Thanks very much to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. Many thanks, Dave

A really interesting concept, kind of a riff on Curious Incident but exploring 2 separate neurodiversities of the protagonist, namely face blindness and synesthesia. It's clearly a trend of the past few years to explore neurodiverse perspectives and while this can take a while to get into (the specificity of Jasper's colours and shapes can be a bit mind-boggling to process), it's a worthwhile and fresh take on a murder mystery. The book was a little slow to get going but I found once the real 'whodunnit' aspect was in gear, I was fully engaged and keen to find the answer. I didn't predict the twist and the ending was satisfying. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read.

I wish Netgalley didn't penalise you for not offering feedback on a book - especially when you didn't finish it, which is not a reflection on the author but you as a reader.

Unfortunately this did not grip me as much as I wanted - I skipped to the end and read the culprit, unfortunately not a surprise! I know many would love this book :)

Enter a different world of 13 year old Jasper who has autism, hears in colour and cannot recognise any face, even his own. He is the narrator of this story.
Jasper and his Father have moved house after his Mother dies and he’s having a hard time adjusting. His Father who has come out of the forces to look after his Son after his Wife’s death is also finding it hard to be a ‘hands on’ parent to his troubled Son as well as adapting to life without his Wife.

Into the street comes a new neighbour- Bee Larkin. Bee is a colourful character who loves birds, exotic clothes and loud music and is a breath of fresh air to Jasper’s suburban street. She starts to feed the colourful birds that sit in the tree in her garden. Jasper can see the birds from his bedroom and the welfare of the birds becomes all consuming to him as Bee engages him to help with the birds.

Then Bee disappears and Jasper believes he has killed his troubled, bohemian neighbour after an argument about the birds and wants to confess, but no one understands him, or what he is trying to say as it’s all in colours.

Jasper is an extraordinary, intriguing and unique character, and It gives you a glimpse into a different type of world view.
It’s a wonderful, sad, hilarious, painful, educational and enchantingly different type of book.

An interesting idea for a storyline, but unfortunately not for me. Good writing, and a clever idea, but just not the right book for me.

This wasn't what I'd expected going into the book and I struggled to get into it. I found myself skim reading passages just to get through the pages. I can see its merits for other people however it just wasn't for me.

brilliant story that can be hard to read, and contains easily one of the most emotionally charged scenes I have read in a long time, The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder is an interesting whodunnit. Although mostly predictable, it is really interesting to read from a different perspective. I loved our main character, and think that Bee was wonderfully done - although not a completely wonderful person. I think that some of the scenes needed more discussion - and needed more discussion, even if it came in the form of adults discussing with Jasper exactly why certain behaviours are wrong - I actually expected that police would have had more of a discussion with him about this issue.

The pacing is well done, and the characters are great to read about. I really enjoyed this story, and it definitely made me gasp out loud a number of times. I also think that the narrator was absolutely perfect and easy to listen to. A recommended read

A unique and compelling story. The premise is just fantastic and I loved the protagonist. Excellent!

I couldn't get into this book, after trying many times, sorry, it's a shame, as it sounded right up my street!

I absolutely loved this book. It’s full of colour even though there is a murder involved and another difficult subject covered. I had no idea about synaesthesia and face blindness so it was very interesting to read about it. You couldn’t help but love Jasper and feel for his struggles through life and his love of the birds was adorable. I also loved the way he interpreted the things we sometimes say, seen through his eyes it was very funny. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, The Borough Press for letting me read and review this book.

Unfortunately this book just did not grip me and I did not finish it. Other readers may enjoy this one more

From the off this reminded me of Mark Haddon's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' which I disliked. In that book I didn't like the narrative voice and I was initially annoyed by it in this one. I also found the structure, using flashbacks, hard to follow in terms of the chronology. But I rapidly warmed to Jasper and eventually was utterly charmed by him. His face blindness adds a unique and intriguing aspect to the murder mystery storyline and his synesthesia brings a fascinating colour (pun intended) to the narrative. I really enjoyed his character's development, how and why he changes his views and opinions of people. He also juxtaposes nicely to the character of Bee, who is intriguing in her own right.

The book did drag just a little but it never ceased to be enjoyable. I found it hilarious at times and poignant and bittersweet at others - just the right mixture to be satisfying. I much preferred this book to Haddon's as Jasper works as a sympathetic character for me - his voice was authentic and entertaining. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend.

What a wonderful book! Refreshing and different, we see the story through the eyes of thirteen year old Jasper who hears colour everywhere but can’t remember anyone’s face, even those in his family. This turns out to be a bit of a problem though when a murder occurs on his street..

