Book Review: Perception

New York: Point, 2012.

Last year I read the first novel in Kim Harrington's Clarity series so I was excited when book two came out.  Perception by Kim Harrington was another engaging and fast paced read.

I really admire Harrington's ability to keep the reader turning the pages. Every chapter ends with a great hook.  Not only that, but her characters are interesting and fun and the things going on in their lives keep the reader's attention all the way through. 

You get the idea of who the bad guy is pretty early on, but can see why Clarity doesn't pick-up on it immediately, so you keep on the journey with her to find out how she's able to solve the case of the missing/murdered girl and the problem of her own stalker who is so careful that she's unable to get anything helpful when she uses her gift. 

I also liked having her older brother Perry's gift take the spotlight in an interesting way.  While Clarity's gift did little to help her, Perry's gift had a mystery of its own which played a key role in solving the case and helping Perry with the problems he's been facing since the events of book one. 

There was a lot of rehashing of the events from book one, which I don't usually like, but since it's been a year or more since I read Clarity it really did help my memory to recall the threads I needed to carry over - and there were many.  It also makes the book accessible to those who haven't read the first book, but I'd still suggest reading the first book just because it was such an enjoyable read and I think readers will feel a stronger tie to the characters if they've read the books in order.  Neither is very long and they're both very quick reads, even for a slow reader like myself.

I totally recommend this YA mystery series and eagerly await the release of book three.

Book Review: Clarity

New York : Point, 2011.

I started this book with a smile on my face--liked the touch of humor the author added to kick start the story.

Clarity by Kim Harrington was a really fun read and, as a murder mystery, one of my favorite genres.  Harrington's characters were well created, each of them tying into the web of mystery surrounding the tourist town of Eastport, Massachusetts and the young psychic, Clarity Fern.

I think Harrington is very good storyteller; I didn't want to put it down till I got to the end, even though I had a pretty good guess at who was behind things just a little past halfway.  I wanted to see how all the details worked out and see how the relationships turned out in the end.  I was a little surprised at the ending and found my guess at the solution of the murder was only partly right.

I started Tuesday night and had been reading a chapter or two before bed, but then, since I didn't have to work today, I stayed in bed and read till it was finished.  It made for a very enjoyable day.

I chose this as one of the books I'd read for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge because it was a mystery involving special abilities and I wanted to see what else was being published in the area, as that's the subject of the first draft I just completed about a month ago.  Although this book was quite different in the type of ability, it was interesting to see how Harrington dealt with different types of issues, such as showing Clare's visions and people's reactions to her abilities.

I really enjoyed the book and was please when the last few pages screamed "Sequel!".  If there is one to come, I'll be in line for it.