Review: Outside
Child
"Alice Wilson-Fried's mystery novel, Outside Child, introduces readers unfamiliar with pre-Katrina New Orleans to a society where people can either transcend the social law of gravity in order to rise or must struggle against the social law of gravity in order not to fall. Through the eyes of Ladonis Washington, readers see what Ladonis sees and rejoice or cringe with her as she makes her way through the menace and puzzle of the corporate jungle. This mystery reveals the dilemma of a young woman who, on her way up, tries hard not to lose her way. Her self-imposed demand to solve a status-changing murder tests her resolve, her convictions, and the values she holds dear. And throughout the novel, steadfast, moves the leitmotif of the great river and the paddleboats that ply the waters of the Great Mississippi."
Anne Fox
Amazon.com five-star review
"Outside Child is a remarkable book in that while ostensibly a 'mystery story,' it really is a novel about New Orleans and the folk who have lived and worked there. It is an encomium of how class, gender, race and kin, combine to provide an understanding of the glory, pride and family values of those who created New Orleans, while having to surmount the history of the repression of both class and white supremacy. The people in the book are treated with an understanding and respect that is reminiscent of John Oliver Killens' Youngblood. I can think of no higher praise."
Percy Brazil
Amazon.com five-star review
"Outside Child is a wonderful mystery set in pre-Katrina New Orleans, by first-time novelist Alice Wilson-Fried. The characters, setting, and story are interesting and completely believable. The author has a strong voice and knows her subject well.
In New Orleans, the term 'outside child' describes one born to a married man and unmarried woman, disowned by the father. It metaphorically extends to any outsider. The title refers literally to a particular character's role in the plot, while also describing all of the characters at once, perhaps the author herself, and even (as we know following Katrina) the city of New Orleans and its inhabitants.
The characters (with nicknames like Redboy, Honey Man, L'il Wolf, and HeartTrouble) are interesting and realistic. The brief words of advice from Grandma Lucille which pepper the story with juicy, down-home, and dead-on wisdom make the reader wish for a Grandma Lucille of one's own. The main character and her role in unraveling the mystery are realistic and believable, unlike many other current female (and male) mystery protagonists. Her brother, HeartTrouble, is a brilliant depiction of the conflict inherent in making one's way in a non-accepting world.
The author knows her subject, the Louisiana riverboats, New Orleans politics, and the city's business world, well. This reviewer most appreciated the frequent and completely natural references to the remnants of history, from jazz to slavery, that dot the New Orleans and riverboat landscape.
The author's style is easy, crisp, and flowing. The denouement and solution to the mystery might have been a bit tighter, but this reviewer finds that limitation in virtually every mystery around, so this first-time mystery novelist can hardly be faulted for a general feature of the genre.
The only other limitation is that I enjoyed the color and setting so much that I wished for more--more smells, more music, more everything. The upcoming sequel, with the same core characters, is reported to be about Katrina, which the author's family suffered and survived. This reader awaits that sequel eagerly."
Candace Cohn
"Mystery Fan," Marengo, IL
Amazon.com five-star review
"Outside Child is a fast, gripping read - an inside look at a foreign country hidden deep inside the glitter of New Orleans. The only rule is SURVIVE. The only law is TRUST NOBODY.
No reader will skim or skip a word of this book.
The storyteller, a young black woman who follows the much-touted path of education and hard work to the nice neighborhood and the enchanted land of big names and big money and a glamorous job with a Mississippi riverboat company is compelling. Her fear is insistent as she learns that the bad guys look just like the good guys, sometimes better, and every step of her descent into the bowels of the riverboat could be an entrance to another level of Dante's Inferno.
This book epitomizes the reason I co-founded the San Francisco Writers Conference. The author has a captivating story to share and a mesmerizing voice - and should be read. Now."
Wendy Nelder
Co-founder, San Francisco Writers Conference
"Outside Child is a Creole stew of crime, politics, and Southern manners that gives me a true flavor of New Orleans before all that water washed away some of the spice. Alice creates a female protagonist who's authentic and real. The sibling relationship that's central to the story evokes Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins and the colorful relationships that make that world so exciting."
Kevin Arkadie
Writer/Producer, "New York Undercover," "The Temptations," "Soul Food, The Series," and "The Shield"
"In Alice Wilson-Fried's debut mystery, Outside Child, pre-Katrina New Orleans comes alive again with patois and a poignancy. Fast paced, down home and real, Outside Child rivets you to the page, keeps you turning pages and brings a vanished New Orleans back."
Cara Black
Author of the "Aimee LeDuc Series"
"The tenor and allure of Alice Wilson-Fried's Outside Child is steeped in the mysteries of New Orleans, and some of its secrets are revealed in this, her debut novel."
Gary Phillips
Author of "Bangers"
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