The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder is Sarah J. Harris's  debut adult novel.

"Synesthesia: the subjective sensation of a sense other than the one being stimulated. For example, a sound may evoke sensations of color."

Jasper Wishart hears colors. For everything - words, sounds, people's voices. He also cannot recognize faces and is on the autism spectrum.

"I'm glad I'm not like most other teenage boys because I get to see the world in its full multicolored glory."

The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder opens with Jasper being interviewed about a neighbour's disappearance - although Jasper is sure it is murder. He needs to "untangle the long, snaky ticker tape in my head." Because he thinks he's the one who killed Bee......

Harris has created a wonderful lead character in Jasper. My heart ached for him as he is bullied at school, subjected to angry neighbours and at times disparaged by his father. (Who, to be fair, is struggling himself) Jasper desperately misses his deceased mother, who could also see the colors. (she alone is cobalt blue) But Harris also transmits the joy Jasper feels when painting and when observing and journaling the lives of his beloved wild parakeets. His desire and determination to find the truth will have the reader firmly in his corner. I loved his voice and thoughts.

Jasper's color descriptions of people, things, sounds and words make perfect sense. An angry dog - 'red triangles stretch into pointed deep orange darts." "Estranged was a gray gravel-chip word and not pleasant to look at for long."

As the book is told through Jasper's narrative, the reader has only his memories and flawed observations to go on. We can slowly put together the pieces that are laid out, but there is no way to guess the final whodunit before the final pages.

A really good read - Here's an excerpt of The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder. If you enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, you'll love the Color of Bee Larkham's Murder.

The Life We Bury - Allen Eskens

I only discovered Allen Eskens when I read a synopsis of his forthcoming second novel, The Guise of Another. His first book is The Life We Bury - and this is what I found when I went to read about it....

"The Life We Bury, winner of the Rosebud Award for Best First Mystery Novel, has been named a finalist for five additional awards including the prestigious Edgar® Award for Best First Novel. It was chosen by Suspense Magazine and MysteryPeople as one of the best books of 2014, and called a "masterful debut" in a starred review by Publishers Weekly." How did I miss this book?!

Joe Talbert is trying to make a life for himself. He's escaped his manipulative, dysfunctional mother, moved away and is working hard to put himself through college. His only regret is that his autistic brother is still with his mother. A routine English assignment asking students to interview and write about someone 'with an interesting life' leads Joe to a nursing home.....and to inmate Carl Iverson, who is dying of cancer.

Carl is infamous - he has spent thirty years in prison for raping and killing a young girl - all the while proclaiming he didn't do it. As Joe digs deeper with the help of his enigmatic neighbour Lila, he begins to have doubts about Carl's conviction as well.

What an excellent read! I really liked Joe as the protagonist, rather than a 'formal' detective. I appreciated the depth Eskens has given to his lead character. I was just as interested in the secondary story line involving his mother and brother as I was in the mystery. And it wasn't just the lead player who had a 'full' story. Carl's life is uncovered, bit by bit, as Joe investigates. Carl's background is unsettling and had me firmly in his corner as I too began to doubt his conviction.

Eskens deftly combines his mystery with excellent character studies and an exploration of many themes - family relationships, war, obligation, love, abuse and more.

The Life We Bury was a fitting title. Every character, 'good' and 'bad' has something in their lives they choose to hide, buried beneath the light of day. Read an excerpt of The Life We Bury.

Such a great debut! And an intriguing, satisfying read. Eskens is now firmly planted on my must read list. I'm off to start The Guise of Another - watch for my review. You can connect with Allen Eskens on his website, follow him on Twitter and like him on Facebook.

The Intern's Handbook - Shane Kuhn

They're everywhere. You just might not see them - or overlook them as your gaze sweeps around your workplace. They're somewhat invisible. They're.....interns.

From the opening pages of Shane Kuhn's novel The Intern's Handbook.

