The Secret Life of Anna Blanc

In The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, it’s 1907 in Los Angeles. Mischievous socialite Anna Blanc is the kind of young woman who devours purloined crime novels, but must disguise them behind covers of more domestically-appropriate reading.

About The Secret Life of Anna Blanc

It’s 1907 Los Angeles. Mischievous socialite Anna Blanc is the kind of young woman who devours purloined crime novels, but must disguise them behind covers of more domestically-appropriate reading. She 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, Anna 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 unwilling to investigate. 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. Midway into her investigation, the police chief’s son, Joe Singer, learns her true identity, and shortly thereafter she learns about blackmail. 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.

My Thoughts

The Secret Life of Anna Blanc is an amazing story from start to finish! I fell in love with the character, she is independent, free spirited and full of life. She is stuck in a world that discourages everything she stands for. But she still finds a way to follow her dreams and the path that is truly meant for (even if she has to lie a little bit to do so!). I admired her courage and even her naivety at times. She makes rash decisions but most of them are made with her heart and will good intentions. She becomes your best friend through the audiobook.

When a series of murders at brothels is swept under the covers by the police department, she takes this as the opportunity she has always wanted – to solve her own  mystery. She has so much riding on this – she can prove herself to the world but if caught she will have to face her father, her fiance and even the police department! It seems as if the whole world is against her. But with her optimisim, she sets out to discover the truth.

The Secret Life of Anna Blanc is well written and narrated with plenty of twists and surprises that keep you hanging on to every word. Adventuours, suspenseful and with a perfect main character that makes you just fall in love with her – this is the perfect read for young adults and adults a like.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Audible.

Rating: 5/5

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.

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.”

Disclosure: I received an audiobook in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.