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The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder
In the tradition of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a captivating mystery about a boy with synesthesia — a condition that causes him to see colors when he hears sounds — who tries to uncover what happened to his beautiful neighbor, and if he was ultimately responsible.
Thirteen-year-old Jasper Wishart lives in a world of dazzling color that no one else can see, least of all his dad. Words, numbers, days of the week, people’s voices—everything has its own unique shade. But recently Jasper has been haunted by a color he doesn’t like or understand: the color of murder.
Convinced he’s done something terrible to his new neighbor, Bee Larkham, Jasper revisits the events of the last few months to paint the story of their relationship from the very beginning. As he struggles to untangle the knot of untrustworthy memories and colors that will lead him to the truth, it seems that there’s someone else out there determined to stop him — at any cost.
Both a refreshing coming-of-age story and an intriguing mystery, The Color of Bee Larkham’s Murder is a poignant and unforgettable read—perfect for fans of bestselling authors such as Fredrick Backman and Graeme Simsion.
Thirteen-year-old Jasper Wishart lives in a world of dazzling color that no one else can see, least of all his dad. Words, numbers, days of the week, people’s voices—everything has its own unique shade. But recently Jasper has been haunted by a color he doesn’t like or understand: the color of murder.
Convinced he’s done something terrible to his new neighbor, Bee Larkham, Jasper revisits the events of the last few months to paint the story of their relationship from the very beginning. As he struggles to untangle the knot of untrustworthy memories and colors that will lead him to the truth, it seems that there’s someone else out there determined to stop him — at any cost.
Both a refreshing coming-of-age story and an intriguing mystery, The Color of Bee Larkham’s Murder is a poignant and unforgettable read—perfect for fans of bestselling authors such as Fredrick Backman and Graeme Simsion.
359 pages, Hardcover
First published April 23, 2018
493 people are currently reading
9848 people want to read
About the author
Sarah J. Harris
4 books222 followersSarah J. Harris is the author of Meet Me On The Bridge published by Lake Union in June 2024.
Her debut adult novel, The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder, won the Books Are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award in 2018 and was a Richard and Judy pick. It was published by HarperCollins.
One Ordinary Day At A Time, her second adult novel, was published by HarperCollins in June 2021.
Her debut adult novel, The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder, won the Books Are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award in 2018 and was a Richard and Judy pick. It was published by HarperCollins.
One Ordinary Day At A Time, her second adult novel, was published by HarperCollins in June 2021.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,074 reviews
January 29, 2019
this book is a kaleidoscope of colours - a story perfected in the subtle hues of humble ocher, right down to the deeply meaningful cobalt blue.
the vibrance of this story comes from the rich pigments which surround the characters, particularly jasper. the unique tint of his voice provides such a thought-invoking narrative, one that allows to reader to experience an entirely different perspective. i enjoyed the different shades of life that were experienced on his coming-of-age journey and his growth at understanding the world.
and although jasper embodies the primary colours of this story, the secondary colours found in the saturation of the plot and tones of the writing are just as visually captivating. its honestly a surprise that a debut novel can be so striking and brilliant, especially for a story which paints a portrait of a murder. but there is just something so radiant and vivid about this, something that is hard to forget.
this story is an explosion of colour on paper and one that has given me a new way of looking at life.
↠ 4.5 stars
the vibrance of this story comes from the rich pigments which surround the characters, particularly jasper. the unique tint of his voice provides such a thought-invoking narrative, one that allows to reader to experience an entirely different perspective. i enjoyed the different shades of life that were experienced on his coming-of-age journey and his growth at understanding the world.
and although jasper embodies the primary colours of this story, the secondary colours found in the saturation of the plot and tones of the writing are just as visually captivating. its honestly a surprise that a debut novel can be so striking and brilliant, especially for a story which paints a portrait of a murder. but there is just something so radiant and vivid about this, something that is hard to forget.
this story is an explosion of colour on paper and one that has given me a new way of looking at life.
↠ 4.5 stars
May 17, 2018
Jasper Wishart, 13, sees the world as a kaleidoscope of color. He suffers from synesthesia, causing him to see colors when he hears sounds. Additionally, he has face blindness. His world is filled with anonymous faces that are only recognizable to him by voice, choice of clothing, hats and hair style/hair color. He has his own unique method for interpreting the world around him. Sadly, Jasper's mother who had synesthesia as well and understood Jasper best, has died. His dad is finding it difficult to address his needs. Jasper is fascinated with parakeets. He is an budding ornithologist.
Jasper's neighborhood has become chaotic since Bee Larkham moved back home. Bee, a music teacher living in Australia, has returned to renovate her family home and "unload" it as quickly as possible. The tornado that is Bee Larkham creates stress for nearby neighbors. David Gilbert, named "Cherry Cords" by Jasper, is a retired gamekeeper. He threatens to shoot the large abundance of parakeets visiting Bee's bird feeders. "Smoking Black Duffel Coat Man" can't handle the loud music Bee plays at all hours of the night. Jasper, however, is thrilled to meet Bee. Bee's "color" is sky blue, the closest color to the cobalt blue Jasper has visualized and artistically rendered to represent his mother. Jasper begrudgingly agrees to deliver notes for Bee in exchange for viewing rights from her bedroom window while she gives music lessons. Using his binoculars, Jasper can get a close and unobstructed view of the parakeets in Bee's oak tree. Strange things occur. A music student files charges against Bee. Bee goes missing! There can be terrible colors in the world. Jasper is unsettled by color he cannot understand-the color of murder.
"The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder" by Sarah J. Harris is a unique, engrossing mystery. Author Harris has created a tome with many twists and turns, and with great sensitivity, in sharing Jasper Wishart's struggle, within his limited frame of reference, to help unravel the mystery. Kudos to Harris for a superb five star read.
Thank you Touchstone and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder".
Jasper's neighborhood has become chaotic since Bee Larkham moved back home. Bee, a music teacher living in Australia, has returned to renovate her family home and "unload" it as quickly as possible. The tornado that is Bee Larkham creates stress for nearby neighbors. David Gilbert, named "Cherry Cords" by Jasper, is a retired gamekeeper. He threatens to shoot the large abundance of parakeets visiting Bee's bird feeders. "Smoking Black Duffel Coat Man" can't handle the loud music Bee plays at all hours of the night. Jasper, however, is thrilled to meet Bee. Bee's "color" is sky blue, the closest color to the cobalt blue Jasper has visualized and artistically rendered to represent his mother. Jasper begrudgingly agrees to deliver notes for Bee in exchange for viewing rights from her bedroom window while she gives music lessons. Using his binoculars, Jasper can get a close and unobstructed view of the parakeets in Bee's oak tree. Strange things occur. A music student files charges against Bee. Bee goes missing! There can be terrible colors in the world. Jasper is unsettled by color he cannot understand-the color of murder.
"The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder" by Sarah J. Harris is a unique, engrossing mystery. Author Harris has created a tome with many twists and turns, and with great sensitivity, in sharing Jasper Wishart's struggle, within his limited frame of reference, to help unravel the mystery. Kudos to Harris for a superb five star read.
Thank you Touchstone and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder".
dnf
June 29, 2018Well, I got up to the 51% mark and I find that I just can't continue. So another book into the DNF file. I should have really liked this book but I found it to be long and so drawn out and the word I hate to use "boring" seems to apply to this one for me. However, I did give it a good shot and perhaps maybe someday I will attempt to finish.
March 3, 2018
I'm not sure I was QUITE as enamoured of this one as some people but it was beautifully written and different - the descriptive sense of what it is like to have Synaesthesia was stunning and rather gorgeous - the highlight really, in the imaginative sense.
