Search - Dead Water (Benjamin January, Bk 8)

This is one of a series that is heavy on the atmosphere of old New Orleans prior to the
Civil War, especially the world of free persons of color. A Free Man of Color is the title of the first book in the series. The characters, complex, fascinating, and very real, are constantly constrained by the laws under which they live as second-class citizens, ever in peril of being forced back into slavery. While the plot is engrossing, more fascinating is the glimpse afforded into a world that officially, at least, no longer exists. Although the later books can become somewhat repetitive in that regard, I highly recommend this series.