Review: Clarity by Kim Harrington

Title: Clarity
Author: Kim Harrington
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Publication Date: March 1, 2011
Series: Clarity #1
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Source: Purchased

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?

Clarity is a fun mystery novel with a supernatural, psychic spin.

I love Clare.  Her voice is so much fun to read!  Her personality is witty and strong.  She's something of an outcast because of her abilities.  People call her a freak.  But she doesn't wallow in self-pity, and she doesn't take crap from people.  Her family lives in a vacation town and operates a business out of their home doing psychic readings for tourists.  I like that the whole family is involved and that everyone in town knows they do this stuff.  It's no secret that needs to be treated delicately and kept private.  Her mom reads minds (an often inconvenient trait in a mother) and her brother Perry can communicate with ghosts.  The family dynamic in this novel is great.  Clare and Perry are best friends and their mother is a loving and supportive parent.

The plot's pacing is pretty quick and it is filled with murder and intrigue.  Events in the ongoing murder investigation keep things moving so it makes for a quick, enjoyable read.  One of my favorite things about this novel is that I really never knew who did it.  I had numerous suspects throughout the course of the story and could never pin down exactly what in the world was going on.  This is a big deal to me, because I almost always figure out who the killer is in books with a whodunnit plot line.  So I love that about this book.

Clarity reads like a contemporary mystery but it has the added touch of psychic ability to it.  But Clare's psychic powers don't always show her what she's looking for and her visions don't always make sense to her.  The supernatural aspect of this story doesn't bog down the mystery.  It is woven into the story tastefully and seamlessly so as not to be too distracting or ridiculous.  If you like unique female voices, mysteries, and touches of the supernatural/psychic, then you'd probably enjoy Clarity.