Minus that though it's a nice little mystery story in it's own right and I would have adored it if I had gotten along with Jasper but I'm afraid he annoyed me somewhat from about midway through the book. He is different, thinks differently but I thought he read rather too young even allowing for his Synaesthesia and the way that makes him see the world differently. Some of his repetitive behaviour was just brought up too much.
Even with that though, I loved the idea of it, the concept is fantastic and it is well executed, I imagine that this one will do very well and it deserves too simply for bringing something different to the crime mix.
Recommended even with my subjective caveats.
Minus that though it's a nice little mystery story in it's own right and I would have adored it if I had gotten along with Jasper but I'm afraid he annoyed me somewhat from about midway through the book. He is different, thinks differently but I thought he read rather too young even allowing for his Synaesthesia and the way that makes him see the world differently. Some of his repetitive behaviour was just brought up too much.
Even with that though, I loved the idea of it, the concept is fantastic and it is well executed, I imagine that this one will do very well and it deserves too simply for bringing something different to the crime mix.
Recommended even with my subjective caveats.
August 18, 2018
DNF
If I read one more thing about bloody parakeets I will seriously stab myself in the eyeball!!
I’m sorry I just couldn’t do it anymore! I tried really hard to get into this but I just really disliked it!
The synopsis sounded really interesting-Jasper has Synaesthesia where he sees sounds as colours. He also can’t recognise faces and has autism. His neighbour had been murdered and I thought it would be a really exciting, interesting and thrilling read. It wasn’t.
It was so difficult reading from Jaspers POV!! I know this was written in a certain way as he is different due to his various conditions, but it drive me mad! It was so repetitive. Due to his autism he was really fixated on certain things like the parakeets, which I have absolutely no interest in. I found myself skim reading just to try to get to some actual answers. Jasper didn’t understand or interpret the world the same as other people, so it was incredibly frustrating to read.
The time skipping irritated me too. I would be thinking that I would finally be getting some action, i.e the murder of Bee Larkham but then it would skip to another scene.
At first the colourful descriptions of how Jasper saw sounds was beautiful and made me curious, but that also became quite repetitive.
I just wanted to find out what happened to his neighbour, but eventually I stopped caring about it, so decided to put an end to my misery.
If I read one more thing about bloody parakeets I will seriously stab myself in the eyeball!!
I’m sorry I just couldn’t do it anymore! I tried really hard to get into this but I just really disliked it!
The synopsis sounded really interesting-Jasper has Synaesthesia where he sees sounds as colours. He also can’t recognise faces and has autism. His neighbour had been murdered and I thought it would be a really exciting, interesting and thrilling read. It wasn’t.
It was so difficult reading from Jaspers POV!! I know this was written in a certain way as he is different due to his various conditions, but it drive me mad! It was so repetitive. Due to his autism he was really fixated on certain things like the parakeets, which I have absolutely no interest in. I found myself skim reading just to try to get to some actual answers. Jasper didn’t understand or interpret the world the same as other people, so it was incredibly frustrating to read.
The time skipping irritated me too. I would be thinking that I would finally be getting some action, i.e the murder of Bee Larkham but then it would skip to another scene.
At first the colourful descriptions of how Jasper saw sounds was beautiful and made me curious, but that also became quite repetitive.
I just wanted to find out what happened to his neighbour, but eventually I stopped caring about it, so decided to put an end to my misery.
June 18, 2018
A super creative mystery by Sarah J. Harris involving an unusual 13-year old boy named Jasper preoccupied with parakeets and born with synesthesia, the superpower of seeing colors when he hears sounds. Jasper also has difficulty recognizing faces. Although a work of fiction, this book opened my eyes to the real phenomenon of synesthesia.
Jasper inherited this remarkable gift from his deceased mother who was the only person in his life who saw the world in the same way. He’s bullied at school, his father wants him to pretend to see the world like a normal person, “monochrome and muted.” When Jasper’s beautiful neighbor and parakeet keeper Bee Larkham disappears, Jasper sees the ‘color of murder’ and alludes that her death is his fault. His father is there to muddy up the water trying to shield his son from the investigators. Is this simply because Jasper’s behavior is too unpredictable or is there something more sinister?
Jasper is bright and quirky. I loved the development of his character, his thought processes, his approach to life and untangling of memories with the connection of colors. A refreshing and good mystery.
Jasper inherited this remarkable gift from his deceased mother who was the only person in his life who saw the world in the same way. He’s bullied at school, his father wants him to pretend to see the world like a normal person, “monochrome and muted.” When Jasper’s beautiful neighbor and parakeet keeper Bee Larkham disappears, Jasper sees the ‘color of murder’ and alludes that her death is his fault. His father is there to muddy up the water trying to shield his son from the investigators. Is this simply because Jasper’s behavior is too unpredictable or is there something more sinister?
Jasper is bright and quirky. I loved the development of his character, his thought processes, his approach to life and untangling of memories with the connection of colors. A refreshing and good mystery.
December 28, 2018
I always appreciate it when an author tries something different to set their novel apart in an immensely crowded marketplace, however, this didn't quite work out for me. It's inevitable that it will be compared to Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, one of the books that got me so heavily involved in reading as well as an all-time favourite of mine, but this isn't as compelling and readable as that. Here our main character, Jasper, a severely autistic teenager who also suffers from synaesthesia, strongly suspects his neighbour, Bee, has been murdered. However, the combination of face-blindness and synaesthesia make it difficult to glean information from him during police interviews. Synaesthesia is a neurological condition where the senses join or merge meaning that, in this case, Jasper's brain automatically assigns a colour to anything that may stimulate one or more of his senses.
I really like that the author has used this to weave an original yarn but, if I'm honest, there was a little too much focus on the condition that it at times disrupted the narrative flow and got quite tedious. I feel that the author has carried out a decent amount of research as everything was explained, but as I have no experience with the condition it's difficult to say whether her portrayal of synaesthesia was accurate or not. Kudos for raising awareness of these conditions, but at times it felt as though the balance between fact and fiction was a little off making it feel more like non-fiction and unfortunately one of those deflating times when the concept is sound but the execution poor.
Many thanks to The Borough Press for an ARC.
I really like that the author has used this to weave an original yarn but, if I'm honest, there was a little too much focus on the condition that it at times disrupted the narrative flow and got quite tedious. I feel that the author has carried out a decent amount of research as everything was explained, but as I have no experience with the condition it's difficult to say whether her portrayal of synaesthesia was accurate or not. Kudos for raising awareness of these conditions, but at times it felt as though the balance between fact and fiction was a little off making it feel more like non-fiction and unfortunately one of those deflating times when the concept is sound but the execution poor.
Many thanks to The Borough Press for an ARC.
July 22, 2024
This may be the most unusual and interesting subject for a Mystery & Suspense book that I have ever encountered in my entire reading lifetime. From the book description: A teenager with autism becomes embroiled in the murder of a neighbor but is he the culprit or the witness?
We have thirteen-year-old Jasper Wishart, who was in another of Sarah Harris's previous novels. He has synesthesia...which I then spent another half a day reading about after I looked it up. It seems that people with this, that i found includes a rather small part of the population, thank goodness, experience sights and, particularly, as is Jasper's case, sounds that evoke a range of colors in their heads...that the majority of the population can’t see. To more complicate matters, Jasper is also "face-blind", meaning that he is unable to recognize anyone, even the people that are closest to him...he only "sees" them by hues of voice and sometimes, clothing. He takes everything literally, including metaphors, idioms, and totally empty threats, like those made by his neighbor, David Gilbert, who you will love to hate.
