This is a hard book to get into. Jasper's difficulties, plus the hand life has dealt him, makes his day to day existence one of isolation and misunderstanding. Although it is mentioned in only one conversation it is clear he is autistic, add to that his face blindness (prosopagnosia) and synaesthesia, which means he sees sounds as colours, and it is clear Jasper faces a struggle every day. This last condition means the book is full of Jasper's view of the world which is a description of the colours he sees.

To begin with these colours took over the story in much the same way I imagine they do for anyone who lives with this in a similar way to Jasper. Gradually though his interpretation of what he hears became vital to the story and to me as a reader. His almost throwaway descriptions in some instances and total focus in others show that in an everyday world the colours add another level to his being he is quite at peace with.

In a fictional world however, there has to be conflict and angst and the story Jasper and his dad get mixed up in is confusing, multi-faceted and traumatic. It is also beautifully written and Jasper's autism means he not only understands things differently but responds and reports them differently too.

I found this book slow to start with because of the necessary overload of description but once past this it was a very good story with both hope and terrible sadness woven through it. I also felt there was a message of never accepting there is only one proper way to be, to see, or to be seen which came across strongly and I am really glad I persevered and got into the heart of Jasper's story.

I was able to read a copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a slightly different slant on the murder/mystery genre coupled with good storytelling.

Jasper sees colour in every noise he hears. And suffers from face blindness.
When his "friend" goes missing he thinks he may have killed her and tries to find out what happened.
A crime story told from an unusual and very interesting angle.

An unusual and engaging mystery told via the main narrative and the insertion of flashbacks; there is a strong emphasis of the reader's judgement of the voice and narration of Jacob. It is Jacob who becomes drawn to Bee Larkham via his love of birds; he is autistic, has synaesthesia and he sees the world in colours and doesn't see a person's face, but rather their colour. As the title of the novel starts, Bee is murdered and Jacob struggles to grasp what his perceptions are telling him.
The narrative feels quite choppy to begin with, but it is certainly worth following it though as it's an intriguing plot, however, I think the pace does drag and is a little repetitive, however there are many moments that make it a really worthwhile read.
Overall, an intriguing book and mystery told through the eyes of a very different person's perspective.

I did not manage to read the whole book as I found it too slow and very repetitive, although I scrolled to the end to find how it concluded, so it had provoked some interest.
The idea of a murder mystery narrated by a boy with a autism, face-blindness and synaesthesia, was promising, but sadly did not keep me engaged enough to want to finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc, in return for an honest review.

Jasper Wishart is a thirteen year old boy with more than his fair share of problems. He is autistic, can't recognise faces and perceives sounds as colours. and shapes. His mother is dead, the only person who understood his perception of sounds. And as if that isn't enough, he believes he has murdered his neighbour, Bee Larkham. Written entirely from Jasper's perspective this can be a difficult read at times. It takes patience to become used to the endless descriptions of the sounds he hears. Also,, like many people with autism he has an obsession. Jasper is obsessed with parakeets and specifically with his belief that one of his neighbours has killed several of the birds who are nesting in Bee Larkham's garden. It is worth sticking with Jasper though as he tries to make sense of what is happening around him as it gives a real insight into what it must be like to autistic. Harris is spot on in her depiction of autism. Having worked with children and young people with autism, the character of Jasper rang true to me. She has clearly researched her subject and things like speech patterns and his literal understanding of much that is said are all very convincing. But Jasper also is unable to recognise faces. Imagine what that must be like and then add to that the difficulties with communication that people with autism have. Harris shows these difficulties very well especially in the scenes where Jasper is at school.

This is a very skilfully written book. The characters are well drawn especially Bee, Jasper and Jasper's dad, Ed. Bee is infuriating, manipulative and damaged. You rage at her for taking advantage of such a vulnerable young person and also for her insensitivity towards her neighbours yet as the story develops so does our understanding of her. Ed struggles to cope with his son and the relationship between them is fraught at times. But love and tenderness are always there. Again, the development of this is excellent.

This story is also a mystery and the unfolding of this is superb. As we see things only through Jasper's eyes then many of the clues that are around in a typical mystery or crime story are missing. About a quarter of the way in to the book I was uncertain whether I loved or hated this books. As I said earlier there is a lot of repetition. But once I accepted this as part of Jasper's character I found I loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I was very interested by the premise of this book, a boy suffering from synaesthesia and prosopagnosia who describes every encounter in colours, along with a murder that the boy may or may not be involved with, had me very interested.
Unfortunately, my interest soon waned as, what started as a fascinating read, soon became lacklustre, repetitive and boring and I struggled to finish it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview this book in exchange for this honest review.

