The Color of Light, book review

Thirty-something Jillian Parrish, ripely pregnant and newly divorced, returns with her seven-year-old daughter, Grace, to South Carolina’s low country, where she hopes to reclaim the happiness she knew there as a child. Upon arrival, however, she finds not the peace she seeks, but haunting memories of her friend, Lauren, who mysteriously disappeared when they were teenagers. She also encounters enigmatic Linc Rising, Lauren’s boyfriend, who was a suspect in her disappearance sixteen years before. As old secrets come to light, Jillian and Linc uncover not only the truth about Lauren, but the feelings they’ve kept hidden for years.

The Color of Light by Karen White has all the makings of a great read: an intriguing setting, an original premise - equal parts love and ghost story – all woven together by an author I’ve enjoyed before. It also features a cast of characters that includes a ghost, a little girl with a sixth sense and an old soul, a cat named Spot (who believes he’s a dog) with an uncanny ability to see what humans cannot. With all this going for it, it should have been a page turner.

But I found the large chunks of flashback clunky, dragging down the narrative. And the characters’ fears and foibles seem imposed on them rather than organic; clothing they wear instead of the skin they live in.

I kept hoping this novel would deliver the same kind of literary magic that White’s The Memory of Water did, but in this I was disappointed. Despite its potential, The Color of Light missed the mark.