This book had no suspense, the characters were flat--in fact,Kay was so flat it made no difference if the author had made hereither a man or woman. She did seem androgenous, as did everyone in that book. There was no need to keep repeating about her color blindness--which the author made sure we were aware of on at least every page. It became clear who the killer was about one third into the book, and then it just dragged on and on--all these boring little sequences about Kay's akido class and her mentor. It was poorly written and read like a diary. Also, the author's perception of San Francisco seems way off--walking from the Hall of Justice to Pacific Heights is a long long way, all uphill, not something you do in ten minutes. He makes it sound like everything in SF is ten minutes apart by foot. And what woman prowls the streets of rough areas at night, alone, and with an expensive camera around her neck? Come on, give me a break.