“People who use the goodness in people, take advantage of their innocence to do their evil, become a target of mine eventually. I see myself as good, who doesn’t, but I do commit a brand of evil as some would see it. I don’t. Justice? I’ll let you decide.”
– Narrator in Harmony, USA
We’ve all heard about the story of a secluded little town in the middle of nowhere. A village where everyone knows their neighbors and their dogs name. A town where everything runs smoothly and crime never appeared in any shape or form. Until one day, when the deep dark secrets are awaken. When they come stumbling into everyone’s lives, only to bring Hell to what was once a Paradise. Harmony, USA is a fiction mystery thriller written by first-time author Lewis Bryan. Although this novel has the above description as a foundation to its plot, Harmony, USA is a brilliant book that brings new heights to a story line we might have seen before. The tale focuses on the killer’s perspective in getting rid of the bad apples he sees in a harmonious small town called Harmony. It’s told in the killers perspective and, if you ask me, that’s where the book gets the most of its ingeniousness. As you read, you embark in a hunt for the person responsible behind the murder of a fellow resident, you uncover the secrets of Harmony and you tranquilly get acquainted with the killer and his motives.
“Sometimes people can miss things that are staring them right in the face. Sometimes people don’t want to know so bad that they pretend ignorance and can play that game for years.”
– Narrator in Harmony, USA
Without being the most ground-breaking story I’ve ever read, Harmony, USA has a lot of potential and is sure to keep you flipping through the pages. Not only does it tend to some touchy subjects such as racism, sexual abuse and domestic violence (no pun intended), the story does an amazing job on drawing on the past and discretely discloses how it affects our daily lives. In fact, Lewis Bryan makes great use of the past to build the characters and instigates emotional attachment to the characters among readers. As you progress through the book, you can tell that some characters past haunt their present and make them take decisions based on those past events. Finding out what they’ve been through gets readers to question if their actions in the present time are really unforgivable and uncalled for. Harmony, USA also touches upon the idea of justice and gives readers the chance to decide for themselves what is right from wrong. As a matter of fact, vigilantism is brought into play without the need of superheroes. As we discover the killer and what drives him, we start to wonder if what was done were really outrageous acts or ones that were much needed in a town that has only known peace for several years.
“I learned a hard lesson in my life. We all find tough spots in life. Some much tougher than others, but I learned to see that certain spark of spirit in a person. Some couldn’t hang on, and the spark died along with their soul. But when I could see that spark, even a glint, I was ready to fight for that person. I had to or I would have lost hope in myself long ago – along with my soul.”
– Narrator in Harmony, USA
The narration is without a doubt this novels forte. The story is told through the killer’s eyes and readers get to see all the events unfold through his eyes. As you read, sentence after sentence, you get essential information on who the killer is and what he’s about. Your initial idea of him slowly gets deconstructed and rebuilt. It is bound to stun you as soon as you find out who he is. The author does a brilliant job at making readers realize that a killer doesn’t necessarily have neon signs attached to them for everyone to point at when a crime happens. The story comes to show that a killer can be anyone and there isn’t a reason why the most innocent and law abiding of people can’t be a killer. Just watch the Usual Suspect, you’ll know what I mean. Lewis Bryan does an amazing job in the use of first person and had me bewildered by the narration. Although I loved the protagonist (the killer in this case), every other character had something to bring to the table. They were all conceivable and fairly easy to invest in. Some characters, like Chad, were so well portrayed, physically and psychologically, that sometimes you just wanted to beat some sense into them. Other characters, living an inescapable cycle of violence, make you want to lean in and give a helping hand.
“You live your life telling yourself a story of what your life is, even though you know, deep down, it’s really not what you pretend it to be. We tell ourselves we are living this dream life. Everything is just perfect even though we know it’s not. But we get scared and try to hang on to what we pretend our life to be. When it is impossible to ignore anymore we say, ‘Well, it’s complicated.’ It’s not that black and white, even when we know it is black . . . or . . . white.”
– Narrator in Harmony, USA
As you reach the ending, you come to realize that Harmony, USA is a fascinating quick read. The way the story is told to give us more information on the killer as we progress through the book is a great strength for this novel. Furthermore, the killer manages to show a personality that’s bound to keep you intrigued throughout the plot. Discovering the dark secrets of Harmony through the eyes of a killer who seeks justice couldn’t have been done any better. Lewis Bryan has done a great job with this book and if it continues to be this interesting, I’d love to see what he’s got in store for us in the future. I’m really glad I received a copy of this book from the author via BookLogix Marketing in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure to read this novel.
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My overall rating: ★★★★★/
Roars and Echoes 
This does look intriguing and something I would love to read. I like quick reads. This seems like it. The quotes look very interesting ! You guys are lucky to receive free books haha but its also awesome what you all are doing helping out 🙂
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Hhahaha yess, helping authors out by spreading the word on their novels is a service we’d do anytime. It sure does have it’s benefits, but there isn’t a bigger one than lending a helping hand. Harmony, USA surprised me since I didn’t expect the narration to turn out this good (it was just unexpected and a different take to a killer’s perspective). Thanks for the kind words ! Hope to see you again, friend ! 😉
– Lashaan
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