A Killer Harvest by Paul Cleave (A Review by Aimee Silver)

Rating: 4/5*

The opening pages set the story up perfectly; pouring the foundation that unfolds slowly throughout the book. We meet two police officers who may not have entirely pure motives. We meet Joshua; a teenage boy and son of one of the officers, who is blind and believes his family is cursed with bad luck – and he may be right. We meet a villain and are in the front seat as his reality deteriorates and he looks for retribution.

The many dark twists and turns in the plot took me by surprise – something that rarely happens anymore as I’ve read so many thrillers over the years. The description of Joshua’s experience recovering from surgery – going from blind to seeing, was thought provoking on its own. He also starts to have confusing dreams and then, impossibly, starts visually recognizing people and places he shouldn’t be able to and he begins to investigate the idea of cellular memory. The added thriller elements only heightened an already intriguing storyline.

The author’s note at the end states this was originally written to be a young adult novel. While the story does focus on a teenaged boy as the central character, it is no longer a YA book! I am glad the turns it took allowed it to move out of that genre. I will be adding this author to my “must watch” list for sure!

Review by Aimee Silver