"Knight Blind Jorja" by Alice Bienia introduces readers to a gripping mystery filled with twists, turns, and unexpected revelations. The story follows Jorja Knight, a fiercely independent private investigator with a unique condition that renders her unable to recognize faces. When Jorja is hired to solve a high-profile murder case, she must rely on her keen intellect and sharp instincts to navigate a web of deceit, danger, and intrigue.

Bienia's writing is fast-paced and suspenseful, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as they follow Jorja's investigation. The author deftly crafts a complex and compelling plot, filled with well-developed characters and cleverly woven clues. As Jorja races against time to uncover the truth, readers are drawn into a world of secrets and lies, where nothing is as it seems. "Knight Blind Jorja" is a captivating mystery that will keep readers guessing until the very end, marking the beginning of an exciting new series in the genre.

A very promising debut. The author is one to look out for. And so too is this series. The pace kept me hooked and this book delivered on all expectations.

Knight Blind is an easy-paced and rather gentle mystery novel that introduces us to Jorja Knight, a female Private Investigator who is just starting her own PI business. Through a friend's referral, Jorja gets a new case to find the nephew of a rather well-to-do lady. She believes her nephew has, like her, made it out of Germany during WWII, and is now, years later, living in Calgary like she is. What starts out as a rather simple quest, soon turns out to be providing more questions than answers, and makes Jorja face some of her own difficult past.

While I normally like my mystery/crime novels a little more adventurous and grim, Knight Blind did provide me with an overall enjoyable reading experience. It is easy enough to warm to Jorja, as she is presented as a real human being. While I normally don't love my crime novels to be in the first person narrative, for Jorja it somehow worked. Being able to feel and think along with her made her ever more relatable. Similarly, the setting (be it smaller spaces or the overall setting in Calgary) were detailed and made for a gorgeous backdrop to an interesting story. I do think the story could have been a little shorter, and there were some loose ends and the end, but for a mystery debut, not bad at all. I'll be picking up the next book in the series for sure.

Knight Blind is a story about Jorja Knight who is just starting out as a private investigator. This is the first book in a series and I'm anxious to see how this character develops. I like the author's style of writing and her characters and I think you will too!

This story is full of twists and turns that make you keep turning pages to the end. Can't wait to see if Jorja's financial situation, love life and investigative abilities have improved.

A very enjoyable read, started off a bit slow but by god did it pick the pace up throughout and it was really good x x

Mysteries with strong female leads seem to be a stable standard of the literature industry by now. I applaud this - in my experience as a reader, a female lead usually means there is a strong emphasis on the mystery part, and that's just what I want to read when the days are short and the nights are long. (Unless I want some high octane action, in which case I seem to prefer a male lead. That probably tells you more about me than about the books I'm reading.)

So we'll start with Jorja Knight, our female lead - this is the first in a proposed series of mysteries about her, so obviously everything stands - and falls - with her as a person.

Jorja "Jojo" Knight is working two jobs - private investigator, and first person narrator of the book. Which makes it easier for us to empathize with her (the power of first person), and it also helps in building the mystery - because as we're seeing the world through her eyes, we discover the pieces of the puzzle with her.

And she is a likeable character, well built, with more than a hint of a well defined background story. In other words, she feels like a real person, and that's exactly what I'm looking for in a series character. I'll say the Jorja Knight Mysteries are off to a good and promising start!

"They made a great pair. Jeff didn't like to talk, and Shorty never shut up."
-- One of Jojo's keen observations.

All the other characters are seen through her eyes, and they seem authentic enough. Although there are some cliches and stereotypes here, but then again, stereotypes usually work well, and they do it for a reason.

So, what about the mystery then?

As usual, things are starting quite innocent before taking a turn for the worse. Tension builds slowly, which is a successful formula for a mystery. But before we reach that point, we have to suffer through the fact that Jorja is working multiple jobs at once, with only one being of real interest to the mystery.

Yes, I know, a PI will usually struggle with multiple, overlapping jobs and money and all that jazz, so this is kinda authentic. And it gives the author an opportunity to hint at Jojo's past. All is well.

But it feels kinda incoherent in terms of plot, and it turned quite a large portion of the book - the part after 10 % and before 70 % - into a drag for me. I believe you could shorten the parts about the other jobs to a few sentence without losing anything relevant to the story.

So, the real case. When we start, we don't know how much it will evolve. But there are quite some twists there - the road up ahead is winding and dangerous. But it's also very, very winding and riddled with stuff that adds length to the novel, but no meat to the bones of the case. This saddens me, because it's dragging the novel down a notch or two.

