A Review of If She Were Blind by Laney Wylde

A friend of mine thought of me when she read the book’s description (protagonist who works outside of the law in the vein of Scandal and Revenge to right various wrongs). But the title was what really intrigued me to read it. Anyway, the gritty social-issue threw me for a loop and brought to mind the movie Precious depicting physical and emotional abuse by the hands of those who should care about you.

Diving into the book: the setting is LA and rotates around actors, directors, blackmail, folks using sex as favors, “Me too” movement, etc. I liked the voice of the protagonist (Estlyn Collins/Dillion Hayes) but I found it very unrealistic that at 25 years old she would have the wealth of experience as a lawyer to wheel and deal like she did throughout the novel. The other characters were colorful enough (foster care brother Rory, good friend Dean, lover Cal/Linus) and via their POVs and flashbacks gave readers insights into who Estlyn is and why she acts the way she does.

Overall, the pacing was good. However, there were some holes in the story. A big one for me was the way the traffic stop went down with Michael. It was just not the norm (without giving away any spoilers) especially based on the description of the characters, Estlyn is black and Michael I’m assuming is white (“Your grandma hates me.” “She doesn’t hate you, she just…” “Doesn’t like that I’m a different color than you.”). Another hole for me was Estlyn describing herself as “legally orphaned” yet she fought viciously to have her father released from jail for killing her mother. Yes, he was alive and well, but I guess she felt he was not available on the outside to protect her. This was somewhat contradictory for me.

Nevertheless, I liked the spunkiness of Estlyn although her manipulative behavior at times was over the top. There was a lot going on in this book but it was a fun read.

My favorite lines:

What’s a good name? Why the hell did I call her before I had a plan? Maybe After—? Okay, After something. After justice fails? After twelve people failed to give her husband the verdict he deserved.

“…After Twelve. We work to get justice for those who couldn’t find it in the court system. If you’re interested in our services, give me a call at this number.”

On my way back to the office, Mrs. Rahal’s number lights up my phone.

Rating: 3 Stars

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