In the year 2642, race is no longer an issue. Everyone has mixed and is multiracial. But a hidden colony of white people is determined to stay pure and become the majority again.
Jimmy Matoo is a private investigator in San Francisco. He is approached by a colony leader, Bull, to help find his missing granddaughter Cara. The entire interaction with Bull is difficult for Jimmy due to how judgemental and racist Bull is towards people of color. He is preparing not to take the job until Bull states that Jimmy’s younger brother was killed outside the colony. This comes as news from Jimmy. He’s still processing his brother’s death, but the information he’s getting from Bull about the death of his brother is different from what he and his parents were told. He agrees to help find Cara in exchange for getting more information on what happened to his brother.
Jimmy heads for Corinth, Oregan with Bull to begin his investigation but had no clue what he was getting himself into. The hate he receives there is amazing. Most people in the colony have not even seen someone of color before. They hold primitive beliefs and have not problem expressing their disdain for him. Along with that, Jimmy is shocked by how much pressure the colony puts on girls to reproduce. Teenagers are given prenatal vitamins and have monthly checkups to check fertility rates. The women can’t even exercise for fear that it will have adverse effects on their ability to reproduce. No wonder Cara decided to run away. The question Jimmy has is if she was able to escape or was she killed?
Along with the stress of dealing with Bull and his family, there are far worst dangers ahead for Jimmy that no one bothered to mention to him. His life is actually in trouble for being a person of color in the colony. Some people want to overthrow Bull as colony leader, and bringing Jimmy inside the colony may be the final nail in the coffin. Where does this leave Jimmy, though? If something happens to Bull, how will he escape? Who can he go to for help?
My Review
This book was awesome. The plot was so different from anything else I’ve read this year. I loved the concept of One World and how everyone is much more accepting of racial differences. There was such a progression in the way people view societal differences….until we get to the colonies. The colony members held on to their beliefs so tightly and wouldn’t even consider the possibility that what they believed was foolish. Jimmy is a strong person because I would have left the colony after 10 minutes of being there!
One of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much is due to my reactions while reading it. How engaged I was and how much I rooted for some of the characters. I do feel the ending was a little too open for my liking, lol. I won’t give it away, but I’m wondering if there will be a part two or if the characters will pop up in other works by this author. Even though I would have preferred more closure, I was satisfied with the ending. I give it 4.5 stars.
Tani Reads 