The narrative is told exclusively from Jasper’s first-person perspective...and goes back and forth between past and present as Jasper tries to reconstruct events on his street by "painting" the colors from his memories. He sincerely believes that he has killed his new neighbor, Bee Larkham, but he can only "see" disordered images of a bloody knife, and a wound on his own stomach, as evidence. His father, who has raised Jasper alone since the deaths of his mother and his grandmother, is coping by constantly covering up for his son. Jasper is quite sure that his dad disposed of Bee’s body. Jasper remembers how Bee, who was a musician caused many neighborhood arguments by playing loud music and deliberately luring wild parakeets to the feeders she placed in her yard. These parakeets are descendants of escaped pets and have become an invasive pest in the U.K. Even more disturbing is Bee’s behavior around Jasper’s schoolmate, Lucas Drury, a young music student of Bee's.
Jasper’s "color-coded reality" becomes as tedious to the reader after a while as it did to the people around him. I really liked that Sarah Harris gave me a topic that was not only new but also very interesting. This can be summed up as a good story that is told with a lot of heart, humor and even a few tears.
We have thirteen-year-old Jasper Wishart, who was in another of Sarah Harris's previous novels. He has synesthesia...which I then spent another half a day reading about after I looked it up. It seems that people with this, that i found includes a rather small part of the population, thank goodness, experience sights and, particularly, as is Jasper's case, sounds that evoke a range of colors in their heads...that the majority of the population can’t see. To more complicate matters, Jasper is also "face-blind", meaning that he is unable to recognize anyone, even the people that are closest to him...he only "sees" them by hues of voice and sometimes, clothing. He takes everything literally, including metaphors, idioms, and totally empty threats, like those made by his neighbor, David Gilbert, who you will love to hate.
The narrative is told exclusively from Jasper’s first-person perspective...and goes back and forth between past and present as Jasper tries to reconstruct events on his street by "painting" the colors from his memories. He sincerely believes that he has killed his new neighbor, Bee Larkham, but he can only "see" disordered images of a bloody knife, and a wound on his own stomach, as evidence. His father, who has raised Jasper alone since the deaths of his mother and his grandmother, is coping by constantly covering up for his son. Jasper is quite sure that his dad disposed of Bee’s body. Jasper remembers how Bee, who was a musician caused many neighborhood arguments by playing loud music and deliberately luring wild parakeets to the feeders she placed in her yard. These parakeets are descendants of escaped pets and have become an invasive pest in the U.K. Even more disturbing is Bee’s behavior around Jasper’s schoolmate, Lucas Drury, a young music student of Bee's.
Jasper’s "color-coded reality" becomes as tedious to the reader after a while as it did to the people around him. I really liked that Sarah Harris gave me a topic that was not only new but also very interesting. This can be summed up as a good story that is told with a lot of heart, humor and even a few tears.
May 30, 2018
This is a charming, unique story about Jasper, a boy with synesthesia - so he can can 'see' colours from sounds. It's not a condition that I have any prior knowledge of so this made for interesting reading.
Jasper is a frustrating character in many ways, especially as the novel is narrated by him throughout - there are many points where you know you're not getting the full picture but it's just because Jasper doesn't understand himself. You want to reach into the novel and ask the 'grown ups' what's really happened, because they see things not necessarily in a more 'truthful' way, but in a way that most of us, as readers, can better understand.
I love the crime element to the novel - that kept me reading on when I might have got a little bored otherwise. I did really enjoy the story, but I felt it was a little long at some points. Wanting to find out what had really happened to Bee Larkham, and how they'd all got to the point they were at, was what kept me interested.
Most other reviews have raved about this book and, though I did enjoy it, I wasn't blown away - however I can really appreciate the amazing writing of Sarah J Harris; it's a beautifully written novel and definitely a unique premise too.
Jasper is a frustrating character in many ways, especially as the novel is narrated by him throughout - there are many points where you know you're not getting the full picture but it's just because Jasper doesn't understand himself. You want to reach into the novel and ask the 'grown ups' what's really happened, because they see things not necessarily in a more 'truthful' way, but in a way that most of us, as readers, can better understand.
I love the crime element to the novel - that kept me reading on when I might have got a little bored otherwise. I did really enjoy the story, but I felt it was a little long at some points. Wanting to find out what had really happened to Bee Larkham, and how they'd all got to the point they were at, was what kept me interested.
Most other reviews have raved about this book and, though I did enjoy it, I wasn't blown away - however I can really appreciate the amazing writing of Sarah J Harris; it's a beautifully written novel and definitely a unique premise too.
June 5, 2018
‘Don’t tell anyone what you did to Bee Larkham…’
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder is described as ‘a touching coming-of-age story and an intriguing mystery, a poignant and unforgettable read—perfect for fans of bestselling authors such as Mark Haddon and Graeme Simsion.’
On reading through it’s pages I was immediately reminded of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time as the similarities between fifteen year old Christopher and thirteen year old Jasper were there from the beginning.
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder takes the reader on a journey into the mind of thirteen year old Jasper, a young boy with Synaesthesia and Face-Blindness (Prosopagnosia), both conditions I was completely unaware of until I started reading this book. Sarah J Harris tackles a subject that she first came across over nine years ago when working as an educational journalist and she happened upon a study into the ‘prevalence in childhood of a condition that causes the merging of the senses.’ In layman’s terms, it is where a person experiences two or more senses combined, for example tasting words and associating colour with sound. What a fascinating concept, don’t you think?
Sarah wanted to put her thoughts into words by writing a novel which highlighted the joy of living in a world where everything was experienced through splashes of colour, while at the same time being a dangerous place never knowing who to trust.
Jasper Wishart has Synaesthesia and Prosopagnosia. Following the very traumatic loss of his mother from cancer at a very young age, Jasper’s Dad changes his career to spend more time with Jasper, to be there for him. They move house to an area that holds fewer painful memories of the happy life they had before, but for Jasper, his life will never be the same. His mother was the one person who understood his condition, the one person who had total acceptance of his peculiarities and his need for certain order in his life.
One day, following the arrival of a new neighbour, life suddenly changes for Jasper. Bee Larkham is fun, she dances wildly to her music that she plays very loudly every day and night and she loves birds, parakeets in particular. With multiple feeders in her garden, Jasper is thrilled to see the arrival of lots of parakeets with their vivid colours and cacophony of sounds. Jasper becomes slightly obsessed with Bee Larkham, associating many of her quirky traits with that of his mother, but also because Bee, like his mother, seems to understand him.
But for Jasper, his fragile world of colour comes tumbling down when Bee Larkham disappears. Jasper paints pictures where others would write down their thoughts. Jasper’s painting are like his diary but only Jasper can decipher his own thoughts. When the police come calling, Jasper is identified as a key witness in Bee Larkham’s disappearance but it soon becomes clear to all involved that this case involves a lot more than that of one missing person.
Sarah J Harris captures Jasper’s frustrations and anxieties with such heart-wrenching clarity. Jasper knows deep down that he has the answer but he is just incapable of getting his thoughts in order. Jasper’s father is questioned about Bee’s disappearance, as are many others, including Jasper, but it is Jasper alone who holds the key. His thoughts are all jumbled as he searches through his paintings looking for answers…..until eventually the truth does manifest itself.
Jasper is a very special boy and The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder is a very special story. It will not necessarily appeal to all, due to the nature of the topics covered, but I guarantee, those that do read it, will close the covers with a feeling of been educated somehow and of been allowed, however briefly, into this incredible world of colour.
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder is a fascinating tale, encouraging us all to be more tolerant of folk who we may consider different in our society today. As a species we can be very cruel and dismissive of folk who we see as peculiar. Sarah J Harris highlights this with a simplicity and with a great story, but also, and most importantly, leaving us all with a little better understanding of the world that we now live in.
