Death of the Mad Hatter by Sarah J Pepper (Review)

I have always loved fairy tale retellings, it is one of my favorite genres. While I’m not the biggest fan of Alice in Wonderland, not that it isn’t a good book I just think there are a lot better ones, Alice in Wonderland retellings tend to be the ones I gravitate toward the most. In large part I think it is because The Looking Glass Wars is one of my all time favorite series, and I am always trying to find another Alice In Wonderland like that. Usually I am left very disappointed, but when I read Death of the Mad Hatter, I was pleasantly surprised. It was fairly good, great characters, and full of intrigue.

            The fortuneteller foretold in one of his many prophesies, “If the king loses his head, then the Queen with a Bleeding Heart would rule the Red Court until Time ceased to move forward. When a second carried on for infinity, every creature in Wonderland would tip their Hat to the misfit girl with a Boy’s name (or was it a boy with a Girl’s name?) who’d end the Reign of Terror. However, it all hinged on the One-Eyed Hare being able to convince an inspirable Heir that the impossible was indeed possible—like stopping time—and that Love was worth a Beheading.” No one quite knew what it meant, all the creatures from Wonderland knew was that Alice was responsible for the Mad Hatters death, and she was one of the Queen’s lackeys. No one trusted her, why should they? All she ever seemed to do was get people killed, and keep the evil Queen in power.

The people had one hope, a hope that they didn’t even let themselves believe, that a son born from a Wonderlander in a foreign land would one day return and take the throne that should have been his.

            That is why Alice came back to the ordinary world. She had a mission, to find the would-be-heir and bring him back to Wonderland, so that the Queen might kill him. Only the boy was not what she expected, he cared with all his heart, and she soon found herself falling for him. But self-preservation had always been at the top of Alice’s list, and when it came down to betraying the Queen, she felt it best that her head stay attached to her body. Would things come to pass as the Jack prophesized? What did the prophecy even really mean? Alice has made a lifetime of mistakes, and she might be making one more.

            I thought this book was well written, with great humor and emotion. It was a great retelling, and a book that stands on its own without sequels. I loved the characters and how Wonderland and the regular world were connected in the oddest ways. I would recommend this novel to anyone loving the story of Alice in Wonderland, fairy tale retellings, and fantasy adventures.