Grave Expectations

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in return for a fair review.

Claire and Sophie are best friends, inseparable you might say. Unfortunately that’s because Sophie is a ghost & she’s been haunting Claire since her murder at 17. Claire can now see & speak to a multitude of ghosts, and is trying to earn a living as a professional medium carrying out seances.

When Claire is hired to be the entertainment by an old ‘friend’ from University at a family gathering at their country pile, The Cloisters, she can’t afford to refuse. Things get complicated when Claire & Sophie realise someone has come to an untimely end at the house, and almost everyone seems to be hiding something.

Claire and Sophie team up with self-assured teenager Alex and sceptical ex-police officer Bash to try and work out who has died and who killed them.

This novel was an absolute gem, funny and clever with really engaging characters. I loved the dynamic between eternal teen Sophie and millennial Claire. The capable, unflappable Alex takes everything in their stride, their enthusiasm for the investigation sweeping Bash reluctantly along with them.

I’m so pleased to hear that author Alice Bell is writing a sequel, I adored these characters and want to see the next part of their adventures together!

Thank you so much to NetGallery and Atlantic Books for providing me with an eARC for an honest review.

I have to say, this book was a lot of fun. At the beginning I was not 100% sure, but very quickly got invested in the quirky characters and storyline. I especially enjoyed Claire and Sophie's relationship (very reminiscent of mine and my sister's relationship - minus the ghosts!), and the ghostly twist!

If you're looking for a fun new take on the classic country house/dinner party murder trope, this is for you! I hope to read more from Alice Bell!

The synopsis made think this book was to be a melding of Richard Osman and Ben Aaronvich and to be honest it was not far a wrong assumption but with the authors own unique style , humour and angsts added into this mix, I am not going to be a bore and recant the tale like all reviewers seem to feel is mandatory (it’s not, it’s boring) suffice to say in a cold, dark and wet january this book brought laughter and light into my world, so thank you very much to Alice Bell for writing it and to Netgalley for letting me read it early, I will be buying this on audible so please get a good narrator 😉

A weird and wonderful cosy crime. I absolutely adored Alice's unique voice - it was so light touch yet utterly gripping. A brilliant take on the murder in the country house trope!

When I started this book I wasn’t convinced but my mind was soon changed.

The characters were fantastic and well rounded and the plot kept a solid pace throughout.
It’s been a long time since a book made me LOL (check out the book) but I can honestly say it really made me laugh.
Some fantastic plot twists, it was genuinely heartwarming.

I can’t wait to see what this au5or does next.

Grave Expectations
by Alice Bell

I loved this book! It was funny and it was tender and it had a really good mystery at its heart.

Claire Hendricks is a medium and she has a spirit guide called Sophie.. who happens to be Claires childhood best friend who went missing when they were teenagers..

Claire gets the job of being the entertainment at a party at Cloisters.. she has a vague connection with the family after going to university with the daughter.. the night before the party Claire is entertaining a few of the family when Nana (who the party is being held for) dies, Nana tells Claire that she passed naturally of old age but there is a spirt in the house who is lost and does not know that they have been murdered in the house and asks Claire to help track down the murderer and find out who the spirt belongs to….

I loved Claire, she is just trying to make the best of her gift, there has been an incident in the past where she has used her gifts and it ended badly for her, so Claire is a little battered and bruised metaphorically but still plodding on.. I really want good things to happen to Claire.

Investigating with Claire and Sophie are Basher and his nephew Alex, they are directly related to Nana and are good side kicks for Claire and bring her out of her shell.. I wanted a love story between Claire and Basher but that does not work out well..

It’s a really great mystery novel, a good story and all ends are neatly tied off and it was really funny and I want more of Claire and Sophie and Basher and Alex and really I want to know what happened to make Sophie a ghost.

#GraveExpectations #NetGalley #Humour #Murder #Mystery

I really enjoyed this (maybe) murder mystery that had Claire and Sophie trying to solve a crime that no one but they had any proof of occurring (and frankly even their evidence is a bit flimsy) Add to that the fact that Claire ropes in two members of the Wellington-Forge family who would prefer for their family not to me murderers, thanks – one of whom definitely doesn’t believe Claire can talk to ghosts and our protagonists definitely have their work cut out for them!

