Reading From My Ever Expanding Book Pile ~ The Colour Of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J Harris.

There are three things you need to know about Jasper.

1. He sees the world completely differently.
2. He can’t recognise faces – not even his own.
3. He is the only witness to the murder of his neighbour, Bee Larkham.

But uncovering the truth about that night will change his world forever…

An extraordinary and compelling debut which will make you see the world in a way you’ve never seen it before.

Review

I think it is virtually impossible to read this amazing book and not fall utterly, totally and overwhelmingly in love with Jasper!

He is as far as I am concerned he is an iconic character, who defines all that is wonderful about The Colour Of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J Harris.

Jasper has Prosopagnosia (face blindness) and Synesthesia, which means he sees sounds and hears colours, making him the most original character in a murder mystery novel for me at least, in all of my years of reading. It seems too simplistic to say that Jasper is easy to love, though he is, because he is a clever and complex creation, who see’s the world around him in ways we can only imagine. Therefore the story itself, being born of his singular personality, a one of a kind narrator, is moving, memorable and always extraordinary!

The only witness to the murder of his neighbour Bee Larkin, Jasper is the only chance the police have of finding who is responsible. His unique outlook on the world though, makes him an unreliable witness. The result being a series of events that left me as the reader alternately flabbergasted and deeply troubled, because you are never sure, if what Jasper is relating to us, can be relied on. It gives the story an edge of deception, as the writer uses Jasper’s complex view of people and actions, to fool and cajole us into misjudging the events that are being portrayed. Habit sees me the reader, interpreting events from the point of view of someone that can recognise faces and doesn’t see noises in colours and Sarah J Harris uses that trip us up and it really is glorious.

This novel shows us that the world can be viewed in so many ways, that we as individuals are complex and varied. It doesn’t use Jasper’s differences in a negative way, it celebrates them. Jasper is dazzling, heart warming and unique in every imaginable way and only by opening our eyes to his world of colour and the fact he can’t recognise faces, do we solve the case of Bee Larkin’s murder. His world is different, his innocence endearing, but his isolation is heart breaking and reminds us I hope, to celebrate our children in all their amazing variety and adapt the world we live in to embrace them!

I love you Jasper!

You can purchase this book from Amazon and Waterstones.

But better still why not purchase it from an independent bookshop?

About the author

Harris. Sarah.J.Harris is the author of The Color of Bee Larkham’s Murder, her first adult novel. She also writes Young Adult books under the pen name, Sarah Sky, and has three books published by Scholastic. Sarah is a freelance education journalist who lives in London with her husband and two young children.