Poignant. Touching. Eloquent. Inspiring.
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder is described as ‘a touching coming-of-age story and an intriguing mystery, a poignant and unforgettable read—perfect for fans of bestselling authors such as Mark Haddon and Graeme Simsion.’
On reading through it’s pages I was immediately reminded of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time as the similarities between fifteen year old Christopher and thirteen year old Jasper were there from the beginning.
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder takes the reader on a journey into the mind of thirteen year old Jasper, a young boy with Synaesthesia and Face-Blindness (Prosopagnosia), both conditions I was completely unaware of until I started reading this book. Sarah J Harris tackles a subject that she first came across over nine years ago when working as an educational journalist and she happened upon a study into the ‘prevalence in childhood of a condition that causes the merging of the senses.’ In layman’s terms, it is where a person experiences two or more senses combined, for example tasting words and associating colour with sound. What a fascinating concept, don’t you think?
Sarah wanted to put her thoughts into words by writing a novel which highlighted the joy of living in a world where everything was experienced through splashes of colour, while at the same time being a dangerous place never knowing who to trust.
Jasper Wishart has Synaesthesia and Prosopagnosia. Following the very traumatic loss of his mother from cancer at a very young age, Jasper’s Dad changes his career to spend more time with Jasper, to be there for him. They move house to an area that holds fewer painful memories of the happy life they had before, but for Jasper, his life will never be the same. His mother was the one person who understood his condition, the one person who had total acceptance of his peculiarities and his need for certain order in his life.
One day, following the arrival of a new neighbour, life suddenly changes for Jasper. Bee Larkham is fun, she dances wildly to her music that she plays very loudly every day and night and she loves birds, parakeets in particular. With multiple feeders in her garden, Jasper is thrilled to see the arrival of lots of parakeets with their vivid colours and cacophony of sounds. Jasper becomes slightly obsessed with Bee Larkham, associating many of her quirky traits with that of his mother, but also because Bee, like his mother, seems to understand him.
But for Jasper, his fragile world of colour comes tumbling down when Bee Larkham disappears. Jasper paints pictures where others would write down their thoughts. Jasper’s painting are like his diary but only Jasper can decipher his own thoughts. When the police come calling, Jasper is identified as a key witness in Bee Larkham’s disappearance but it soon becomes clear to all involved that this case involves a lot more than that of one missing person.
Sarah J Harris captures Jasper’s frustrations and anxieties with such heart-wrenching clarity. Jasper knows deep down that he has the answer but he is just incapable of getting his thoughts in order. Jasper’s father is questioned about Bee’s disappearance, as are many others, including Jasper, but it is Jasper alone who holds the key. His thoughts are all jumbled as he searches through his paintings looking for answers…..until eventually the truth does manifest itself.
Jasper is a very special boy and The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder is a very special story. It will not necessarily appeal to all, due to the nature of the topics covered, but I guarantee, those that do read it, will close the covers with a feeling of been educated somehow and of been allowed, however briefly, into this incredible world of colour.
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder is a fascinating tale, encouraging us all to be more tolerant of folk who we may consider different in our society today. As a species we can be very cruel and dismissive of folk who we see as peculiar. Sarah J Harris highlights this with a simplicity and with a great story, but also, and most importantly, leaving us all with a little better understanding of the world that we now live in.
Poignant. Touching. Eloquent. Inspiring.
February 18, 2018
I won this copy in a Goodreads giveaway.
The idea of the protagonist as a young boy with synaesthesia and also prosopagnosia (face-blindness) was interesting, but for me it didn't work. The mentioning of the colours he sees constantly was just too much and I found it annoying and boring.
The first person narration means that you don't see the story from any other character's perspective and so I didn't really care about any of them.
I only read to the end because I was curious about the plot but I skim read from about half way. I wished it was shorter!
The idea of the protagonist as a young boy with synaesthesia and also prosopagnosia (face-blindness) was interesting, but for me it didn't work. The mentioning of the colours he sees constantly was just too much and I found it annoying and boring.
The first person narration means that you don't see the story from any other character's perspective and so I didn't really care about any of them.
I only read to the end because I was curious about the plot but I skim read from about half way. I wished it was shorter!
July 12, 2024
Jasper has Synaesthesia, which means he sees sounds as colours. He has no facial recognition of people and needs clues like the same clothing, or familiar words to help him recognise people. As his mother also has Synaesthesia she understood him more than his father does. Jasper Wishart lives with his father after the death of his mother some years earlier. Jasper is also autistic and does not interpret situations or comments correctly. Jasper loves parakeets and loves watching through his binoculars the parakeets that have settled in a tree since the new neighbour, Bee Larkham, moved in next door. Not everyone in the neighbourhood is happy with the new neighbour, her loud music or the arrival of the birds. Then Bee goes missing. Jasper is convinced she is dead. But some of his recollections of Bee and things that happened are jumbled, the colours in his mind muddled and unclear. He tries to paint his way out of confusion to the truth. But can he uncover what really happened? And will the police listen?
This is a fascinating story as it takes the reader inside the mind of this 13 year old boy. The story is filled with colour, lots of details about parakeets and plenty of misunderstandings. I was intrigued by this novel, although at times Jasper’s repetition of certain things, does get a little wearing. However it is essential to his character. I found this way of telling the story a clever idea which, for the most part, works extremely well. Along the way I learnt a lot about Synaesthesia and autism as well as enjoying the unfolding of what really happened to Bee and why. If you looking for a mystery that is a little bit different you might well enjoy it as much as I did. It does give a rather unique perspective.
This is a fascinating story as it takes the reader inside the mind of this 13 year old boy. The story is filled with colour, lots of details about parakeets and plenty of misunderstandings. I was intrigued by this novel, although at times Jasper’s repetition of certain things, does get a little wearing. However it is essential to his character. I found this way of telling the story a clever idea which, for the most part, works extremely well. Along the way I learnt a lot about Synaesthesia and autism as well as enjoying the unfolding of what really happened to Bee and why. If you looking for a mystery that is a little bit different you might well enjoy it as much as I did. It does give a rather unique perspective.
January 24, 2019
This was such a fulfilling and authentic read. I can't even imagine how much research, attention to detail and effort it must have taken Sarah J. Harris to write it. It is both a literary and plot masterpiece.
I am looking forward to her next story.
Thank you, Harper Collins, and, The Borough Press, for the chance to read this wonderful book in exchange for my honest review.
I am looking forward to her next story.
Thank you, Harper Collins, and, The Borough Press, for the chance to read this wonderful book in exchange for my honest review.
July 15, 2019
This book enthralled me with its vivid description of swirling colours, and the muddled thoughts of a 13-year-old boy. It is also a compelling mystery where the clues are fragmented for the reader as Jasper tries to sort out what happened surrounding a killing.
Jasper has synesthesia, a condition inherited from his dead mother. In his case, he perceives sounds along with colours, each sound producing its own shade and intensity. He produces dazzling paintings, based on the sounds of brightly coloured parakeets he observes from a window and his perception of the colours he associates with various voices. These colours mostly fill him with joy until he encounters disturbing colours associated with a murder.
He also is face blind (prosopagnosia), defined as the inability to recognize familiar faces, even one's own. Other aspects of visual processing remain intact. Jasper identifies people by the colours of their voices, hairstyle, and clothing.
Jasper also shows some autistic behaviours such as the inability to discern nuances in language, and obsessive and repetitive behaviour. Many characters who encounter him in the story find his behaviour annoying. I confess I was becoming irritated by his set routines and repetition, as did most of his neighbours, authority figures, and classmates. As I continued the story I became charmed by the young boy and the kaleidoscope of colours surrounding him. He misses his mother whom he associates with cobalt blue.
