Description

A beguiling blend of noir detective story and science fiction perfect for fans of Michael Chabon and Emily St John Mandel this fiercely intelligent and utterly original debut Anna North New York Times bestselling author imagines a world where emotions have been weaponized and a smalltown law enforcement agent uncovers a conspiracy to take down whats left of American democracy

In an alternate 2009 the United States has been a secondrate power for a quarter of a century ever since Argentinas victory in the Falklands War thanks to their development of psychopigments Created as weapons these colorful chemicals can produce almost any human emotion upon contact and they have been embraced in the US as both pharmaceutical curealls and popular recreational drugs Black market traders illegally sell everything from Blackberry Purple which causes terror to Sunshine Yellow which delivers happiness

Psychopigment Enforcement Agent Kay Curtida works a beat in Daly City just outside the ruins of San Francisco chasing down smalltime crooks But when an old friend shows up with a tantalizing lead on a careermaking case Curtidas humdrum existence suddenly gets a boost Little does she know that this case will send her down a tangled path of conspiracy and lead to an overdue reckoning with her family and with the truth of her own emotions

Told in the voice of a funny brooding Latinx Sam Spade The Shamshine Blind is a riproaring beautifully crafted mashup of cop noir scifi and althistory that left me dazzled by its prescience and literary zing Leah Hampton author of Fckface