Strange Truths (Alice England Mysteries #1)

This book was nothing like I expected, but I absolutely adored it. I had heard of Alice England prior to its debut, and I knew this was a mystery of sorts. I had more of a Nancy Drew vibe in mind, however. I was quite confused about all the images of funeral related items, as well as ocean trinkets, and what they could possibly have to do with one another. But things do, ultimately, all come together and actually make sense.

There are so many things that this book is about that I don’t even know how to describe it. Sure, there’s Mikey Warrender, the A-list high school jock with the successful Senator father, a popular sister, and the perfect girlfriend. Then he runs smack into a reality check in the persona of Alice England. A friendless undertaker’s daughter, she sees strange things and always speaks the truth. And a little at a time, bit by bit, so subtlety that he isn’t even aware of it, she gets Mikey to examine his life, his family, his goals, and everything that he thought he knew about himself. Along the way, he also becomes friends with and then falls in love with this strange girl. Oh, yeah, and they solve the mystery surrounding the recent death of his estranged twin brother.

Full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, mystery, romance, drama, and enough teenage angst to fill the night sky, this is a coming of age tale that is so much more. With this tale, S.D. Wasley proves herself a master story-teller. I can’t wait to read more of Alice England in future installments.

Alice England is a very unique character and I loved her immediately. She’s a young woman in her senior year of school who lives with her father in a funeral parlor. She sees things that others don’t and she always speaks the truth. Kids in her school find her odd and basically stay away from her. Mikey Warrender thinks she’s a bit odd as well but then Alice takes him on an adventure that changes their lives. This is a kind of detective story with lots of twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages.

I very much look forward to more of Alice’s adventures.

Strange Truths is definitely unique and unlike your typical mystery or YA book. The title alone intrigues you but yet doesn't really give anything away about the plot. The book is like this too in a way. Even by the end, there is still a lot of mystery left to be solved. Overall, this book was a good read and kept me interested throughout, even though there were some slow parts. Alice is a very interesting character and her being an undertaker's daughter adds to the mystery and contributes to making her who she is.

There definitely is a mystery throughout the book that ultimately does get solved. There is also a good bit of romance and just day to day teenage life for both Alice and Michael. So, the reason I can only give this book a 4 out of 5 is that for me, being in the mystery category, I felt that the mystery was lost at times with the romance being front and center. Then when they finally did come back to the mystery and it was solved, it was done so very quickly. And then to top it all off, the romance that took up so much of the time was basically left unresolved.

So, for me, I was not very satisfied with the ending. I also would have liked to have a bit more context about Alice's gift when she touches the belongings of the dead and receives knowledge about them. Since this is listed as #1, I'm assuming we will find out more in each book. I hope this is the case, as this book was enjoyable to read and kept my interest throughout, even through the slower parts.