When Bee Latham moves next door, he wants to befriend her. He is attracted to her because her voice surrounds her with a sky blue colour, reminding him of his mother. Bee’s presence in the neighbourhood stirs up hostility due to her attracting parakeets with their noisy chirping to her yard by feeding them. She also causes a disturbance by playing music loudly at night.
Bee and Jasper become friends, but he is uncomfortable with her demands to deliver notes to an older boy in school, one of her music students. He is unhappy with this assignment due to his inability to recognize the boy among other classmates. He must do this or she will refuse him a view of the parakeets. The music student’s father is very hostile towards Bee. A neighbour, David Gilbert, has threatened to shoot all Jasper’s beloved birds and frequently and angrily confronts Bee about the noise.
One night Bee disappears and Jasper sees a colour which is new and disturbing, the colour of murder. He believes he may have killed Bee during a struggle with a knife. He has fragmented memories of a struggle and seeing blood. He believes his father hid the body and cleaned up the murder scene to protect him. Jasper returned home that evening with a painful cut in his abdomen and blood on his clothes.
Jasper makes a frustrating effort to confess his perceived guilt to the police. He tries to use his paintings to illustrate what bits he remembers from the night of the murder. He also has a creeping suspicion that his father may be more involved.
There are a number of suspects who may have caused Bee’s death. I was just as puzzled as Jasper about the events leading up to the murder.
I thought this a poignant and compelling mystery but will not appeal to all readers. Others may find it an enjoyable and enlightening read.
Jasper has synesthesia, a condition inherited from his dead mother. In his case, he perceives sounds along with colours, each sound producing its own shade and intensity. He produces dazzling paintings, based on the sounds of brightly coloured parakeets he observes from a window and his perception of the colours he associates with various voices. These colours mostly fill him with joy until he encounters disturbing colours associated with a murder.
He also is face blind (prosopagnosia), defined as the inability to recognize familiar faces, even one's own. Other aspects of visual processing remain intact. Jasper identifies people by the colours of their voices, hairstyle, and clothing.
Jasper also shows some autistic behaviours such as the inability to discern nuances in language, and obsessive and repetitive behaviour. Many characters who encounter him in the story find his behaviour annoying. I confess I was becoming irritated by his set routines and repetition, as did most of his neighbours, authority figures, and classmates. As I continued the story I became charmed by the young boy and the kaleidoscope of colours surrounding him. He misses his mother whom he associates with cobalt blue.
When Bee Latham moves next door, he wants to befriend her. He is attracted to her because her voice surrounds her with a sky blue colour, reminding him of his mother. Bee’s presence in the neighbourhood stirs up hostility due to her attracting parakeets with their noisy chirping to her yard by feeding them. She also causes a disturbance by playing music loudly at night.
Bee and Jasper become friends, but he is uncomfortable with her demands to deliver notes to an older boy in school, one of her music students. He is unhappy with this assignment due to his inability to recognize the boy among other classmates. He must do this or she will refuse him a view of the parakeets. The music student’s father is very hostile towards Bee. A neighbour, David Gilbert, has threatened to shoot all Jasper’s beloved birds and frequently and angrily confronts Bee about the noise.
One night Bee disappears and Jasper sees a colour which is new and disturbing, the colour of murder. He believes he may have killed Bee during a struggle with a knife. He has fragmented memories of a struggle and seeing blood. He believes his father hid the body and cleaned up the murder scene to protect him. Jasper returned home that evening with a painful cut in his abdomen and blood on his clothes.
Jasper makes a frustrating effort to confess his perceived guilt to the police. He tries to use his paintings to illustrate what bits he remembers from the night of the murder. He also has a creeping suspicion that his father may be more involved.
There are a number of suspects who may have caused Bee’s death. I was just as puzzled as Jasper about the events leading up to the murder.
I thought this a poignant and compelling mystery but will not appeal to all readers. Others may find it an enjoyable and enlightening read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2018
The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder is an original and fascinating murder mystery.
The narrator is 13 year old Jasper. The story is set in the UK.
Jasper is an intriguing and unusual narrator. First off he is only 13 years old. Usually that would mean that this was a Young Adult novel. However, the book does not feel like YA and it's not marketed that way.
Jasper has a bunch of things that make him very different. First he has synesthesia a condition that lets him see colors when he hears sounds. He also suffers from face blindness, which means that he can't tell people's faces apart. And he seemed to be autistic (his dad was reading a book about dealing with autistic children).
The main story has to do with a new neighbor, Bee Larkham, who has moved across the street from Jasper and his dad.
Bee is in her early twenties and has recently returned to her childhood home after her mom died. She has a tree filled with parakeets. And Jasper is completely obsessed with these birds.
Even though Jasper was 13 he read as someone much younger. His autism and other abilities added to this. He often did not understand what was happening around him. And he took everything literally.
The mystery aspect was enjoyable. Although I definitely preferred the last part of the book. There was a back and forth in time. The story was mostly set in the present. But then we also got to see from the time when Jasper first met Bee.
At first I could not decide how much I liked this book. The way Jasper sees colors for everything is described a lot. It definitely made the story completely unique. However at times it was a bit trying.
The last part of the book was the strongest. I was completely riveted. I was fascinated by by Jasper's inability to recognize faces. Especially how it impacted the story. Overall, this was such a different mystery.
Thanks to netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for allowing me to read this book.
The narrator is 13 year old Jasper. The story is set in the UK.
Jasper is an intriguing and unusual narrator. First off he is only 13 years old. Usually that would mean that this was a Young Adult novel. However, the book does not feel like YA and it's not marketed that way.
Jasper has a bunch of things that make him very different. First he has synesthesia a condition that lets him see colors when he hears sounds. He also suffers from face blindness, which means that he can't tell people's faces apart. And he seemed to be autistic (his dad was reading a book about dealing with autistic children).
The main story has to do with a new neighbor, Bee Larkham, who has moved across the street from Jasper and his dad.
Bee is in her early twenties and has recently returned to her childhood home after her mom died. She has a tree filled with parakeets. And Jasper is completely obsessed with these birds.
Even though Jasper was 13 he read as someone much younger. His autism and other abilities added to this. He often did not understand what was happening around him. And he took everything literally.
The mystery aspect was enjoyable. Although I definitely preferred the last part of the book. There was a back and forth in time. The story was mostly set in the present. But then we also got to see from the time when Jasper first met Bee.
At first I could not decide how much I liked this book. The way Jasper sees colors for everything is described a lot. It definitely made the story completely unique. However at times it was a bit trying.
The last part of the book was the strongest. I was completely riveted. I was fascinated by by Jasper's inability to recognize faces. Especially how it impacted the story. Overall, this was such a different mystery.
Thanks to netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for allowing me to read this book.
May 9, 2021
The story describes the disruption caused in the neighbourhood by the arrival of Bee Larkham and is told from the point of view of Jasper, a teenage boy whose view of the world is coloured by synesthesia but also by his autism and inability to recognize faces.
At first the descriptions of a world seen through synesthesia were well written and enchanting unfortunately they were repeated again and again until they just became tedious interruptions of the story. The problems wrought by Jasper’s disabilities soon overwhelmed the beauty and the author seemed so in love with Jasper’s synesthesia she ignored how dangerous and troubling his behavior could be.
I found large sections of the book difficult to enjoy. Most upsetting was Jasper’s almost pathological dislike and distrust of his father. There was also Bee Larkham’s alarmingly inappropriate behavior.
