The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

A Novel

By: Sarah J. Harris

Narrated by: Parmenter

A boy with synesthesia—a condition that causes him to see colors when he hears sounds—tries to uncover what happened to his beautiful new neighbor—and if he was ultimately responsible in this “compelling and emotionally charged mystery that warrants comparisons to Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” (Library Journal).

In this highly original “fantastic debut” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), 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 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.

Full of page-turning suspense and heart-wrenching poignancy—as well as plenty of humor—The Color of Bee Larkham’s Murder is “completely original and impossible to predict” (Benjamin Ludwig, author of Ginny Moon) with a unique hero who will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

The last few hours were great.

We are glad we kept going. First half was tedious but the last 4 hours were really something.

Compelling Listen

I loved everything about this story. An autistic boy with synesthesia and face blindness, and his father navigate a complex world after the death of their mother/wife. Charming and heartbreaking all at once.
The narration helps bring the story to life.

Amazing and Unique

This book has a unique voice of which you can’t help falling in love with. I have never been more invested in two characters, one with so much love and the other with hate and loathing. I wish I could place this in everyone’s hand. Unforgettable!

Slow paced but captivating

This one is a very slow book but it’s very well written and has wonderful imagery and metaphors. Jasper, with his synesthesia and inability to recognize faces, is a unique, multi-faceted, interesting character. The book is nicely narrated by Huw Parmenter who does a very good job with all of the voices, though I did have to turn up the speed to 1.25 to get better pacing. There is a lot going on in this book but don’t expect a fast-paced, page turner. For me this was more of a slow burn, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The colors are creative

This is a pretty interesting book, cause it’s a murder mystery but where the main character see through color which is really freaking creative. It’s only short coming for me personally was the characters were generally unlikable, I found myself often annoyed by the characters actions and the things they would say. Maybe it’s just me but I’d still say check it out cause the way colors are used in it are super interesting.