And then we finally get to the part where things start to take a turn for the worse. A case searching for a holocaust survivor turns into a missing persons case turns into a case about disappearing homeless persons (and more). That might sound like a stretch, but it is well constructed and well plotted (between all the other stuff that's happening), and the turn of events have a natural feeling to them.

It's also the point where I started to question Jojo's work ethic. Oh, she was trying to do everything in a good and orderly fashion, no worries, but there have been several points in the investigation where she did not call her client when she should have, really, and had she shared some of her findings earlier on, a lot of negative stuff later on could have been avoided. Which begs the question: Why didn't she do so? Because the motivation given - that she always wants more facts - doesn't work for me. I think there are several thresholds that, once established, could have been told the client. So it's starting to look like a plot way to increase the dramatic later on, which does work, but rubs me all the wrong way.

I also had the feeling sometimes that she's acting way too stupid for a PI. Minor spoiler, but if I crawl into my rental and are hit by a stench I can't identify, I would at least have taken a look into the trunk *before* I went to the garage. Especially since said rental has no locked trunk and that space is accessible to everyone passing by. (And by the way, if you happen to hit your abductor in the head with a metal bar - you goddamn finish the job with a second or third blow. Jesus, Jojo, get a grip on reality!)

In the end, it took me way too long to read through this book. That might say something about my state of mind during that time, but it's also testament to the fact this story was not gripping my attention the way other books did. And I think that's in part due to the target underwhelming mystery. Yes, there's more to it, but for the majority of the book, you can only hope there's more to it. Because for a long time, it just looks like "hey, x disposed of y to get y's identity. Reason unknown, but uninteresting". There's simply no hook for the reader to get invested in it, and the other non-case related parts happening make it even harder to be invested by removing the reader ever farther from the mystery. And at some point, the naturalness of turning points starts to stretch the fantasy a bit. Too much coincidences there.

In the end, a very mixed bag. I'd say 2.5, but I'm switching to 3 stars because it's a debut in a series that shows promise. Further installments in this series might improve if Jojo learns to stay focused on the task at hand long enough to not lose the reader in-between all that other stuff happening.

*****

Disclaimer: I’ve received a free Advanced Reader’s Copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a very good book. The Author did a really good job taking you on the journey with the character. Only criticism I have is I think the book started off slow, but the more you get into the book you see what that is.

I would love to read more by this author. The book was very detailed and there was no problem following what was happening.

4 and a half stars rounded down.
I truly enjoyed the book, the pacing and the characters, but it sis seem to fall a little short on tieing up some loose ends when the conclusion came, but that's ok, however hence the downrounding.
The book was fun to read, but I did not feel it dragged me back to its pages once I put it down for the day.
I might check out more books from the same author in the future.

Knight Blind is a story about Jorja Knight who is just starting out as a private investigator. This is the first book in a series and I'm anxious to see how this character develops. I like the author's style of writing and her characters and I think you will too!

I was completely swept up in this story from the start! The characters are all unique and well written with depth and substance and not relying on your typical PI clichés. The main cast of characters are all really easy to root for and to get invested in. The plot itsself is quite unique and is definitely littered with twists and turns to keep you guessing. It's not the most fast paced or action packed but in saying that, it really gets under your skin and will keep you completely engrossed until the mystery is solved! I did expect a bit more action with it being a private eye mystery but i felt it was more of a thriller that alluded to risks and danger rather than having them actually happen. To me this is actually more effective in creating that suspense and mystery and getting under your skin and making you rush through to find the answers! I really enjoyed this one and will definitely be on the lookout for more from this amazing author. Oh and I loved the writing style and the fact that events weren't drawn out, I was actually surprised at how quickly the plot progressed in the opening if the book and it just hurled me through the entire thing and neve let up after that

This is the first book I read for this author and it was a good read, it’s a mystery thriller with a very interesting protagonist, a female private investigator trying to come to terms with her own past while solving a new case. Although it was not fast paced, it’s full of suspense and I really enjoyed it. I’d recommend the book for anyone who loves a good mystery.

If I was to recommend a book full of mystery and suspense, one that pulls you through the pages with eagerness and speed then Knight Blind would be the book I would say read.

From the moment you open the first page Alice wastes no time in gripping your interest, her way of writing makes the story believable and her added quirkiness makes the story that extra bit smoother!!! Knight Blind isn't a book I would usually choose but I'm glad I did because not only did I enjoy it, its definitely something I can read more of.

An amazing debut book by Canadian Alice Bienia. If I'd have to give it stars, I'd give it 5 stars as it's her first book, but as we know the PI genre is fiercely competitive so compared with other more established authors it's a very strong 3 stars. I do believe that Alice Bienia can reach the very top in this genre though! She's got the knowledge, writing skills, fantastic flow and the bright mind to pull this off.

