Review by Booklist Review
In this first book in the Alice England mystery series, readers meet precocious Alice, who has a very peculiar existence for a 12-year-old: she lives in a funeral home that's been in her family for generations. Her father, the embalmer, lets her take charge of the cosmetic aspects of corpses, and her close work with the deceased and a slight limp have made her an outcast at school. Another outsider, Violet Devenish, wears gloves and a veil to school because she suffers from a severe allergy to UV light. Though initially at odds, Violet and Alice slowly become friends. When Violet's uncle dies under mysterious circumstances, Alice suspects foul play, and she convinces Violet to help her investigate. Harrier has crafted an intriguing mystery with a clever resolution, and a slight supernatural element to the plot adds to the engaging atmosphere. As Alice becomes a formidable antagonist against ridiculous adults, both she and Violet grow in emotional maturity, and while this mystery concludes satisfyingly, there's plenty of room for more stories in subsequent series installments.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Australian author Harrier imbues a classic whodunit with poetic melancholy in this haunting debut. Twelve-year-old Alice England, who has muscular atrophy in her leg due to complications during birth that also killed her twin sister, lives alone with her father in a seaside town and helps tend her family's funeral home. Shunned and unkindly dubbed "Alice in Zombieland" by her classmates both for her limp and her father's profession, Alice is friendless until she meets Violet Devenish, a fellow student who is deathly allergic to light and wears a black veil to protect herself from the sun. Harrier deliberately unspools the jam-packed plot at an unhurried pace, even when Violet's beloved uncle George--who shares Violet's allergy--is found dead of light exposure. Analytical Alice is immediately suspicious, thanks to the insight granted by her supernatural ability to "read the resonance" of objects belonging to the deceased, and her preoccupation with uncovering George's murderer soon puts her at odds with the town, the insular Devenish clan, and eventually Violet herself. While Alice's diversions occasionally slacken the tension, offbeat characters and lyrical writing sustain a thoroughly clever and engrossing riff on the murder mystery formula. Ages 9--12. (Mar.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4--6--Alice, almost 13, loves dinosaurs, gathering (but not collecting) items from the beach, and helping her father prepare corpses at the funeral home where they live and work. What truly sets Alice apart is her ability to connect with the memories of the departed through objects she calls "resonant." This gift comes in handy when her new friend Violet's uncle dies in a series of "unfortunate accidents" that Alice suspects was ultimately murder. Violet and her family share a life-threatening allergy to sunlight, acting as the central force of the plot. Alice uses her curiosity and ability to read people to solve the mystery with the help of her friends Violet and Cal. While the story does not shy away from morbid subjects, Alice's matter-of-fact nature and inability to be anything other than her authentic self balance the macabre plot. The side characters are quirky and lovable, adding a layer to the story as Alice learns how important yet difficult friendship can be. The mystery itself is satisfying, with plenty of twists to keep readers guessing until the end, but also enough hints being dropped for would-be detectives to try to solve it themselves. Alice is presented as light-skinned with red hair, and Violet is depicted with very pale skin and blond hair. VERDICT Simultaneously wholesome and somewhat ghoulish, this murder mystery is fun for children seeking an eccentric detective novel.--Nicolette Pavain
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Review by Horn Book Review
Twelve-year-old Alice enjoys helping her father prepare bodies for viewings at the Tranquility Funeral Home, and she intends to take over the business when she's grown, even if the kids at school call her "Alice in Zombieland." Alice makes a new friend, Violet, whose allergy to sunlight prompts the kids to call her "Violet the Vampire"; when Violet's uncle George dies of the same allergy, Alice's ability to read "resonances" from the belongings of the dead tells her that George's death wasn't an accident. Alice begins to investigate, and her polite but dogged sleuthing begins to uncover answers. Does the death have to do with the older teens partying under the dock where George died -- among them Cal, whose willingness to stand up for Alice and Violet against the bullies makes him a kind of ally? Alice's neuroatypical presentation (her blunted affect, sensitivity to overstimulation, and precise thought processes will find a sympathetic audience from readers on the autism spectrum) at one point causes a rift in her nascent friendship with Violet, leading to a reassessment and reconciliation that will ring true with many readers. The characters and community of Damocles Cove are brightly painted in this solid middle-grade mystery with lightly handled supernatural aspects, a potential headliner to a welcome new series. Anita L. BurkamMay/June 2024 p.140 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An Australian girl who works in a funeral home hopes to solve a murder. Eighth grader Alice, who has muscular atrophy of one leg, loves to help out at her family's business, Tranquility Funerals. She assists with aesthetic services--"the beautification of the corpse"--and she's perplexed that anyone finds that odd. Alice also has a secret ability: Sometimes a body's accessories are "resonant," and they tell her a story about the owner's previous life. It's unsurprising that Alice has no friends. While she's perfectly happy being friendless, she's equally unbothered when a protective teacher matches her up with bullying victim Violet, who has a rare and extremely dangerous sunlight allergy called solar urticaria. Soon after, Violet's uncle George is found dead on the pier where he worked, and Alice has a resonant moment while helping to prepare his body. She's convinced he was murdered and ropes Violet in to her investigation. There are so many suspects! Was it George's widow, the rough teens who gather under the pier, the overwrought security guard, the sender of an anonymous note, or the terrifying celebrity allergist? Alice possesses a precocious vocabulary, tends toward pedantry, is obsessive to an extent that annoys her new friend, and struggles with empathy and tact ("Tact meant concealing your curiosity"). But they do make an excellent team, Alice finds she appreciates having Violet in her life, and readers will have fun getting to know them. Most characters read white. A series opener that introduces enjoyably quirky tween detectives. (Mystery. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