I developed a real soft spot for both Claire – stumbling through life with 17 year old Sophie as her only real companion (everyone failing to get close to a 30 something year old who speaks to thin air) and Sophie – stuck as a 17 year old with a teenagers emotions but a 30 year olds life (and death) experiences.

The crime element was cleverly put together, a real whodunnit mystery with zigs and zags at various points. I didn’t manage to work it out either.

I really hope we get to join these characters again in future!

I loved reading this book, a great storyline with characters who I instantly felt drawn to. Whilst it was a serious storyline as there was a lot at stake there were also moments that made me laugh out loud! Brilliantly written - I hope we get to hear more from them soon on the next adventure.

Murder Most Foul..,
Freelance medium Claire Hendricks has a more than unusual gift. Invited to provide ‘entertainment’ at the country house of an old friend it soon becomes clear that something is amiss. Claire is soon investigating a case of murder most foul alongside her resident spirit Sophie and several of the more favoured members of the country house party. Unique tongue in cheek mystery with a deftly drawn cast of eccentric and eclectic characters and an edgy narrative with a thread of wry humour throughout. A quirky, affectionate and modern homage to the traditional country house murder mystery.

A fantastic quirky fun book from Alice. I believe a first for me from this Author but I look forward to reading more.

This was a joyous read with a great and original premise. Claire is guided by the ghost of her best friend Sophie who died as a teenager and therefore remains as one as Claire matures. The dynamic between the two of them is touching and funny and innovative. When they get involved in a murder mystery the interactions between Sophie and other ghosts, Sophie and Claire, and Claire relaying what Sophie is saying is so cleverly done that you don't even question it. With secondary characters that are fully fleshed out, a narrative structure that is super tight and pacy, a lot of humour, a touch of pathos and a satisfactory conclusion there is so much to like about this novel.

This was just the book I needed to perk me up after a nasty bout of covid !
This must be a great start to a great series and I really need the next book now. It is such a long time since I read a book that had me so griped but laughing out loud too. I loved it.

This book had me hooked from a few pages in, when a character is described as "not just a mum, but an M&S mum." From then on, it was a delight in so many ways.

On reading the synopsis for this book, I assumed I'd be getting into a Richard Osman-esque, Great British Murder Mystery tale - that assumption wasn't too far off, but this book is far better, in my opinion. All of the characters are wonderfully realised (even the ones who can walk through walls) and Alice Bell really masters the "show don't tell, but make it British colloquialism" tone of voice. Looking at you, pheasants, "like chicken, but if hens voted Tory." Claire runs herself ragged up and down the south coast of England looking for a posh murderer, and the cast of characters and ghosts she meets along the way are fabulous. We've all seen a depressed octopus at the aquarium and wished it well.

The murder mystery itself was plausible, and I thought I'd had it twigged quite early on. No spoilers, but I definitely did - but was thrown by a few red herrings along the way. I'd recommend this to anyone who self-identifies as a member of the Spice Girls Generation; you'll laugh out loud and hope for a sequel by the time you're halfway through.

What a fun book .something different from the usual murder mysery story .Light and engaging with great characters ,if you like the TV Series Ghost you will love this book it is charming funny clever and a great read Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC .

I always say that I don't like ghost stories and yet the comedy series on BBC, Ghosts, is one of my favourite shows. So, when Grave Expectations popped up in my email and was compared to Ghosts, I had to request it.

Claire is thirtyish and makes her living as a medium. She is helped in this by Sophie, who is seventeen. Twist? Sophie is a ghost which gives Claire a bit of an advantage in the spirit world. She is asked by an old friend, Figgy, to provide the entertainment at a party at Figgy''s family pile. While there, Claire discovers that there is an unsettled ghost who may have been murdered. She sets out to investigate this with the help of Basher and Alex, both family members.