I found the book to be very repetitive and slow I did enjoy reading more about the themes within the book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the Arc.

This was a little slow at first but I was soon hooked and really enjoyed this beautiful and unusual story. The author had clearly researched before writing and so it came across as very real and sympathetic.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Written from the viewpoint of autistic teenager Jasper, who is also face-blind and experiences synaesthesia, this book is vividly written and was a real page turner. With an unreliable narrator, largely unlikeable heroine and touching father/son relationship, this book had a lot to offer and I’ll definitely look forward to reading more from this author. Thanks NetGalley!

3.5* Started out tickled pink then started to see red

I was a huge fan of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, to which this book will inevitably be compared, due to the narrators both being young boys on the autistic spectrum solving mysteries in their lives. This book’s narrator additionally has synasthaesia, meaning he sees other sensory things in colour, so he Hesse’s people’s voices in colour, for example.

As much as I loved the concept of this book, I found it incredibly repetitive and found Jasper’s style of narration difficult: it got in the way of telling the story. For example, we need to know that Jasper likes parakeets and their sounds but my device tells me that in this book of 448 pages, there are 407 mentions of parakeets.

A great concept and I did read to find out what had happened to Bee, but I just couldn’t stay engaged throughout.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, Borough Press and Sarah J Harris for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of this book. I had initially thought that this was a YA title - and still think it would have YA appeal - but having read it, it's clearly intended for an adult audience.

Jasper is the only witness to Bee Larkham's murder. There are just a few problems. Jasper has prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, so he cannot recognise the face of the murderer. He's also autistic, and has synaesthesia, experiencing voices, sounds and words as shapes and colours.

The story follows Bee Larkham's arrival in Vincent street, and the chaos she brings with her. Jasper's drawn in - she's almost the same shade of blue as his mother's voice - and the best view of the parakeets that he loves is from her bedroom window. But Bee Larkham is not as straightforward as she first appears, and has dangerous secrets from both her past and the present. Jasper's paintings hold the answers - if he can interpret them.

It's a great mystery with an unusual protagonist, vividly written. Perfect for older fans of books like 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime' and 'Elizabeth is Missing'.

I nearly gave up this book quite a few times but each time the intrigue of the story kept me going. By halfway I was fully invested and was determined to see what had actually happened to Bee Larkham. By the end of the book I was glad I had persevered. The story that unfolded was shocking and my heart broke for 13 year old Jasper. Like nothing I have read before.

All I can say is what a little gem. Definitely not what I was expecting. Jasper is so endearing, autistic, gifted with synthiesia and face blindness. Jasper has witnessed a murder and the only way he can describe it is using colour. My heart went out to Jasper, there are harrowing and distressing moments in this book. Personally for me this was a very emotional read, infact I have run the gambit of all emotions while reading it. An emotional, captivating and endearing tale. A debut author who I will definitely be reading again. This book will stay with me long after I have finished the last page. An easy five stars and so Highly Recommended. A must read.
I would like to thank the author, HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

This was an interesting book, the style wasn’t what I expected from the blurb but it instantly drew me into the story. Jasper is a 13 year old boy with autism, synesthesia that means he sees colours in sounds and an inability to recognise people’s faces. he is also our narrator for this tale.

Jasper’s narrative is touching, confusing, sweet and sad. He lives with his father Ed who doesn’t understand his relationship with colours he sees, his obsession with parakeets or his desire to stick to the rules (to the point of calling 999 when he feels his birds are in danger).

I found the father son relationship heartbreaking. Jasper desperately needed someone to understand him after the death of his mum who understood him so much better as she also had synesthesia, the description of the day Jasper and mum spent together when she realised he could see sounds as well was so touching and magical. Ed however struggles with his son’s ticks and can’t enter into his world in the same way. the result being father and son don’t talk to each other enough leading to confusion and upset. I did feel for Ed, he was trying and by the end of the book I felt they had a better understanding of each other.

This book moved me to tears several times, Jasper’s narrative means you feel just and confused and disturbed as he does by some of the events, a clever piece of writing by the author which gave the book a ‘heavier’ feel than I was initially expecting from it. I’d recommend this but be prepared for an emotional read.