Towards the end of the book as the narrative gathered a little pace I began to like this book more. The inter-neighbourly relationships were intriguing and made even more so by the challenge of figuring out what was really going on through the distortion of Jasper’s perception.
The resolution was satisfying but some of the red herrings thrown out along the way were irritatingly contrived.
The combination of synaesthesia, face-blindness and autism made seeing the world through Jasper’s eyes incredibly frustrating and at times I felt Jasper’s disabilities were only included to create the misconceptions required for the mystery element to work.
Somewhere inside this narrative was a story with great potential however it was smothered by being over-written.
I received this book from Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.
At first the descriptions of a world seen through synesthesia were well written and enchanting unfortunately they were repeated again and again until they just became tedious interruptions of the story. The problems wrought by Jasper’s disabilities soon overwhelmed the beauty and the author seemed so in love with Jasper’s synesthesia she ignored how dangerous and troubling his behavior could be.
I found large sections of the book difficult to enjoy. Most upsetting was Jasper’s almost pathological dislike and distrust of his father. There was also Bee Larkham’s alarmingly inappropriate behavior.
Towards the end of the book as the narrative gathered a little pace I began to like this book more. The inter-neighbourly relationships were intriguing and made even more so by the challenge of figuring out what was really going on through the distortion of Jasper’s perception.
The resolution was satisfying but some of the red herrings thrown out along the way were irritatingly contrived.
The combination of synaesthesia, face-blindness and autism made seeing the world through Jasper’s eyes incredibly frustrating and at times I felt Jasper’s disabilities were only included to create the misconceptions required for the mystery element to work.
Somewhere inside this narrative was a story with great potential however it was smothered by being over-written.
I received this book from Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.
August 12, 2020
Um livro agradável, envolto numa morte, mistério, muita imaginação e muito, muito colorido.
Verde de entusiasmo porque toda a temática e sinopse não conseguia retirar de mim mais nenhum tipo de emoção.
Azul com toda a capacidade de escrita descritiva que faz deste livro uma leitura que é a tradução da mente de Jasper quase ao mais ínfimo pormenor.
Amarela como os periquitos que participam quase como uma personagem secundária bem presente.
Laranja porque todo o mistério da morte de Bee enche-nos de curiosidade e com necessidade de ligação de cada detalhe que nos é dado.
Vermelha pois não agradará a todos mas todos deveriam dar uma oportunidade e acompanhar a mente de Jasper durante este enredo rico e criativo.
Verde de entusiasmo porque toda a temática e sinopse não conseguia retirar de mim mais nenhum tipo de emoção.
Azul com toda a capacidade de escrita descritiva que faz deste livro uma leitura que é a tradução da mente de Jasper quase ao mais ínfimo pormenor.
Amarela como os periquitos que participam quase como uma personagem secundária bem presente.
Laranja porque todo o mistério da morte de Bee enche-nos de curiosidade e com necessidade de ligação de cada detalhe que nos é dado.
Vermelha pois não agradará a todos mas todos deveriam dar uma oportunidade e acompanhar a mente de Jasper durante este enredo rico e criativo.
April 13, 2019
I’ve long been fascinated by synesthesia, a condition where the brains perceptions of sensory input are blended. Synesthetes may taste sounds, smell colors or see scents.
In The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder, thirteen year old Jasper Wishart hears sounds as colours.
“Lawn mower: shiny silver; Car revving: orange; Aeroplane: light, almost see-through green; Radio: pink….; Dogs barking: yellow or red; Cats meowing: soft violet blue; Dad laughing: a muddy, yellowish brown; Kettle boiling: silver and yellow bubbles”
Unusually, Jasper also suffers from prosopagnosia, known as face blindness, and is probably also somewhere on the autism spectrum, given his literal manner and self soothing behaviours. His father doesn’t understand, and is perpetually frustrated by his son’s ‘weird’ ways.
When Bee Larkham moves into the Wishart’s Street, Jasper is enchanted by the colour of her voice-sky blue, the explosions of colour from the music she plays loudly in her living room, and most particularly, the flock of parakeets that takes up residence in her garden. However not everyone is happy with the disruption Bee causes in the neighbourhood.
“Bee Larkham’s murder was ice blue crystals with glittery edges and jagged silver icicles.”
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder is essentially a murder mystery, the story of which unfolds through Jasper’s unique perspective. It is not a straightforward narrative, skewed by Jasper’s limited, and sometimes unreliable view, partially reconstructed by his ornithological log, and the paintings he creates to help him order events. I did feel the pace dragged sometimes but I was engrossed by Jasper’s distinctive voice.
A colourful and Interesting novel, Harris paints a vivid picture of an exceptional boy caught up in extraordinary circumstances.
In The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder, thirteen year old Jasper Wishart hears sounds as colours.
“Lawn mower: shiny silver; Car revving: orange; Aeroplane: light, almost see-through green; Radio: pink….; Dogs barking: yellow or red; Cats meowing: soft violet blue; Dad laughing: a muddy, yellowish brown; Kettle boiling: silver and yellow bubbles”
Unusually, Jasper also suffers from prosopagnosia, known as face blindness, and is probably also somewhere on the autism spectrum, given his literal manner and self soothing behaviours. His father doesn’t understand, and is perpetually frustrated by his son’s ‘weird’ ways.
When Bee Larkham moves into the Wishart’s Street, Jasper is enchanted by the colour of her voice-sky blue, the explosions of colour from the music she plays loudly in her living room, and most particularly, the flock of parakeets that takes up residence in her garden. However not everyone is happy with the disruption Bee causes in the neighbourhood.
“Bee Larkham’s murder was ice blue crystals with glittery edges and jagged silver icicles.”
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder is essentially a murder mystery, the story of which unfolds through Jasper’s unique perspective. It is not a straightforward narrative, skewed by Jasper’s limited, and sometimes unreliable view, partially reconstructed by his ornithological log, and the paintings he creates to help him order events. I did feel the pace dragged sometimes but I was engrossed by Jasper’s distinctive voice.
A colourful and Interesting novel, Harris paints a vivid picture of an exceptional boy caught up in extraordinary circumstances.
July 18, 2018
Thank you so much to Touchstone Books for providing my free copy of THE COLOR OF BEE LARKHAM’S MURDER by Sarah J. Harris - all opinions are my own.
I love a good character-driven story and this one checks all the boxes! Thirteen-year-old Jasper Wishart has synesthesia, which means he sees colors when hearing sounds. Also, he has face blindness or prosopagnosia, so basically he cannot recognize familiar faces, just voices and clothing. It’s an exceptional way to view the world - a dazzling display of color. Unfortunately, his father is struggling to care for him since his mother passed away, as she was the one person who understood him because she also had synesthesia. His vivacious, colorful neighbor, Bee Larkham, who loves birds and keeps parakeets, moves in and Jasper is fascinated. But Bee goes missing and Jasper thinks he sees the color of murder.
The entire story is told by Jasper in first person narrative. It was so interesting to see the world through his eyes and how he reconstructs memories. For some reason my eyes got wider when I read about all of the different connections to colors. The thoughtful details are what make this such an imaginative and creative read. I love the distinct color markers at the head of each chapter and how Jasper perceives things quite literally. I was side-by-side with Jasper through his fears and frustrations which is a testament to great writing. The language is descriptive and beautiful and oh yes, there is a carefully constructed mystery to be solved. What happened to Bee Larkham? Was it something sinister?
I love a good character-driven story and this one checks all the boxes! Thirteen-year-old Jasper Wishart has synesthesia, which means he sees colors when hearing sounds. Also, he has face blindness or prosopagnosia, so basically he cannot recognize familiar faces, just voices and clothing. It’s an exceptional way to view the world - a dazzling display of color. Unfortunately, his father is struggling to care for him since his mother passed away, as she was the one person who understood him because she also had synesthesia. His vivacious, colorful neighbor, Bee Larkham, who loves birds and keeps parakeets, moves in and Jasper is fascinated. But Bee goes missing and Jasper thinks he sees the color of murder.
