Title: Clarity (Clarity #1)
Author: Kim Harrington
Publisher: Scholastic
Publishing Date: March 2011
Length: 256 pages
Genre: YA, romance, mystery
Source: Won ARC
When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?
This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.
Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.
And a curse.
When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?
On 256 pages the story around Clarity, her family and the murder mystery in Eastport is put in a nutshell. We meet many characters, like detectives, victims and suspects. Kim Harrington develops a large network of relationships and knows how to distinguish between unnecessary and relevant information. Each action, word and detail comes into play during the search for traces, which results in a very complex and realistic illustration of a murder mystery.
Clare is a female protagonist with a young and really entertaining voice. Justin and Gabriel are two male protagonists that are contradictory, I was so excited for their relationships with Clare being defined.
What bothered me was the role of detective Toscano in this murder case, sometimes his figure appeared stereotypical and easily replaceable.
When the various talents featured in CLARITY sounded a bit unfounded in the beginning, they fascinated me more and more with each page turned. The murder case is solved with official and scientific methods, but also with the help of these talents in a kind of spiritual way.
The setting feels like a welcome holiday from the average small town or urban city literary landscapes. We find ourselves in the tourist town Eastport and I could completely feel that holiday and beach spirit. Atmosphere is a significant aspect when it comes to construction of plot, characters and setting.
Harrington's writing style is confident and really good. Although I was sceptical towards the low page count, this story lacks of nothing.
Thanks to Clare's special ability there's much potential for more actions and cases left. It feels like some details from our protagonists' past haven't been revealed yet and can lead to future conflicts.
1) of its atmospheric setting2) of a fantastic case construction
3) of strong family ties
4) of its delicious male characters
4) of its delicious male characters
5) of many details and for the chance to participate in the search for a cruel murderer
4,5/5 ****/*CLARITY- A bright spot in the YA mystery branch that convinces with construction, characters and writing quality!
CLARITY is an engaging and well-thought-out murder mystery written by aspiring new author Kim Harrington. I am curious what PERCEPTION, the sequel, is about!
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