The Secret (Seacliff High Mystery #1) by Kathi Daley

The Secret

(Seacliff High Mystery #1)

by Kathi Daley

Paperback, 194 pages

Published February 21st 2015 by Kathi Daley Books

Goodreads synopsis: 

Alyson Prescott moves to Cutters Cove, Oregon, after being placed, along with her mother, in the witness protection program. In her previous life, Alyson was an A-list heiress with the excitement of a trendsetting lifestyle and the security of old money. After witnessing a murder executed by two members of a powerful gang family, she is forced to leave her old life behind and become a middle class girl, living in a middle class town. 

Alyson struggles with the duplicity in her life as she strives to reconcile her new life with the old. In the first book in the series, The Secret, Alyson and her mother buy a dilapidated old mansion on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Alyson soon finds that the house holds a secret that only the recently deceased resident of the property seems to know the answer to. Alyson and the new friends she meets at Seacliff High, set out to find the answer to a fifty-year old mystery that will reveal a trail of murder, embezzlement, lies, and deception. As the journey intensifies, friendships are forged that will last a lifetime. 

***

4.5 Stars

This is the first book in the Seacliff High mystery series by Kathi Daley. This book is YA mystery, so be aware.

Basic premise: Alyson and her mom are in witness protection and move to Cutters Cove and into an old spooky house with a lot of secrets and maybe even a few ghosts too.

Some people were comparing this to Veronica Mars and Nancy Drew. And I understand those thoughts. To me it felt more like Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the vampires. I always loved the close cast in that show and this book gives me all those feels too.

I enjoyed the character of Alyson, although I am not sure so many new people would be accepted so easily into a school. I even had reservations when another new kid shows up not long after Alyson and her mom. I guess I was creating my own red herrings and throwing myself off course. 

For a YA mystery, I thought this was pretty complex. I enjoyed every minute of this. And since it was also the first book in a series and had a lot riding on its shoulders, it was particularly well done. I look forward to reading more in the series.

If you love a good young adult mystery with a bit of suspense, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.