I am looking forward to reading her next two books about Jorja Knight (and finding out if it'll be Azagora or Adan who makes a move first...), which I've spotted are available for sale on Amazon.

I marked two passages in this story;

"a cat is a long-term commitment, not like a boyfriend" - I do wonder what prompted this, perhaps that's a story in itself??

"true happiness came from the simple moments in life" - so true, and still we chase for bigger and better, rather than being content with what we have and enjoying life.

Thank you to NetGalley for introducing me to a new author and giving me a chance to read a story set in Canada (rather than the US!).

Family secrets. Disappearing informants. Can this PI prove her worth… or will she get caught in the crossfire?

That's the tagline for this novel, Knight Blind. It's a great mystery novel with enough twists and turns to keep you intrigued.

This was a gently-paced private investigator mystery debut and, although I did absolutely love it, it was a very pleasant way to pass a few hours.

Newly-minted private investigator, Jorja Knight, has a fledgeling PI business and about $600 dollars to her name when she's approached by a very well-off friend of a friend in her 80s looking to find the family members she lost track of when they fled the horrors of WWII decades ago.

The information provided sets Jorja off on a seemingly simple and straightforward search that, honestly was mostly completed on Google. But there's much more to the story and pretty soon, Jorja is hunting for answers that were not on her initial to-do list, and paying for them out of her own dwindling funds. Before long, Jorja is doubting herself, her skills and whether or not she's finally lost the plot, but she can't seem to stop until she has the answers she needs.

This is Alice Bienia's debut novel and will be kicking off her Jorja Knight series. There is potential for character growth here and did I maybe see the tiniest (and my god I do mean tiniest) hint of a potential future love interest? Honestly, it was so small I could be wrong but if it had been a little more obvious it probably would have been enough to have me decide I'll definitely pick up the next one. As it is, I could probably take it or leave it.

Jorja's characterisation was very muted. I found her smart and intelligent, despite her own doubts at times, but other than that I don't feel as though I truly got to know her very well in this book.

In general, I found the book a little bit too putdownable for me; the pacing too slow, too much driving around not doing much. It took too long for that first hook of the mystery to sink into you, and then the climactic ending could have been SO much bigger and more exciting.

The writing itself was the best thing about the book for me, and what makes me not want to give up on this series entirely quite yet...

Standing in my Wonder Woman pose I stared into the mirror, unflinching eyes stared steadily back. I got myself into this situation, I’d get myself out. With my mojo somewhat restored, I locked up and strode to the elevator, hardly recognizing the put-together woman in the mirrored elevator doors. I reminded myself success didn’t come in a straight line. Ask any successful person and they’d tell you they suffered many setbacks along the way. The trick is to not let one of those setbacks stop you. Say… like getting killed.

I'd recommend this book to mystery fans who don't mind a lack of action (or perhaps don't even like action scenes) in their mysteries, to fans of PI sleuth tales, cosy mysteries and slow to steady-paced books.

3 Stars ★★★
ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Jorja is a PI in Calgary, who is employed to find out if an elderly woman's nephew Stan might have emigrated to Canada after WWII. Jorja quickly discovers that he did, but that he is already dead. She also discovers that he left a son, Johnnie, who has had problems with addiction. Jorja looks for him in the homeless shelters in Calgary and her investigations lead her to a man who may or may not be Johnnie.

I thought this was strong on the Calgary setting and also on the depiction of homeless people as individuals with values and loyalties as well as issues and difficulties. I was initially amused by the problematic vehicles Jorja kept renting, but this got old after a while. My main criticism of this book would be that it just went on too long: there were too many homeless men for Jorja to pay for information, too many attempts on her life, too many repetitions of the 'is John Johnnie?' puzzle, too many bodies and ultimately too many loose ends. I didn't particularly warm to Jorja, who came with the customary tragic backstory...

A Modern PI story that I enjoyed. Though I don’t think I would read anything else by this author it was till good.

A horrific tragedy has Jorja Knight reconsidering her life choices as she decides to become a private investigator. She’s hoping to do some good, give people much needed answers, but her first case, tracking down a Holocaust survivor has a terrible ending when she finds the man shot to death. Jorja soon learns that the man had a son, who has been listed as a missing person and she feels sure the man holds answers to some long held secrets that must see the light of day. When Jorja digs for answers, she’s warned off by the police. Of course, that only makes her more determined to find the truth, no matter what it may cost her. This is the first in a promising new series with an intelligent and determined heroine

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, action, and a great mysterious storyline! Definitely enjoyed reading this book, the storyline was very interesting, it flowed nicely, all and all it was a great read! I definitely recommend reading this one! Its well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!