Blind Curves

Blind Curves is the first book in a thrilling new detective series by Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall. The story takes place in San Francisco, the authors' home, and the descriptions are rich and lively, thus making the city itself an additional character in the novel. Velvet Erickson, journalist, is suspected of killing wealthy publisher and former lover, Rosemary Finney. Since she is the only suspect and must prove her innocence within 48 hours or be jailed until her trial, she hires friend Yoshi Yakamoto, owner of Blind Eye Detective Agency. Yoshi and fellow detective Bud Williams set out to find the killer, but along the way they uncover corruption at the highest levels in the wealthy secluded town of Woodside, south of San Francisco. In a race against time, the real murderer is doing everything possible to keep the truth from unfolding, and Velvet is counting on the Blind Eye team to save her skin. This easy to read, down to earth novel is electrifying from the get-go. The pace moves at a quick clip, and the authors clearly explain the complex relationships as they divulge key clues. Blind Curves is used metaphorically and literally throughout the book tying together the mystery puzzle neatly in the end. The character development though is what makes this novel stand out and will make the reader craving for more in the series as they complete Blind Curves. In revealing that Yoshi is legally blind and Bud is a paraplegic and wheelchair bound, we get a glimpse of the challenges they face and how they compensate. But the reader does not feel sorry for these two because Blind Curves strips away the labels and gives us gritty, likeable, and appealing characters. The authors add depth to their characterization by enlightening us, and we see Yoshi as clever, intelligent and at times manipulative, but never helpless. This detective knows how to get to the facts, and she uses all of her resources to do it. Anderson-Minshalls add to the book by including wonderfully colorful secondary characters in Tucker, Yoshi's receptionist, and AJ, an East Palo Alto policewoman. One of the best features of this book is that all of the key characters except Bud are lesbians, and that's the way I like my fiction. While the reader is left hanging as to what the future has in store for these characters, I was fully satisfied with Blind Curves. I am counting the days until Blind Leap's release in October of 2007.