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nickymaund's review against another edition
5.0
This was one fascinating and enthralling read as you take front row and centre into the confusing, scary and strange life of 13 year old Jasper. He has synaesthesia which means he sees colour in the sounds around him and face blindness which means he can’t see or recognise faces, not even those who are closest to him. Which makes life incredibly hard and scary.
Thrown into the mix is the titular murder and his quest to solve the mystery. Harris does an amazing job immersing you into Jasper’s life; his loneliness, fixations and challenges (he also has autism), and bringing to life the colours that he sees in every single thing and person, as he tries to solve the mystery.
Huw Parmenter does a fantastic job narrating Jasper’s story. He bring the enthusiasm, rigidity and youthful voice to Jasper, but also ably manages the adult voices too. You can feel the tension as the story progresses. A brilliant read and I’ll be looking out for more books by Harris.
Whilst this follows a 13 year old protagonist, this covers some dark themes (mental health, bereavement, murder, abuse) so reader beware.
Thrown into the mix is the titular murder and his quest to solve the mystery. Harris does an amazing job immersing you into Jasper’s life; his loneliness, fixations and challenges (he also has autism), and bringing to life the colours that he sees in every single thing and person, as he tries to solve the mystery.
Huw Parmenter does a fantastic job narrating Jasper’s story. He bring the enthusiasm, rigidity and youthful voice to Jasper, but also ably manages the adult voices too. You can feel the tension as the story progresses. A brilliant read and I’ll be looking out for more books by Harris.
Whilst this follows a 13 year old protagonist, this covers some dark themes (mental health, bereavement, murder, abuse) so reader beware.
nickmasters's review against another edition
4.0
Synaesthesia, face blindness and autism. You would think this an arduous combo, but Jasper has learnt to navigate the world as best he can. Synaesthesia being the gift that sets characterizes Jasper and creates his vivid world of colour and vibrancy. And although synaesthesia is something that Jasper can’t simply turn off and on when convenient, the reader really gets a feel of how amazing this affliction can be, and how Jasper relishes this realm that sets him apart from others.
A large part of the story is relayed through the redrawing of memories and the comparison of the outcomes. These drawings aren’t of people or objects, but of the colours of sounds that make up Jasper’s interpretation of the world. The before and after pictures form the two main timelines we are taken through as the mystery of what happened to Bee Larkham is unravelled.
“Bee Larkham was my friend, 95.7 per cent of the time. She was good and bad and thousands of shades in between”.
I enjoyed getting engrossed in how Jasper views the world, and his related trials and tribulations.
Mixed in with a bout of mystery, family dynamics, rich characters and an enjoyable plot you have yourself a great read. The amount of research and attention to details Sarah J. Harris must have carried out makes one appreciate the book even more.
Thanks you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for a review copy.
A large part of the story is relayed through the redrawing of memories and the comparison of the outcomes. These drawings aren’t of people or objects, but of the colours of sounds that make up Jasper’s interpretation of the world. The before and after pictures form the two main timelines we are taken through as the mystery of what happened to Bee Larkham is unravelled.
“Bee Larkham was my friend, 95.7 per cent of the time. She was good and bad and thousands of shades in between”.
I enjoyed getting engrossed in how Jasper views the world, and his related trials and tribulations.
Mixed in with a bout of mystery, family dynamics, rich characters and an enjoyable plot you have yourself a great read. The amount of research and attention to details Sarah J. Harris must have carried out makes one appreciate the book even more.
Thanks you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for a review copy.
kingnat's review against another edition
4.0
I’m proud to say I got through this book. It became difficult to sift through the kaleidoscope of colors spilled all over the pages. Some of the details about Jasper’s synesthesia were overwhelming, but I figured that lends itself to the fact that living with a condition like that could be far more overwhelming. After getting passed that, the mystery aspect really drew me in. The hues of blue and dad’s indifference to the synesthesia really help out things into perspective about Jasper. Overall interesting read.
rdyourbookcase's review against another edition
3.0
Well, The Color of Bee Larkham’s Murder did not initially grab me. I wasn’t a fan of the characters, but I don’t think that I was supposed to like them. Furthermore, I had most of the mystery solved immediately. There were a few twists and some action at the end that were great. Overall, it was written well, it just took too long to get to solving the mystery.
cara_p's review against another edition
2.0
I loved the concept behind this book. The main character, Jasper, was likeable and the mystery intriguing - made better by his unreliability as a narrator. However, none of the other characters were likeable.
