This year's series theme is A Mysterious Lens On American Culture, sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council.

Join us to discuss Barbara Neely's book Blanche Cleans Up.

Blanche White--she does not brook snide comments about her name--is definitely the working woman's heroine, and the only thing that is domesticated about her is the work she does. Queen-sized, sensible about her own dignity and that of others, Blanche can read the Boston homes she cleans like the open books they are. But when she pinch-hits for the cook of a local politico's family, she sees Mr. Brindle's wife's brittle sorrow and a son's estrangement. When the cook's son is killed, and other deaths follow in Blanche's Roxbury neighborhood, the strands connecting them lead back to the Brindles' house. Blanche does her work and methodically goes about resolving what turns out to be several murders tied to scandal, sex, and heartbreak. She does it all while raising her teenage niece and nephew as her own, trying to keep their hopes and their future safe. Blanche's voice is sassy and sexy, and her take on urban life through African American eyes is blade-sharp and sometimes as cutting. GraceAnne A. DeCandido, amazon.com

Our scholar from last year, Fran Cerulli, is returning to lead the discussions.