"You can tell executives your name a hundred times and they will never remember it because they have no respect for someone living at the bottom of the barrel, working for free. The irony is that they will heap important duties on you with total abandon. The more of these duties you voluntarily accept, the more you will get, simultaneously acquiring TRUST AND ACCESS. Ultimately, your target will trust you with his life and that is when you will take it."

Uh huh - paid assassins from a little company known as Human Resources Inc. John Lago is one of the senior ops - he's almost twenty five and won't be able to pass himself off as an intern for much longer. The Intern's Handbook is words of wisdom for those coming behind him - and a detailed description of his last job. One that doesn't go to plan. At all.

I thought The Intern's Handbook was a fun read - yes it's about hired killers - but it's darkly humourous. The dialogue is razor sharp and witty. Yes, some of the scenes and actions are over the top, but it makes for one heck of an action packed read. As I was reading, I started thinking this would make a great action film. Well, Kuhn himself is a screenwriter - and it shows. He absolutely knows how to write a fast moving thriller. And The Intern's Handbook is indeed going to be a movie (starring James Franco - good choice!) For those who might be thinking this is a male oriented book? I don't think I mentioned Alice - the FBI agent who puts a wrinkle or two into John's last job.

Read an excerpt of The Intern's Handbook. You can keep up with Shane Kuhn on his website and on Twitter. Keep your eye out for the next John Lago (and Alice!) book - Hostile Takeover - due out in July of 015. Readers who enjoyed Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell would enjoy this book. Fair warning - gentle readers may be offended by some situations and language.

Waiting For The Man - Arjun Basu - Review AND Giveaway

Waiting for the Man is Arjun Basu's debut novel.

Joe is a New York copywriter. He's good at his job, fairly happy and his success has brought him material wealth. Until he starts daydreaming in meetings, floating away from the boardroom and watching himself from above. And then he starts dreaming at night as well. Dreaming of the Man. The Man who tells him to wait. To wait for him. "He had created a need I didn't know I had."

And Joe does just that. He sits on the stoop of his building day and night - waiting for further instructions. Others of course worry and wonder about him. Who is the Man? What has he said to Joe?  And without trying or wanting, Joe becomes news. Small at first, then growing exponentially.

Basu easily conveys Joe's sense of dissatisfaction and disillusionment. When I started Waiting For The Man, I could only read a few chapters at a time. Basu provides much food for thought through Joe's ruminations on society, life, familial relationships, the media, religion and much more. It's impossible to read some passages without stopping and looking at them in relation to your own life and circumstances.

But as I continued to read, I became caught up in Joe's waiting. I felt like one of the public, hooked on Joe's story, just waiting for the latest reports form the media crew following his every move.

I was initially confused when the book's narrative abruptly switched time and place in the first few chapters. And then I realized that we learn Joe's story from the beginning and the end in alternating chapters until all is revealed. Or is it? Do we ever find the answers or do we create them ourselves?

Interestingly, I found myself more caught up in the ideas that Joe presented, rather than Joe himself. I ended up feeling quite middle of the road about Joe, neither here nor there. For me, he was simply a vehicle for Basu's exploration of the search for meaning in our lives.

Basu has crafted an unsettling, thought provoking first novel, one sure to leave you taking a second look at many aspects of our society and our own lives. Read an excerpt of Waiting for the Man.

See what other bloggers on the ECW blog tour thought at: Words of Mystery, Buried in Print, A New Day,and bookgaga. And if you'd like to read Waiting For The Man, I have a copy to giveaway, courtesy of ECW Press. Simply leave a comment to be entered. US and Canada. Ends May 24/14.

"Arjun Basu is a writer and editor. In 2008, he published Squishy, a collection of short stories that was shortlisted for the ReLit Prize. His stories have been published in many literary journals, including Matrix and Joyland. He also writes 140-character short stories he calls Twisters on Twitter (@ArjunBasu), which have won him a Shorty Award, lots of press, and a worldwide following. Arjun lives in Montreal with his wife, son, and dog. You can find Arjun Basu on Facebook as well."