I understand that Jasper has special needs and so his storytelling is a little bit round-about but it seemed in sections as though the author were deliberately using it to drag the story out longer than it needed to be. This was made all the more noticeable by the climax being very brief and bunched towards the end.
The other thing that bothered me was the glossing over of Bee's relationship with Lucas, nobody in the book seemed that concerned by it. I wanted to like this book but thought the premise and the narrator were great, the pacing wasn't the best and some of the content put me off. Content warning below not strictly spoiler but marked as such just in case.
Content warnings:
I understand that Jasper has special needs and so his storytelling is a little bit round-about but it seemed in sections as though the author were deliberately using it to drag the story out longer than it needed to be. This was made all the more noticeable by the climax being very brief and bunched towards the end.
The other thing that bothered me was the glossing over of Bee's relationship with Lucas, nobody in the book seemed that concerned by it. I wanted to like this book but thought the premise and the narrator were great, the pacing wasn't the best and some of the content put me off. Content warning below not strictly spoiler but marked as such just in case.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
some violence, sex scene with underage person.ceredonia's review against another edition
2.0
An interesting story buried under extremely vivid descriptions of sinesthesia, but I couldn't take it after 100 pages and had to skim the second half. The overly excessive color descriptions got extremely irritating and distracting.
catvandervoordt's review against another edition
4.0
Solid 4 ✩
O final foi um pouco underwhelming, no sentido em que pensava que ia terminar de uma maneira mais chocante. No entanto, ao longo da história toda, as descrições incríveis das cores dos sons e dos acontecimentos de uma perspectiva completamente inovadora, compensaram a 100% o final menos interessante - que apesar de não ter sido bombástico, não foi mau.
Concluindo, recomendo muitoooo esta leitura ♡
O final foi um pouco underwhelming, no sentido em que pensava que ia terminar de uma maneira mais chocante. No entanto, ao longo da história toda, as descrições incríveis das cores dos sons e dos acontecimentos de uma perspectiva completamente inovadora, compensaram a 100% o final menos interessante - que apesar de não ter sido bombástico, não foi mau.
Concluindo, recomendo muitoooo esta leitura ♡
cnannery19's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
adamskiboy528491's review against another edition
5.0
“It’s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” - Lewis Carroll, Alice In Wonderland.
[b:The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder|35478989|The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder|Sarah J. Harris|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1509631846l/35478989._SX50_.jpg|56873365] by [a:Sarah J. Harris|6175223|Sarah J. Harris|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1526844459p2/6175223.jpg] is a very authentic murder mystery ever since I read Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Our main detective is written sharply & interprets a perfect canvas of the world around him.
Told through the eyes of Jasper, a 13-year-old boy who has Synaesthesia (he "sees" the world in colour, each sound has its individual & unique colour) & Prosopagnosia (he can't see faces, but can only recognise them through the colour of their voices), he immediately believes that he has murdered his neighbour, Bee Larkham. & what follows is Jasper looking back over the time leading up to her killing by repainting the colours that he has seen each day. As he puts his brush to canvas, we find ourselves dragged into an ever-darkening tale of secrets, obsession & deception.
The story is filled with colour, lots of details about parakeets & plenty of misunderstandings, which is the point. Unreliable narrators don't come better than Jasper, as we are looking through the eyes of our kaleidoscopic protagonist while he paints an exciting journey of wonder & darkness. If there is ever a film adaptation in the works, it should be animated - I can already imagine the beauty & texture of its art style.
sjg1703's review against another edition
4.0
I nearly gave up on this a few times in the first half, but finally it gripped me & then I couldn’t put it down.