Reviews

https://thereadinggirls.wordpress.com/2018/11/17/the-color-of-bee-larkhams-murder/

For sure The Color of Bee Larkham’s Murder is not a typical crime-mystery novel. There is a detective and also a crime, but still the narration is very unique. Jasper, the 13yr old boy, has Synaesthesia – the ability to “see” sounds as colors- and he thinks he murder his friend Bee Larkham. He also has face blindness, recognizes only the color of someone’s voice. Through his paintings and his journal entries, he revisits the events of Bee’s murder. He is convinced that he killed her and his father helped him after. No one seems to believe him, due to his autism.

In this debut novel, Sarah J Harris creates tension and a good plot. The main characters are developed very well through the journal entries, from before and after Bee’s murder. Full of funny and unique colors the storytelling is from Jasper’s point of view. Just a couple of weeks are enough to put us in Jasper’s shoes. The neighbor’s dog is barking yellow-french-fries colors, his mother’s voice is cobalt blue and the Parakeets’ – his favorite animal – sounds are extremely colorful. Jasper’s autism and all of his agonies (are the parakeets going to survive?) are written with humor and sensitivity.

As I said, not a typical crime novel. Don’t expect to find the truth by your own. Jasper is gonna show you the way to the truth. The book is a pleasure to read and definitely a page turner.

tracey21k's review against another edition

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challenging informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

REVIEW: The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder by Sarah J Harris.
Published in 2018, this book had never come under my radar until @another.chapter.podcast selected it as their March readalong choice, and I went into it blind.
Jasper is a teenage boy who has synaesthesia, which for him means that he sees sounds as colours, for example associating cobalt blue with his dead mother's voice. He also experiences face blindness, meaning he can't recognise the faces of even those closest to him, and possibly also has autism - I'm not sure if that's confirmed in the book.
When we first meet Jasper and his father, he believes that he has been responsible for the murder of his neighbour, Bee Larkham, and the plot revolves around unravelling the complex threads of the narrative Jasper has built in his attempt to cope with this trauma.
At first, I struggled a bit to get into the story, as Jasper's communication difficulties meant I was a bit lost and wondering if this was really for me - reflecting on this, it gave me a good sense of what it must be like for children like Jasper who are constantly misunderstood. As the story progressed and I adjusted to Jasper's world view, I was well and truly hooked, and there were some fascinating twists and turns along the way.
The book reminded me very much of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, albeit with some darker themes. I would definitely recommend it - it'll be worth the initial frustration!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

amandatamsin's review against another edition

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dark funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25

09kabbott's review against another edition

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4.0

I picked this book off the shelf because of the title and cover. I read the first page and I was hooked. The only reason I haven't given this 5 stars is because I think the ending could have been done a little better, but that's it. I really liked all the characters in this book and how it was written. There were frustrating moments, but frustrating in a good way. A good serious, but still quite light read.

kerryanndunn's review against another edition

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3.0

This book is too long. If it had been cut in half it would have received 5 stars from me. The first 200 pages dragged. I’m giving it 3 stars because the last 1/4 of the book finally had me compelled. Still...too many red herrings. The killer could have been too many different people. I was convinced it was at least 5 different people at any given point in the story. The descriptions of Jasper’s colors started out interesting and beautiful but got old for me quickly. Well, dang. Am I sure about 3 stars? I feel like I only have criticisms. Meh.

readingthestars's review against another edition

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4.0

What a unique and intriguing read! It had me hooked the whole time. A little slow/confusing at first but it REALLY picked up by the end and I couldn't put it down! I loved hearing from Jasper's POV, which was so different from other things I have read.

wilted's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

There's a decent enough story hidden in this far too long book where the interesting features became so overdone they went from intriguing to annoying. I almost DNF'd halfway through, but read that the book would pick up after that and become really good. It didn't. Well, yes, we got more information, but still in the same torturous pace and frustrating manner where everything was repeated ad nauseum with new tiny details thrown in so that the author could deliver the truth piecemeal.

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