How To Be a Good Wife - Emma Chapman

I get all excited when I 'discover' an author and I can't wait to share my find with other readers. How To Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman is one of those discoveries.

Marta Bjornstad has been married to her husband Hector for twenty five years. She lives a defined life, keeping house for her school teacher husband. She cleans, cooks and makes sure everything is 'just right' for Hector. Her mother-in-law Matilda thoughtfully gave her the book "How To Be a Good Wife" as a wedding gift. It's chock full of wonderful advice....

"Your husband belongs in the outside world. The house is your domain and your responsibility." "Let your husband take care of the correspondence and finances of the household. Make it your job to be pretty and gay."

Marta's son has moved away from home and she is even more lonely and isolated than before. She decides to stop taking the pink pills the doctor has prescribed. Is stopping the pills causing her to lose time? See things out of the corner of her eye? And are the memories that are intruding on her real or imagined?

Absolutely delicious! Chapman does a spectacular job of drawing us into Marta's confusion, uncertainty and fear as she questions all that she believes and everything that she knows. I had my suspicions as Chapman slowly dropped crumbs along the way. The tension builds as Marta inches closer and closer to.....to what?  I was compelled to keep turning one more page and another and another....I devoured How To Be a Good Wife in a day. What an excellent, excellent debut. I'll be watching for Chapman's next novel. Read an excerpt of How To Be a Good Wife.

Chapman found inspiration for some of her instructional book's quotes How to Be a Good Wife - "originally published in the 1930s for middle-class British couples, and filled with witty and charming aphorisms on how wives and husbands should treat each other."

 

  Fans of S. J. Watson's Before I Go To Sleep or Alice Laplante's Turn of Mind would enjoy this new author.

You can find Emma Chapman at her website, her blog, on Twitter and Facebook.

 

The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow - Rita Leganski

I've been hearing things - good things - about Rita Leganski's debut novel The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow. And, after the first few chapters I have to agree wholeheartedly.

I have my favourite genres, but sometimes there's something about the description of a book or the opening lines that grabs me and I just know that this is going to one of those special books that stays with me. Until I lend it out - because I'll definitely be recommending this one.

"Bonaventure Arrow didn't make a peep when he was born, and the doctor nearly took him for dead. But the child was only listening, placing sound inside quiet and gaining his bearings because everything had suddenly changed. His silence gave pause to the experts who examined him; here was a curiosity beyond their expertise. (They could never have explained Bonaventure anyway because there is no scientific word for miraculous.) They didn't know that through his remarkable hearing he would bring salvation to the souls of those who loved him."

With those few opening pages, I felt like I was sitting down to hear a storyteller spin a magical yarn of what could be... or who knows - what is. I was entranced by the idea of a boy who could hear what inanimate objects were saying, their stories, hearing the unspoken sorrow and sadness, the joy and pain of people's lives, the sound of everything.

"Bonaventure Arrow had been chosen to bring peace. There was guilt to be dealt with, and poor broken hearts, and atonement gone terribly wrong. And too there were family secrets to be heard; some of them old and all of them harmful.

I really don't want to say much more about the plot - it's just so much better to have it unfold before your own eyes.

The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow is not a book to be rushed through; instead it should be savoured and enjoyed. Leganski's writing flows so easily. Her prose are beautiful and lyrical, and I often went back to read them a second time. The love between Bonaventure's parents was beautifully depicted. I very much enjoyed Leganski's descriptions of what Bonaventure hears. It's a nudge to remind us to stop and listen -  and not simply hear.

The book is set in 1950's New Orleans and I was fascinated by the setting, culture, description and exploration of the city, but also of hoodoo, voodoo and Catholicism.

 Leganski weaves a unique and magical tale exploring love, loss, guilt, forgiveness and redemption in an utterly unique and magical voice. A fantastic debut and an easy recommendation. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow. Fans of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen would enjoy this novel.


