Review: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe

Hello, everyone! I'm very exccited to bring you guys my stop on the blog tour for The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe hosted by The Audiobookworm.

I was sent a digital audiobook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below is my review of the novel, the author and narrartor's links, and links to purchase a copy of the book should you fancy buying one for yourself. Party time!

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Rating: PG-13

Genre: Mystery

Score: ❤❤❤❤❤

Page Count: 375

Stand Alone

Publisher: Seventh Street Books

Published: November 3rd, 2015

It's 1907 Los Angeles. Mischievous socialite Anna Blanc could match wits with Sherlock Holmes, but in her world women are not allowed to hunt criminals. Determined to break free of the era's rigid social roles, she buys off the chaperone assigned by her domineering father and, using an alias, takes a job as a police matron with the Los Angeles Police Department. There she discovers a string of brothel murders, which the cops are covering up. Seizing her one chance to solve a crime, she takes on the investigation herself.

If the police find out, she'll get fired; if her father finds out, he'll disown her; and if her fiancé finds out, he'll cancel the wedding.

Anna must choose--either hunt the villain and risk losing her father, fiancé, and wealth, or abandon her dream and leave the killer on the loose. 

Review:

PROS:

1. There was a lot about this book that caught my interest at first and I'm not lying when I say I was sold when the synopsis mentioned Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is one of my favorite tales to read and seeing as there are so many of them, I'm always on the lookout for any other books who tip their hats to the great detective. This one being set in 1907, before women had rights to vote, ankles were NEVER visible and makeup was scandalous, only added the cherry and whipped cream on top. There were so many elements that held my interest while reading the book and I'm excited to let you all know more about it. Let's get started.

2. I adored Anna's character. She was definitely a girl who didn't like being underestimated but also used it to her advantage. She was smarter than the men and women around her thought, cunning, mischevious, and had a good strong head on her shoulders that I found to be a very powerful character trait for a female lead. She was definitely the type of young woman who could handle herself well, fight her own fights, and maybe even start a few along the way. Trouble always seemed to find Anna as she begins getting wrapped up in real-life mysteries and crimes and she handles them with wit, grace, and even a little bit of laughter and a few smiles. She was a spunky girl that kept me entertained as the story progressed and I found myself wishing that Anna was a real person, thinking she'd be a very interesting person to talk to.

3. The setting of this book was just perfect. The descriptions strewn throughout the book never let you forget the time period with their old sayings, slang, figures-of-speech, descriptions of clothing, buildings, ways of travel, trends and so much more that were relevant in the 1900's. It was all so easy to picture in your head and it makes you feel like you're actually there in Los Angeles during that time period when so much change was just beginning to unfold and take place. Anna was a girl with impossible dreams that were unachievable for women in that time so it was a perfect setting and I applaud the author for having a beautiful writing style that fit the tone of this book.

4. Anna tests the waters of social morals and values and it made for a very entertaining read. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction but this one is pretty high up on the list of my favorites. It reads very easily, especially if you choose to listen to the audiobook which the narrator does an AMAZING job at telling! Her voice was clear, smooth, and had just the right amount of energy to really bring Anna Blanc to life and made it feel as if Anna herself was telling the story. The book had a very nice pace throughout and kept the energy it had from the very first page to the very last. I think Anna is a great example that even though you're a woman living in a man's world, sometimes it takes a woman to do a man's job. 

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Audible

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About The Author:

Jennifer has been a block layer, a nurse's aid, a fragrance model, and on the research faculty at UCLA, where she spent 11 years conducting studies to inform health policy. A native of Southern California, she now lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two teenagers. She's currently writing book three in the Anna Blanc Mystery series. Book two, THE WOMAN IN THE CAMPHOR TRUNK, is coming out in Fall of 2017 from Seventh Street Books.

Author Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Pinterest

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About The Narrator:

Moira grew up in teeny-tiny Rutland, England’s smallest county, which is fitting as she never managed to make it past five feet herself. Moira’s work spans the pantheon of the voiceover world: plays for BBC radio, plays for NPR, video games, commercials, television promos, podcasts, cartoons, movies and award winning audiobooks. She's won Multiple Audie Awards, Earphone Awards, as well as Audible's prestigious Book-of-the-Year Award. She has lately set foot in front of the camera again, appearing in “Pretty: the Series” and the Emmy-winning “Dirty Work.”

Narrator Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

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