Living alone with his dad, Jasper is a solitary boy who enjoys birdwatching and painting the colours of every interaction he experiences. The arrival of pretty, young Bee Larkham on his street shakes things up a bit though, and he bonds with her over their shared love of parakeets. As the title suggests though we know that all doesn’t end well for Bee, and what follows is Jasper’s recollection of what happened leading up to her meeting her grisly end.

I really loved this book and just flew through it, the characters are vivid and the story is full of suspense. Seeing the world from Jasper’s point at view is both eye-opening and so sad at the same time; my heart broke for him, a sweet boy who just wants to do right by his beloved parakeets but ends up tangled up in messes created by adults that he cannot understand. I hadn’t heard of synesthesia prior to reading and I found myself trying to imagine what colours people’s voices might be. Much like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, this book should make readers more empathetic to those with Autism and Aspergers and it made me want to go away and learn more. Jasper is just brilliant.

The plot is excellent too; we’re given lots of little tidbits throughout to keep us guessing as to what has really taken place and who’s really to blame. The finger is pointed at multiple people but as new information comes to light and Jasper starts to remember more of that fateful night, the truth of it all is revealed and it’s well worth the ride. It’s a quick read that will keep you hooked throughout, keep you guessing, and ending is satisfying too.

All in all this is an excellent story! If you’re looking for a mystery full of suspense that’ll also make you more empathetic and encourage you to consider the world from different viewpoints, then this is the book for you. A must read!

This is a murder mystery story told in a very different way. It makes for compelling reading and gives the reader insight into how differently gifted people see things. Recommended for anyone who loves to read something else than the normal murder genre.

I love love love this story, such an original idea. 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, bravo. Would highly recommend.

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

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.’

I didn’t fancy this book to be honest

How wrong I was

Really well written from an autistic boys point of view

Highly recommeded

The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J. Harris is written from the point of view of an autistic boy who has synathesia (sees sounds as colour) and can't recognise faces.  He's also the person who knows the most about Bee Larkham's murder.

This is a very well written murder mystery, but with people being recognised by the colour of their voices rather than their faces. I enjoyed the story, learning about Jasper, and his father, and how the story ended.

I was reminded strongly of A Curious Incident of The  Dog in the Night-time, so if you enjoyed that, you'll enjoy this!

 The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder  was published on 27th December 2018 and is available on  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

You can follow Sarah J. Harris on  Twitter  and her  website. 

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  HarperCollins .

Jasper, a thirteen year old boy with autism, is the narrator of The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder, and his voice is a memorable one. Jasper has synaesthesia – he hears sounds as colours, and prosopagnosia – face blindness. Unable to recognise people – even close family members - by their faces, Jasper relies on clues such as clothes and hair and, most reliably, the colour of their voices.

Following the death of his mum and his nan, Jasper lives with his dad, Ed, who means well but struggles to understand Jasper’s world.

“Dad doesn’t see my difference in a good, winning-the-X-Factor-kind-of-way. He doesn’t look for the colours we have in common, only those that set us apart.”

When the volatile Bee Larkham moves back to the street, Jasper quickly bonds with her over her loud music and their shared love of the wild parakeets who have also moved in. But Bee is a complex person who seems to be a bit of an agent of chaos, and it’s not a spoiler to reveal that things are all going to go a bit haywire.

The book opens with police investigating allegations against Bee, who seems to have disappeared, and questioning Jasper about what he knows. Because we see everything from Jasper’s unique viewpoint, I did find the story hard to get into for a while, as I really had no idea what was going on. Sticking with it, though, things became a lot clearer, and it’s definitely worth doing so.

We see all the characters through Jasper’s eyes – and ears – and you can really feel his confusion through being unable to recognise individuals, and the strategies he uses as a result. (School is particularly challenging.) Bee is particularly interesting, and the reader should be prepared for your feelings about her to change greatly over the course of the book! – mine certainly did.

I could relate (a bit) to Jasper’s face blindness, as I also often find faces hard to identify – although nowhere near to the same extent as him.

There’s some beautifully evocative writing here around Jasper’s colours, his art, and the parakeets he loves, with many descriptions of sounds as Jasper sees them. Dad “tuts light brown dots”; the parakeets “caw playful shades of cornflower blue and buttercup yellow balloons”. A neighbour’s dog “barks yellow French fries”.

There’s a brief bibliography at the end around synaesthesia and face blindness. I’d also recommend Painting Ruby Tuesday by Jane Yardley, a novel which I read several years ago, which has a main character who also hears in colour.

An initially confusing but ultimately very rewarding read – it’s definitely worth persevering.