It's always good to have a new idea for characters in a book,but for me ,this one didn't work.
I became easily irritated by the repetativeness of Jasper and the mentioning of parakeets.
I also think I was too lazy to figure out who was who based on colour of voices.
Clever idea,but I didnt much enjoy.

A very intriguing book that I enjoyed reading but a little on the slow side for me. The book is very well written and is something I will remember

This is an intriguing book and very different.. The voice of the child was strong and funny, and Jasper’s condition was fascinating and very believability written. I absolutely loved Jasper.
It wasn’t all fun, there were sinister and upsetting undertones, and moments that shocked and disturbed me.
There were some great characters and I could totally picture the street and much of Jasper’s world.
I would definitely recommend this book. I think #TheColourofBeeLarkham’sMurder will stay with me and I will be recommending it to friends.
Thank you to the publisher, to the author Sarah J Harris and to #NetgGalley

The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J Harris takes a look at life through the eyes of someone quite unusual indeed. Jasper Wishart is a young autistic boy who sees things a bit different from even most autistics. Jasper has a rare gift called synesthesia, where sensory inputs are dual-wired. Jasper sees sound, each a unique combination of shape and colour. He also suffers from prosopagnosia, or 'face-blindness’. He cannot recognise faces, not even his da’s, but he uses a variety of tricks to attempt to keep things straight. Jasper has witnessed a murder, but the only way he can describe it is through colour, which no one else can understand.

Bee Larkham moves in nearby, staying to clear out her deceased mother's house. She loves music, and sets up to teach to earn income while she preps the house for sale. She also loves birds, and puts out feeders that draw parakeets, much to Jasper's pleasure. He adores birds. Soon Bee has Jasper running errands in exchange for being allowed to watch nesting parakeets from her house. But what Jasper doesn't know is the truth behind the errands he's running, until one day when he accidentally walks in on Bee 'getting busy’ with one of her students. When Jasper refuses to keep playing messenger, Bee retaliates with a horrible trick, one that may or may not have contributed to her death. Jasper then begins to hunt for clues, bringing to light not just the truth of Bee’s death, but of her past as well, bringing more than one criminal to justice. And from it all, Jasper finds a friend in a most unlikely person.

Jasper is portrayed well. The unique mix of autism, prosopagnosia, and synesthesia made him quite the interesting character. I can't even imagine his levels of frustration. Autism alone can make communication difficult, but add in a completely foreign way of viewing the world, and the frustration quadruples. I have a friend with synesthesia, and he said those descriptions were accurate. Since the story is told first person from Jasper's POV, we get a unique perspective. I love that Jasper uses his gift to create beautiful abstract paintings that actually do tell stories that he can read.

I can only imagine his da’s frustrations too. Jasper's ma was a synesthete, though not autistic. When she passed from illness, Jasper's soldier father was recalled. His father tries to understand his son, but he doesn't, not fully, and gets aggravated with Jasper's quirks and proclivities at times. One of these quirks includes calling 999 often, and for things the police wouldn't normally handle. Yet, despite the frustrations, his father never once seems to think Jasper needs to be placed in a facility. He does the best he can, and clearly loves his son. He even always dresses the same so Jasper can easily recognise him.

Highly recommended if you enjoy books such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

An absolutely brilliant story, nothing like I’ve ever read. The story delves into the mind of thirteen year old jasper who suffers from synaethsia. A loved the relationship between jasper and his new neighbor and it was told beautifully. A completely original and captivating story.

I gave this a 4/5 stars or 8/10. This is a great debut novel and I look forward to seeing what the Author writes next.

Well written this story tells us about the lead up to and the repercussions following the murder of Bee Larkham. Jasper is an unreliable narrator as he has several problems, that mean that he doesn't interpret things in the way many people do. Suffering from a form of Autism, some of his social skills are lacking, he also finds it difficult to recognise people as he struggles with face recognition and often sees faces as colours instead.

Can Jasper's evidence be trusted, when at times he thinks that he himself is the murderer?

Grab a copy of this and immerse yourself in Jasper's world and follow the leads to see if you can work out who the murderer actually is. This story in some ways can be compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, which is another great read.

My thanks to the Publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. However, as I'd already read it I didn't download a copy, but did say that I was happy to give a review.