I found this to be a charming, entertaining read. Sophie is a great character and I imagine/hope we will be seeing more of her and Claire, Basher and Alex in further books. The author is very good with astute observations on modern life and pointed comments about the upper classes. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Claire Hendricks can see and speak to ghosts. Aided by the ghost of her childhood best friend, Sophie, who went missing at age 17 and has been tied to Claire ever since, she works as a medium, conducting seances and passing messages from the dead on to the living. Hired by a rich family for their Nana’s birthday party, Claire and Sophie find themselves drawn into the mystery of an unquiet spirit who, they believe, was murdered by a member of the family. Teaming up with the least unbearable members of the family, Claire and Sophie determine to discover who was killed, why, and by whom.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. First things first, the concept of a medium and a ghost solving a murder really works for me. And it was executed perfectly.

I really liked all the characters, especially Claire, Sophie and Alex. They all felt completely realistic even with their various eccentricities and there were some parts that made me genuinely laugh out loud. Although the story is primarily a mystery, it is very character driven and we spend a lot of time with the characters as their relationships develop. This slowed the pace down a bit, but also added an extra dimension and helped me to be more invested in the outcome.

I also thought the plot was very good. The fact that they don’t actually know who has been murdered makes solving the mystery much more difficult, and there are red-herrings and distractions galore. I really loved it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A unique storyline and as a fan of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) a book that was right up my street!
Following the death of her uni friend Figgy‘s Nana after a seance she conducted, the night before. Claire and Sophie, her deceased 17 year old best friend and spirit guide are tasked with investigating who is responsible for the death of the now traumatised ghost haunting the library; a ghost presumed murdered by a member of the family.
With no clues at all to go on, apart from a date; Claire, Sophie enlist the help of Figgy’s family members Alex and Basher and together they race to find the body of the deceased and identify their murderer.
A delightful easy read, one that deserves to be on the big screen! 📚🎬👻

I absolutely loved this funny and interesting take on a detective duo. Great plot and fabulous characters, especially Alex, who lights up the page with every appearance. I so hope this is going to be a series. It’s actually laugh out loud funny at some points too.

How exciting to find a modern murder mystery with a paranormal twist and interesting main characters!

I love Claire and Sophie, Basher and Alex, and how their little Scooby gang develops as the story progresses from faceless mystery ghosts to a possible murder investigation within a rich and deeply dysfunctional family. And as an added bonus, Claire has a secret past of her own that she doesn’t want her new friends to uncover, and the biggest event in Sophie’s teen life remains a mystery to her and Claire, which remains outstanding even after the book’s dramatic reveal.

The whole story is really, really good fun and it is a solid murder mystery, but the characters are what makes this a really special read.

I am already desperate for a sequel and let out an audible groan when I realised that this book will be releasing on 4th May, so I will have to wait a little while to get more investigative shenanigans from this quirkily endearing little Mystery Inc-style found family.

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

This novel is an unusual mash up of the cosy crime mystery and the paranormal. Clare has been ‘haunted’ by her best friend Sophie ever since the latter was murdered in mysterious circumstances at the age of seventeen. They are now a literally inseparable pair as Sophie has to go wherever Clare goes. Their relationship is brilliantly written as thirty something Clare bickers with the eternal teenager.
Clare can see and talk to other ghosts and when, in her role as a professional medium, she is called to be the entertainment at a house party given by an old school friend she and Sophie find themselves drawn in to a real-life murder mystery with a difference. No one seems to know who was killed, when or why. They feel compelled to investigate as the ghost of the victim is in a sorry way and needs to be laid to rest properly. Add to this a truly dysfunctional family with some of the most entertaining ‘love to hate them’ characters I have read and you have a real page turner.
The exploits of Clare and Sophie as they try to solve this mystery form the backbone of the story but the characters and the dialogue are as much fun as the plot. It is all too easy to picture the action and alternately empathise with Clare and despair of her as she bumbles about trying to solve ‘the case’.
I loved it and I hope that Alice Bell will come back with more tales about Clare and Sophie, perhaps even squirrelling out more about the circumstances surrounding Sophie’s disappearance and murder.
Thanks to Atlantic Books for a review copy.

This book feels as though it’s taken the best bits of so many different thriller and cosy mystery books and put them all together in one wonderfully enjoyable read! I couldn’t have loved this more and would urge any mystery reader to settle down for the weekend with this, as you won’t want to put it down!
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Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my early copy!!