The entire story is told by Jasper in first person narrative. It was so interesting to see the world through his eyes and how he reconstructs memories. For some reason my eyes got wider when I read about all of the different connections to colors. The thoughtful details are what make this such an imaginative and creative read. I love the distinct color markers at the head of each chapter and how Jasper perceives things quite literally. I was side-by-side with Jasper through his fears and frustrations which is a testament to great writing. The language is descriptive and beautiful and oh yes, there is a carefully constructed mystery to be solved. What happened to Bee Larkham? Was it something sinister?
July 18, 2023
Heart achingly good
December 12, 2018
I’m afraid I didn’t think that The Colour Of Bee Larkham’s Murder was all that good. I feel churlish saying it because it’s written with good intentions, but it just didn’t work for me.
The book is narrated by Jasper, a 13-year-old who has autism and synesthesia, so that he cannot recognise faces and experiences sounds and some other senses as colours. He has a very patchy memory and is convinced that he killed his neighbour, the eponymous Bee Larkham. The plot, which moves extremely slowly, is the emergence of the events leading up to Bee’s possible murder (we don’t know the truth for a long time) intercut with Jasper’s day-to-day perception of the events in his life.
Plenty of people have loved the book, and fair enough. It’s certainly not exploitative, it’s an original viewpoint and it is well-intentioned – although I did feel that there was some over-sentimental emotional manipulation at times. The main problem for me, though, is that Jasper’s voice just didn’t ring true as that of a 13-year-old. Just as an example, at one point he says,
“...I walked into his bedroom. He put his real book behind the cover of Lee Child’s.
Understanding Your Child’s Autism And Other Learning Difficulties.
I expect he’s studying it right now. Trying to get a grip on why I’m difficult. Why I’m different from other teenage boys.
Why I’m so hard to love.”
The use of paragraphs especially is a technique of an adult author trying to make a punchy point and to me it really isn’t the voice of a bemused young teenager. I found this throughout the book and that, combined with a rather stodgily paced story prevented me from becoming involved.
There have been some superb books written from the point of view of narrators with various mental health problems – Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident..., of course, and Nathan Filer’s The Shock of the Fall, Holly Bourne’s Am I Normal Yet?, Gavin Extence’s The Mirror World Of Melody Black and others spring to mind. This isn’t in their league, I’m afraid, and I can only give it a very qualified recommendation.
(My thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC via NetGalley.)
The book is narrated by Jasper, a 13-year-old who has autism and synesthesia, so that he cannot recognise faces and experiences sounds and some other senses as colours. He has a very patchy memory and is convinced that he killed his neighbour, the eponymous Bee Larkham. The plot, which moves extremely slowly, is the emergence of the events leading up to Bee’s possible murder (we don’t know the truth for a long time) intercut with Jasper’s day-to-day perception of the events in his life.
Plenty of people have loved the book, and fair enough. It’s certainly not exploitative, it’s an original viewpoint and it is well-intentioned – although I did feel that there was some over-sentimental emotional manipulation at times. The main problem for me, though, is that Jasper’s voice just didn’t ring true as that of a 13-year-old. Just as an example, at one point he says,
“...I walked into his bedroom. He put his real book behind the cover of Lee Child’s.
Understanding Your Child’s Autism And Other Learning Difficulties.
I expect he’s studying it right now. Trying to get a grip on why I’m difficult. Why I’m different from other teenage boys.
Why I’m so hard to love.”
The use of paragraphs especially is a technique of an adult author trying to make a punchy point and to me it really isn’t the voice of a bemused young teenager. I found this throughout the book and that, combined with a rather stodgily paced story prevented me from becoming involved.
There have been some superb books written from the point of view of narrators with various mental health problems – Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident..., of course, and Nathan Filer’s The Shock of the Fall, Holly Bourne’s Am I Normal Yet?, Gavin Extence’s The Mirror World Of Melody Black and others spring to mind. This isn’t in their league, I’m afraid, and I can only give it a very qualified recommendation.
(My thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC via NetGalley.)
Want to read
July 10, 2018COLOR ME INTRIGUED. See what I did there?
January 28, 2018
This novel, narrated by 13-year-old Jasper, is an original murder mystery. It will inevitably be compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, as, like Christopher in that novel, Jasper has an unusual way of perceiving the world. It's never explicitly stated that he'd autistic, but his dad is described reading a book for parents of children with autism and learning difficulties. Jasper has synaesthesia, which means that he sees sounds as vivid colours. He also has prosopagnosia, which means that he can't recognise people's faces. Therefore, he has to use clothes, hair and voices to recognise people - but if they whisper, their voices change colour and he has difficulty knowing who they are; likewise if they change their clothes or hairstyle this also throws him. He also finds it hard to understand metaphors and sarcasm, and takes what people say literally; and he becomes fixated with certain topics and upset if his routines are broken. But this is not a book for children, as it has quite graphic content.
The novel is told in two timelines, the present, it which Jasper remembers murdering his neighbour, the music teacher Bee Larkham, but cannot remember the details. He also looks back at the time leading up to this, when Bee moved into the neighbourhood and began to cause chaos on his road with her loud music and irrepressible personality. Living only with his dad Ed, as his mother (who also had synaesthesia) died many years before, Jasper becomes friends with Bee, and obsessed with the parakeets that nest in her garden. But Bee is more interested in using him as a messenger between herself and another boy at his school, Lucas, who is one of her pupils.
This is a very gripping story, and Jasper's narration draws you in, as you realise how he often misunderstands situations and people's actions and words. The underlying murder mystery unfolds gradually and surprisingly. As with many mystery novels, there's a fair bit of unlikely coincidence going on, but that doesn't detract from the pull of the story and the brilliantly realised character of Jasper.
The novel is told in two timelines, the present, it which Jasper remembers murdering his neighbour, the music teacher Bee Larkham, but cannot remember the details. He also looks back at the time leading up to this, when Bee moved into the neighbourhood and began to cause chaos on his road with her loud music and irrepressible personality. Living only with his dad Ed, as his mother (who also had synaesthesia) died many years before, Jasper becomes friends with Bee, and obsessed with the parakeets that nest in her garden. But Bee is more interested in using him as a messenger between herself and another boy at his school, Lucas, who is one of her pupils.
This is a very gripping story, and Jasper's narration draws you in, as you realise how he often misunderstands situations and people's actions and words. The underlying murder mystery unfolds gradually and surprisingly. As with many mystery novels, there's a fair bit of unlikely coincidence going on, but that doesn't detract from the pull of the story and the brilliantly realised character of Jasper.
September 10, 2021
One of the most original novels I’ve read lately. It's a colorful, funny, and sad story. Jasper, the main character, is one unusual boy who made me empathize with. Every neighborhood should have its own Jasper in it!
April 2, 2018
A really fantastic, well researched novel. So unique and interesting, it kept me guessing until the end. Would recommend for fans of The Curious Incident.
March 25, 2019
I totally LOVED this book and felt sad on finishing it last week. I bought The Colour Of Bee Larkham’s Murder after seeing the large number of rave blogger reviews last year and listened to it on Audible (by the way, an excellent solo performance by narrator Huw Parmenter).
