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Narrator
Kitty Kelly
This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Length
11 hours 43 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“Absolutely charming and hilarious. Pregnancy hormones are the perfect addition to this quaint English village murder mystery. ”
— Carrie • Skylark Bookshop
Fresh, funny and heartfelt, The Expectant Detectives is a charming debut mystery about a group of soon-to-be moms-turned-detectives.
“A darkly witty debut. Archly funny and highly recommended!”—Deanna Raybourn
Can they solve the mother of all murders?
For Alice and her partner Joe, moving to the sleepy village of Penton is a chance to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of their first child. He can take up woodwork; maybe she’ll learn to make jam? But the rural idyll they’d hoped for doesn’t quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their local prenatal class, and they find themselves suspects in a murder investigation.
With a cloud of suspicion hanging over the heads of the whole group, Alice and her new-found pregnant friends set out to solve the mystery and clear their names, with the help of her troublesome dog, Helen. However, there are more secrets and tensions in the heart of Penton than first meet the eye. Between the discovery of a shady commune up in the woods, the unearthing of a mysterious death years earlier, and the near-tragic poisoning of Helen, Alice is soon in way over her head.
A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.
KAT AILES works in publishing as an editor and freelanced for several years to allow her to take a couple of belated gap years, including hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. She now lives in the Cotswolds with her husband, their young son and her beautiful but foolish dog. The Expectant Detectives was her debut novel, the first draft of which was written largely (and frantically) in three weeks after she submitted the first few chapters to the Comedy Women in Print Prize and was unexpectedly shortlisted.
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Reviews
"Full of charming characters, including Alice’s goofy dog, this fast-paced, original cozy is great fun. A sequel would be welcome."—Publishers Weekly
"Pointed banter between the heroine and pretty much everyone else keeps this debut sharp."—Kirkus Reviews
“A darkly witty debut. Archly funny and highly recommended!”—Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of a Certain Age
“The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes is a wildly impressive debut. Pacy, energetic and best of all hilariously funny—without detracting from the shadowy mystery and genuine humanity at its core. Its characters and twisty plot feel absolutely real—you’ll be on the edge of your seat, totally immersed in trying to work out who did it, but rest assured you’re never far from a smile. Cozy crime at its finest!”—Janice Hallett, international bestselling author of The Appeal
“A gloriously smart and witty telling of the darker side of prenatal groups—this is really funny with edge.”—Helen Lederer
“Murdering every mommy cliché with hilarity and heart, this book is a complete triumph. Perfectly plotted, brilliantly observed and just so much fun.”—Lauren Bravo, author of How To Break Up With Fast Fashion
“I LOVED this book! Alice is hilarious, the mystery is compelling and fun, and this group of about-to-be-moms deserves a sequel, and some cake, obvi! Kat Ailes has written a winner of a book and you’ll want to read it immediately!”—Catherine McKenzie, USA Today bestselling author of Have You Seen Her
“The Expectant Detectives is wildly funny, clever, twisty, charming, and unexpectedly relatable. It is exactly the surprisingly heartwarming and uproariously hilarious mystery we all need in our lives. This book is one of a kind and I can’t wait for the next installment.”—Nora Murphy, author of The New Mother
“This fun romp offers hilarious moments while taking on some real-life issues: the fear involved in becoming a first-time parent and the shadows of one’s own upbringing that can darken parenthood, all while Alice and friends undertake the whodunit.”—First Clue
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