Sound like something you'd like to read? Well, thanks to the generosity of Harper Collins Canada, I have a copy to giveaway to a Canadian reader. Simply leave a comment to be entered. Ends Sat. Feb. 16/13.

Make sure you stop by this afternoon for a Q&A with Rita Leganski. And check out what other bloggers on The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow tour thought - full schedule here at The Savvy Reader.

The Singles - Meredith Goldstein

 The Singles is Meredith Goldstein's debut novel.

Have you ever attended a wedding and realized that there was a table at the reception with single attendees, not couples? That's the premise behind Goldstein's book.

Beth Evans has every detail of her fairytale wedding planned, until the singles upset her seating plan. Five singles to be exact - Hannah, Vicki, Rob, Joe and Nancy (who sends Phil in her stead). The story is told from the viewpoint of each of the characters in alternating chapters.

I did find myself making notes as to who was who and what they 'did' in life to keep everyone straight in the beginning. It took me about a third of the book to get a firm grasp of everyone.

We are privy to the hopes, dreams, disappointments, memories and more of each of the characters.  I did find some of the stories quite sad rather than the humour the flyleaf hinted at. I was expecting more of a chick lit read, but still enjoyed the social commentary Goldstein has woven into her narrative. Why must we all be paired up? I enjoyed how each of the stories eventually intertwined with the others.

Although the ending seemed abrupt, I think Goldstein was wise to not neatly tie up all the loose ends, instead leaving the reader to imagine where each character's life will go next.

The Singles was just an okay read for me. The idea behind the book is not new, but Goldstein does a decent job with her interpretation. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Singles. There's a reading group guide available as well.

Meredith Goldstein is an advice columnist and entertainment reporter for The Boston Globe. Her column Love Letters is a daily dispatch of wisdom for the lovelorn that gets about 1 million page views every month on Boston.com.

In the Bag - Kate Klise

I know where you might find copies of Kate Klise's adult debut novel In the Bag this summer ..... in quite a few beach bags! It's absolutely perfect for summer reading  - sweet, charming, light and fun.

Chef and single mom Daisy is on her way to Paris to take a much needed vacation with her teenage daughter Coco. Single dad Andrew is on that same flight with his teenage son Webb on their way to Spain. When Andrew accidently spills a glass of wine on Daisy, he feels terrible....but also smitten. Daisy is well - the kind of woman he could fall for. So he decides to tuck a note into her carry on luggage with his email contact information. You never know, right?

It is only when each pair arrives at their hotels that the teenagers discover that they have picked up someone else's luggage. Three guesses here. Yes - Coco and Webb have each other's bags. When they discover contact info in the bags, they begin conversing by email. And the conincidences don't stop there.....

Klise has conjured up a simply delightful plot, full of miscommunications, misperceptions, missed cues and misunderstandings. She has chosen to tell the story from the viewpoint of each of the characters, which really worked. The characters were believable and rang true. I nodded my head and chuckled at much of the parent's thoughts and dialogue.  It brought back memories of my own two (now grown) teenagers. Klise also did a great job with Coco and Webb. Much of their communication is done through email and Kate wrote witty missives that seemed to capture the tentative beginnings of teenage relationships. Interestingly it is only when they meet in person that Coco and Webb have trouble communicating, mirroring today's dependence on electronic connections.

And no summer beach read is complete without a happy ending. Yes, you can see it coming but Klise makes the journey there so much fun. Chick lit fans will love it. And it would make a cute rom/com movie too!  Read an excerpt of In the Bag.

And it was only when I finished the book that I discovered the idea behind the book. Klise found a hand written note in her own carry on bag. I wonder if she ever followed up?

"Kate Klise spent fifteen years working as a correspondent for People magazine. When she wasn't reporting for the magazine, Kate was home on her Missouri farm, writing such bestselling children's books as Regarding the Fountain, Dying to Meet You, and Grounded."

See what others on the TLC tour thought -  the schedule can be found here.