The story is told from the pov of a isolated, parakeet-loving 13 year old boy, Jasper with face blindness and synaethesia (he sees colours when he hears things and associates colours with words and numbers) who tries to make sense of the world through his paintings. Jasper’s mother has died of cancer and this has left a huge gap Jasper’s life; at the start of the novel he and his father are struggling to get back to some kind of ‘normality’, and have moved from the south of England to the parakeet paradise of south west London (near Richmond Park).
Jasper's voice is compelling and the story is riveting, tenderly told and rich with imaginative detail. I loved how people and actions are described via the ‘colour’ of their sounds – eg a dog is ‘Yellow French Fries’, the dour detective questioning Jasper is ‘Rusty Chrome Orange’. In Jasper’s words: ‘I can’t tell people’s faces apart but I see the colour of sounds and that is so much better.’
Jasper tells the story of the strange goings on in Vincent Gardens after the arrival of Bee (not Bea) Larkham, a free-spirited enigma of a young woman, along with a small colony of parakeets which nest in her front garden tree. Both woman and birds disrupt the lives of several residents, especially Jasper’s. He is immediately attracted to the colour of her voice, sky blue, which is close to the cobolt blue that his mother’s voice had. There are two timelines, one starting with her arrival, and the other shortly after her death when Jasper - ‘I can’t stop seeing the colour of murder’ - starts to be questioned by Rusty Chrome Orange.
This is a delicious variation on a murder mystery, but it is far more than that. It’s also a coming of age novel that explores the relationship between father and ‘differently abled’ son, the relationships that develops between Jasper and Bee Larkham, and between Jasper and other neighbours.
Through much of TCOBLM the reader is kept guessing about who caused the demise of Bee Larkham, and for what purpose – we see everything through Jasper’s eyes and along with Jasper we try to piece together the clues. As the plot twists towards its dramatic denouement, the story becomes more and more unsettling and compelling – a definite 5 stars for the most original book I’ve read in a very long time.
The story is told from the pov of a isolated, parakeet-loving 13 year old boy, Jasper with face blindness and synaethesia (he sees colours when he hears things and associates colours with words and numbers) who tries to make sense of the world through his paintings. Jasper’s mother has died of cancer and this has left a huge gap Jasper’s life; at the start of the novel he and his father are struggling to get back to some kind of ‘normality’, and have moved from the south of England to the parakeet paradise of south west London (near Richmond Park).
Jasper's voice is compelling and the story is riveting, tenderly told and rich with imaginative detail. I loved how people and actions are described via the ‘colour’ of their sounds – eg a dog is ‘Yellow French Fries’, the dour detective questioning Jasper is ‘Rusty Chrome Orange’. In Jasper’s words: ‘I can’t tell people’s faces apart but I see the colour of sounds and that is so much better.’
Jasper tells the story of the strange goings on in Vincent Gardens after the arrival of Bee (not Bea) Larkham, a free-spirited enigma of a young woman, along with a small colony of parakeets which nest in her front garden tree. Both woman and birds disrupt the lives of several residents, especially Jasper’s. He is immediately attracted to the colour of her voice, sky blue, which is close to the cobolt blue that his mother’s voice had. There are two timelines, one starting with her arrival, and the other shortly after her death when Jasper - ‘I can’t stop seeing the colour of murder’ - starts to be questioned by Rusty Chrome Orange.
This is a delicious variation on a murder mystery, but it is far more than that. It’s also a coming of age novel that explores the relationship between father and ‘differently abled’ son, the relationships that develops between Jasper and Bee Larkham, and between Jasper and other neighbours.
Through much of TCOBLM the reader is kept guessing about who caused the demise of Bee Larkham, and for what purpose – we see everything through Jasper’s eyes and along with Jasper we try to piece together the clues. As the plot twists towards its dramatic denouement, the story becomes more and more unsettling and compelling – a definite 5 stars for the most original book I’ve read in a very long time.
August 16, 2020
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 ♡
January 24, 2021
When Bee Larkham returns to her childhood home after her mother's death, it shakes up the sleepy little street where Jasper lives with his widowed dad. Ed will do anything to protect his son after Bee is found murdered. This was a refreshing debut as the entire story is told from the POV of 13 year old Jasper who is autistic and has synasthaesia. I found Bee rather unlikeable although the ending turns her behaviour around and makes it more understandable. Worth giving a whirl if you want a change from all the usual crime fiction out there.
March 8, 2020
This is the first book of my two experimentals that I am trying, two books that I normally would not go for. Well, this one paid off immensely!
This is the tale of an autistic boy named Jasper who you will grow to love and cherish as a character. He has a condition called synesthesia which I had no knowledge of before starting this book. It is fascinating, it basically means that Jasper sees and hears everything in colour, which also means when you witness a murder, the murderer becomes a colour not a person making it very hard to tell others who this person is.
In this wonderfully written book you follow Jasper as he tries to come to terms with the murder of his neighbour Bee Larkham. It is a detective tale like no other and I found it a spectacular read. It is laugh out loud funny and so creative with all the colours that will float around your head as you read it. To begin with I did find it rather difficult to get my head around the writing, that being everything being described in colour, but once you really understand the way of writing is when you understand Jasper and understand Jasper is the wonderful key to everything.
Truly an amazing read, do try it, you will be pleasantly surprised like I was.
This is the tale of an autistic boy named Jasper who you will grow to love and cherish as a character. He has a condition called synesthesia which I had no knowledge of before starting this book. It is fascinating, it basically means that Jasper sees and hears everything in colour, which also means when you witness a murder, the murderer becomes a colour not a person making it very hard to tell others who this person is.
In this wonderfully written book you follow Jasper as he tries to come to terms with the murder of his neighbour Bee Larkham. It is a detective tale like no other and I found it a spectacular read. It is laugh out loud funny and so creative with all the colours that will float around your head as you read it. To begin with I did find it rather difficult to get my head around the writing, that being everything being described in colour, but once you really understand the way of writing is when you understand Jasper and understand Jasper is the wonderful key to everything.
Truly an amazing read, do try it, you will be pleasantly surprised like I was.
August 29, 2018
I picked this book solely for the blurb.
It sounded unique and different. Jasper Wishart is a 13-year old boy who has synaesthesia, which means he can see colors for sounds and face-blindness. That is totally unique. I've never heard of that syndrome ever. The writing is totally unique too as the narrator is Jasper. The way he sees colors for sounds is very detailed and unique, like Dark Blue Baseball Cap Man and French Fries Yellow Dog. But it gets repetitive as the story progresses.
As for the characters, Jasper is very smart and a brilliant, budding ornithologist. He has an abundance of unusual love for the parakeets which reside in the very big oak tree in his neighbor, Bee Larkham's house. The way he narrated the love for parakeets is so much for me that it annoyed me. Sometimes, his actions annoyed me. I know he has autism and the two syndromes, but still, he kinda annoyed me.
The thriller aspect of the story is good. I finished this book to see how Bee died and who murdered her. On the whole, this was a unique read.
It sounded unique and different. Jasper Wishart is a 13-year old boy who has synaesthesia, which means he can see colors for sounds and face-blindness. That is totally unique. I've never heard of that syndrome ever. The writing is totally unique too as the narrator is Jasper. The way he sees colors for sounds is very detailed and unique, like Dark Blue Baseball Cap Man and French Fries Yellow Dog. But it gets repetitive as the story progresses.
As for the characters, Jasper is very smart and a brilliant, budding ornithologist. He has an abundance of unusual love for the parakeets which reside in the very big oak tree in his neighbor, Bee Larkham's house. The way he narrated the love for parakeets is so much for me that it annoyed me. Sometimes, his actions annoyed me. I know he has autism and the two syndromes, but still, he kinda annoyed me.
The thriller aspect of the story is good. I finished this book to see how Bee died and who murdered her. On the whole, this was a unique read.
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