What would you do if a girl at your high school died suddenly and while you were at her funeral, she sat up, grabbed your arm, and talked to you? Well, I imagine you would react like Daniel did - you would faint. Now imagine that she appears to you a few more times, and gives you cryptic clues as to why her death wasn't an accident like originally assumed? This is what happens to Daniel, and he figures that if he doesn't solve her murder, she will never leave him alone. As you can imagine, this is easier said than done.

This was a very compelling mystery, well written and interesting. Solving the mystery along with Daniel keeps you involved and invested in the story. The characters were likeable and the pacing was even.

All in all, I enjoyed this story very much.

5/5 stars. ( )

This is what a YA mystery should be-Cryptic, slightly creepy, and with plenty of twists. Daniel, a star football player whose dad is the sheriff, starts having headaches and seeing things after the death of a girl he barely knew. Both intensify at her funeral, starting him on a path to determine whether her drowning was accidental or murder. Stacy, a mysterious girl who just started attending his high school, pushes him to look for clues to make a case that it was murder. Add in her never answering her phone or responding to texts, Daniel's dilemma about whether he likes her or Nicole, another classmate, coupled with numerous red herrings, makes this a compulsively readable story. I am on to the second book and anticipating reading the third as well. ( )

Daniel is a high school junior, a popular football quarterback, living in a small Wisconsin town. As the book starts, he and his father are attending a younger classmate’s funeral, a death that appears to have been a tragic accidental drowning. Soon Daniel starts to have strange hallucinations, where the dead girl is giving him clues to solve the mysteries of her death. Should Daniel trust what he’s seeing and try to hunt for the answers to her murder, or is he slowly losing his mind?

I’ve read many other books by Steven James and his writing is so fluid and smooth, the way it always sweeps me into the story. Blur is the same, but with the young reader in mind. I can see this being a big hit with teens as there is a lot in this book they would be able to relate to: school life, football, friendships, girlfriends, dealing with parents and home life, bullying, etc. The dialogue has a very realistic sound to it. Plus there is a gripping mystery that weaves its way throughout the book, with lots of twists and turns, making you suspect almost everyone. Even so, when you do get to the nail-biting ending, you’ll be plenty surprised. This is definitely a young adult book but I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next one to come out so I can see what adventures come up next in Daniel’s life. ( )

Great supernatural mystery that keeps you guessing until the final page. Daniel, son of a small town sheriff is the school's quarterback and all-round popular nice guy. So why is he so upset when loner junior Emily is found drowned in a nearby lake? Why does he faint at her funeral, but not before "seeing" her sit up in her coffin and ask him to find out what happened? Is Daniel losing his mind? What are the headaches and the blurs that strike him down? Although there are quite a few red herrings thrown into this novel, I was able to piece together most of it and guess the murderer before they were revealed. I particularly liked Daniel's mother's cryptic phone call about why she separated from his father, that adds subtle weight to Daniel's self doubts. Steven James though, has created an excellent teen mystery that will keep most readers glued until the very end. For year 7 upwards. ( )

Blur is about Daniel, a senior in high school who begins to have episodes of blurs where he confuses reality with hallucinations or fantasy. He has these episodes during an inopportune time such as in the middle of a girl's funeral and in the middle of a football game where he gets injured.

During these blurs the girl who died appears to him and tells him that she wants him to find out about her death and to stay the course, seek for the information and learn what really happened to her. Everyone thinks that her death was an accident. The more that Daniel finds out, the more he begins to think that Emily's death was not an accident.

Blur was a fast pace novel. It held my attention right from beginning to end. There were a lot of plot twists which really made it interesting if you were trying to guess who the murderer might have been.

I thought the character of Stacy Clern was an interesting one and an interesting play on words. The characters seem to be well developed and quite realistic.

This was an excellent novel that fits well into the young adult and thriller suspense genre and I would highly recommend it. I gave it five stars out of five.

Thank you to the author who provided a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

This review was published on my blog Shelf Full of Books http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/01/book-review-blur-by-steven-... ( )