other, black or white, no grey.  Throughout the book I did wonder if her father gave her the first name of White to try to lessen the black of his name.  Blanche's character lives her life very directly.  The writing brought me back and forth between Blanche's present as a 60 year old woman in Venice and her past growing up in Almesboro and throughout her schooling.  She is looking back at her life and examining her choices through a very mature lens.  Throughout the book death and violence are recurrent themes.  However,  through Blanch eyes, the deaths are drawn in a different light, without much meaning or emotion, but with advancement; that is until Ludo.  Ludo is exceedingly charming and a little frustrating with the slow reveal of his relation to Blanche's mystery.  Ludo's dignified ways create the perfect illusion to begin to introduce Blanche to the black spot in her father's history that I couldn't even begin to piece together until the very end.  In addition to the curious mystery, the Venitian culture and city is brought to life through Blanche and Ludo's travels as well as it's darker history.  Overall, an engaging story that weaves together death, secrets and their impact on our lives. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Picture
​About the Author

Ken Brigham is emeritus professor of medicine at Emory University. He is widely published in the scientific literature and has authored or coauthored two previous novels and two nonfiction books. He lives with his wife, Arlene Stecenko, in midtown Atlanta.
​

For more information see www.kenbrigham.com. You can also follow Ken on Twitter.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER GIVEAWAY
​
Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, June 12
Kick Off at Passages to the Past
Tuesday, June 13
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Wednesday, June 14
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Thursday, June 15
Review at Turning the Pages
Spotlight at Laura’s Interests
Friday, June 16
Interview at Author Dianne Ascroft’s Blog
Monday, June 19
Review at Creating Herstory
Tuesday, June 20
Interview at Creating Herstory
Wednesday, June 21
Spotlight at The Book Junkie Reads
Friday, June 23
Review at Back Porchervations
Monday, June 26
Review at Trisha Jenn Reads
Tuesday, June 27
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews
Friday, June 30
Tour Wrap-Up at Passages to the Past
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Follow at Bloglovin!

    Author

    Hi there! I'm Stephanie and I obviously love reading.  As, the title suggests, I read at least one hundred pages a day.  I enjoy most book genres; however, my favorites are historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, horror and YA.  I also read a lot of non-fiction science and gardening books for my occupation.  I enjoy reviewing books and as always, any book that I receive for free is read in return for my honest review.  

    ​https://share.simonandschuster.com/stephanierhildreth

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Picture
    Challenge Participant
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Reading Addiction Blog Tours
    Xpresso Book Tours
    b00k r3vi3w Tours
    - See more at: http://b00kr3vi3wtours.blogspot.com/p/collect-badges.html#sthash.R4DGlIHF.dpuf

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Pump Up Your Book

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.