I thoroughly enjoyed reading Love That Is Blind a novel by Ayrian Stone (VMI Publishing). It’s a romance story of intrigue and mystery in which two private investigators are given an assignment by a billionaire to find his unknown granddaughter. The love interest for one of the detectives is a blind young woman; for the other detective, it’s an immoral nineteen-year-old. With several possible “granddaughters” who fit the profile, we are kept in the dark (of course) until the end.

For a first time author, Mrs. Stone offers a complex plot with believable characters which has a spiritually strong message. Her plot compelled me to want to return to reading as quickly as possible. I really wanted to know what was going to happen and she came through with some interesting plot complications and twists and turns. I love twists and turns. Mrs. Stone kept me guessing about what would happen next. And the “next” was often true to life experiences that involved sexual innuendo, rape and violence. But it was handled sensitively, which is difficult especially for a first time author. And look for the Gomer/Hosea subplot.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Stone’s inexperience did come through at times. For instance, she has a teenager jump into the back seat of a Corvette. A Corvette doesn’t have a back seat. She also has every important character become Christians in the end, (except the bad guys), even several who are Jewish. Her main character, Cora, is seemingly so close to Jesus that she forgives the man who raped her within 24 hours. And finally, the two main male characters who are private investigators have no trouble hacking into any computer system to find any information they need, along with breaking into any room with their handy lock pick. (Most hotel rooms these days have card “keys”). I doubt that authentic private investigators use illegal means to do their work. For an inexperienced novelist, it’s an easy way to advance the plot. A more difficult way that would have proven her cleverness as a novelist would have been how the detectives find out facts in other creative ways, without breaking the law.

Would I still recommend Love That Is Blind? Yes. It’s a fun, compelling read and the Christian message is communicated in an inviting way. According to Ayrian Stone’s bio, she is a missionary along with her husband in China. A homeschooling mom, she must truly have a passion for writing to be able to write a 377 page novel and I commend her for it. I trust that her passion will keep her writing and I look forward to her future novels. She has a lot to offer, especially as she matures as a writer.