Review: Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Sophie Winters nearly died. Twice.

The first time, she's fourteen, and escapes a near-fatal car accident with scars, a bum leg, and an addiction to Oxy that'll take years to kick.

The second time, she's seventeen, and it's no accident. Sophie and her best friend Mina are confronted by a masked man in the woods. Sophie survives, but Mina is not so lucky. When the cops deem Mina's murder a drug deal gone wrong, casting partial blame on Sophie, no one will believe the truth: Sophie has been clean for months, and it was Mina who led her into the woods that night for a meeting shrouded in mystery.

After a forced stint in rehab, Sophie returns home to a chilly new reality. Mina's brother won't speak to her, her parents fear she'll relapse, old friends have become enemies, and Sophie has to learn how to live without her other half. To make matters worse, no one is looking in the right places and Sophie must search for Mina's murderer on her own. But with every step, Sophie comes closer to revealing all: about herself, about Mina and about the secret they shared.

Murder Mysteries don’t tend to be my thing, but I had heard nothing but good things about Far From You and the GLBT themes definitely called to me. I am so glad that I gave it a chance! Sophie witnessed her best friend, Mina, get murdered and everyone is blaming it on her. They say she dragged her out there for a drug deal which went wrong, but Sophie’s been clean for six months. Too bad no one believes her after pills are found in her jacket. After a stint in rehab where she has to pretend to be in recovery, she returns home and is dead set on finding her friend’s killer. As Sophie puts the clues together, even more of Mina’s secrets come to the surface.

Far From You hooked me from the very beginning. It alternates between the present and random points in the past, showing us everything leading up to the night Mina was murdered. But more importantly, it slowly revealed the depths of Sophie and Mina’s relationship. It’s fairly obvious that something was going on between them, but it certainly didn’t come about how I assumed. Their story was heartbreaking! It sucks how one person has to ruin it for everyone, but I totally believed Sophie and Mina’s secret. Mina may not have always been the nicest when it came to this situation, but I definitely felt Sophie’s love for her! I was much more invested in their doomed romance than I was in the murder.

The murder plot ended up being a double murder mystery to solve, since Mina had been obsessed with a kidnapping from three years prior. She believed the girl was dead and wanted to find out who did it, since the police let the trail go cold. Sophie picks up where she left off despite the danger she knows she’s in. She can deal with everyone believing she’s still a junkie, but she cannot accept Mina’s murderer roaming free. I never figured out who did it, but I also wasn’t shocked when it was revealed. In fact, I was pretty underwhelmed by it. It seemed kind of disconnected from everything, and I was hoping for more, I suppose.

In the end, I thought Far From You was wonderful. The mystery was engaging, but for me, the relationship between Mina, Sophie, and Trev (Mina’s brother) outshines everything else. My heart ached for them so much! Their emotions were such a mess, and all over the place. And I loved how the author was able to make a bisexual character who didn’t come across as wishy-washy or straightwashed. Bravo.

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