Book Review: The Color of Trauma

The Color of Trauma. Hollie Smurthwaite, Self-Published, August 30, 2021, 389 pages.

Review by Stephanie Wilson Medlock.

The Color of Trauma bills itself as a romantic thriller, but it is much more than that. Leaping magical realism, The Color of Trauma imagines that certain people can link to the minds of others and access their memories. These “memory surgeons” can also remove painful or frightening memories, sparing trauma victims the horror of having to relive terrifying moments in their lives.

Kiera Brayleigh is a renowned memory surgeon who is isolated by her gift. This is especially true in the decade since she broke with her grasping parents. They had marketed her talents, forcing her to take on the horrible cases, thereby making millions in the removal of unwanted memories from the minds of the traumatized. 

Now independently wealthy, Kiera no longer charges for her services; however, the pain of others continues to exact a terrible price from her. Besides the ongoing pain she experiences as she relives others’ memories, Kiera feels like a freak. Fearing that she will never be loved, she barricades herself inside her home. She goes out only to perform surgeries or meet with a therapy group of other memory surgeons.

Then Dean Matthson, a Chicago police detective, asks for her help with a young woman who has been viciously attacked and is dying in a nearby hospital. If Kiera can access her memories before she dies, it might help identify the killer who brutally murdered her. When she agrees to help the detective, an attraction begins to build between herself and Dean.

Unfortunately, the killer, who has mutilated and killed several women, also becomes aware of Kiera. The novel plays out the tension between his stalking of the memory surgeon and Keira/Dean’s gradual discovery of clues about his identity.

Dean also has his own unique talent, which he realizes is both an asset and a weakness. As he and Kiera begin to fall for each other, their reluctance to share certain parts of themselves leads to predictable problems in their relationship. The book alternates between Dean’s perspective and Kiera’s, with occasional glimpses into the killer’s mind.

This book is graphic in its sensuality and horrifying in its description of crimes against women. However, what saves it from being predictable is the ingenuity of the world that Hollie Smurthwaite creates. As the novel progresses, Smurthwaite treats us to new aspects of the memory surgeon’s abilities and the difference in skill sets of various people with those talents. For example, Kiera’s brother, Ash, harvests happy memories and gives them back to others who have forgotten them.

Smurthwaite writes with confidence. The dialog between the characters is often snappy and funny, and the relationships build believably. If the main protagonists are too good-looking to be true, their faults and vulnerabilities make them more nuanced characters.

The final chapters of the novel are especially gripping. Even suspecting how things might end, I was on the edge of my chair for the last thirty pages. The author’s knowledge of the law and police procedures made the tensions of the plot particularly realistic. 

For readers who can withstand some scenes of relentless violence, this is an intriguing and satisfying novel.