May 2018 Debut of the Month
Our narrator Jasper is thirteen years old. He has synaesthesia which means he hears sounds, voices etc as colours and recognises individual by those colours and not by any physical appearances. We spend nearly a hundred pages learning about the disadvantages of such a condition becoming aware of many of the lad’s traits which are similar to autism. He lives in a confused world misinterpreting interactions and events and “blowing up” in panic attacks. It makes for harrowing reading. A couple of years ago his mother died and shortly after her his grandmother. His father finds the boy difficult to deal with. Now something has happened. Jasper thinks he has killed his neighbour Bee. Jasper is a very unreliable narrator. To discover what happened he has to recreate the colours of the last day of Bee’s life and try to match them to the events of that day. He spends a lot of time surmising and then painting naturally in those colours. The investigating police officer, “Rusty Chrome Orange” is a saint who eventually the boy learns to trust, but the poor lad is suspicious of everyone else, even at one time, his father. How it all works is naturally steeped in colour. Interesting.
| Primary Genre | Crime and Mystery |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
A murder described in colours not words – by a boy with problems. This gripping story is like nothing you’ve read before. Each character comes to life on the page and in your mind.
Wowee! An intriguing, mesmerising story of a few weeks in a boy’s life. Jasper’s world is shaped in a completely different way to yours or mine – but very quickly you will find you are absorbed into the world of colours Jasper sees and has to cope with day in and day out.
You and I would find it difficult to understand how to cope with a local murder, never mind not being able to recognise faces or voices, but this is what a young teenage Jasper has to do.
Bee Larkham is Jasper’s new best friend, they share a love of colourful birds and beautiful music.
Nevertheless, Jasper confesses to her murder.
From the first sentence you will be gripped with this intriguing story.... Read Full Review
I loved this book. It is a beautifully written book told with humour and senisity through the eyes of a young boy who sees life through colours.
Some books you just fall in love with before you even read them and this is one of them.... Read Full Review
This is a very original take on a murder mystery. It also gives you some insight into the realities of living with the little understood conditions synaesthesia and face blindness.
Unique and original. I'm sure these words will be used by everyone who reads this novel. As the story is told by a boy on the autism spectrum, there are inevitable comparisons which will be made with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and at the start of the book that was my take on it. However, as the story developed, I was drawn in and found myself trying to see the world through Jasper's eyes - and it's a very scary place to be.
What exactly happened to Bee Larkham? And what part did Jasper play in her fate? Even Jasper doesn't really know but if he is to understand the events of that night, he needs to paint them. The colours will tell him the truth.
This is a very original take on a murder mystery.... Read Full Review
