Flashes - Hardcover

O'Rourke, Tim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0545829593 ISBN 13: 9780545829595

Publisher: Chicken House, 2015

Synopsis

A brilliant detective thriller with a supernatural twist!

Charley has visions . . .Flashes of things she can't explain. A girl in trouble. The sound of trains. She feels certain they are clues to a crime. But no one will believe her. Until she meets Tom, a young policeman on his first case: an accidental death on the railway tracks, not far from where Charley lives. Was it an accident, suicide . . . or murder? The attraction between Charley and Tom is instant, but can they work together to find out what really happened on the tracks before it happens again?

About this title

About the Author

Tim O'Rourke was a serving police officer for fifteen years, but now writes full time. Flashes is his debut young adult novel. Tim lives in England with his wife and three sons. You can visit him at www.kierahudson.com.

Reviews

Gr 9 Up—Charley is a seemingly ordinary 17-year-old girl. She has "flashes": painful and vivid images of people dying. Since the tragic death of her best friend—the only person who ever believed her about her visions—the flashes have gotten worse. And now they could be leading her down the path of a killer. Whom should she trust? Tom, the detective assigned to the case who says he believes her flashes are real? Her father, who loves her but thinks she needs to see another doctor about her "condition"? Or the flashes of dead girls leading her forward? Well written and fast paced, this title will immerse readers in a crime that may not be a crime at all. Charley is likable and believable. Secondary characters, though important, are less developed. Although set in England and originally published in the UK, the novel has great international appeal, as readers will recognize their teen selves in the emotions and actions of Charley. The friendship between Charley and Tom is genuine, if slightly inappropriate, due to his position as a police officer. VERDICT An interesting and well-written addition to young adult collections.—Elizabeth Speer, Weatherford College, Weatherford, TX

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From Flashes:Flashes! That's what I call them. I'm Charley Shepard, the girl who can see things, the seventeen-year-old with an overactive imagination, the freak who can see lights like a thousand photographers crammed inside her head snapping away all at once! With one hand clasped to the side of my head, I staggered into the bathroom. If anyone had been looking, I wouldn't have blamed them for thinking I was trying to hold my head together-like it might just explode at any moment. It was agony, like my brain was being rubbed against a cheese grater. I leaned over the sink. Bile burned the back of my throat. Then, as if slapped, my head rocked backward and my neck made a cracking sound. "Let go of me!" I heard the voice say. "Please, I just want to go home!"

Edition details

• Publisher: Chicken House
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0545829593
• ISBN 13: 9780545829595
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320