Far from You

Life has not been easy for Sophie Grace Winter. Aged 17, she carries the scars of a serious motor accident that left her with a dysfunctional leg and an addiction to the pain killing drugs she was prescribed. She and her best friend, Mina Elizabeth Bishop, have been inseparable all their lives. As the book opens, Sophie witnesses Mina being murdered by a masked killer.

At this point neither Sophie nor the reader knows who is responsible for Mina’s death – or what motive anyone might have to kill her. We are told that the murderer plants drugs on Sophie, with the aim of confusing the investigation of the murder.

Thus Sharpe establishes the framework for a powerful quest novel: how can Sophie find out who killed her friend and why? And what will she learn about herself, about her deceased friend and those Sophie knows as the investigation unwinds? The police are not exactly hot on the trail of the killer: Detective James heading the investigation is disliked by everyone he meets.

Just a conventional detective thriller? Sharpe’s book is a far more impressive achievement than that. First the characterisation of Sophie and Mina is first rate. The reader responds actively to both young women – now liking them, now disliking them – responding with genuine passion. Second, the painful aftermath of Sophie’s motor accident is described precisely and convincingly. The incessant anxiety arising from a dysfunctional body is depicted with clarity and conviction. All too often if a character in fiction has an impairment, the impairment is remembered when there is a plot necessity, forgotten the rest of the time. Sophie’s impairment is ever-present.

As the book progresses the reader also discovers an emotional truth about Sophie that is enunciated with profound understanding and sympathy – a secret not to be revealed here without the risk of spoiling the book.

Sharpe’s first novel shows a level of skill and authority that might be expected of a seasoned writer. This reviewer very rarely awards five stars, in this case richly merited.