Expectant mother Alice moves to a small town in the country with her husband and her hilarious, misbehaving dog named Helen. While attempting to meet new people, she goes to a prenatal class, only for a classmate to go into labor. Once the dust settles, the group discovers that amidst the chaos, there's also been a murder, and all the mothers and their partners are now suspects.

THE EXPECTANT DETECTIVES is a charming and really funny book about a group of (very) pregnant women solving a mystery. I liked a lot about the story: it’s cozy and adorable. I laughed out loud several times, especially the part about Tupperware (IYKYK). And Alice's troubles are easily relatable for those who have gone through pregnancy.

If you want an easy, quick and fun read that will give you the warm fuzzies, THE EXPECTANT DETECTIVES is it.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the complimentary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. My review ill be posted on my Bookstagram account (http://www.instagram.com/watchskyeread) a week prior to publication on Jan. 9.

The Expectant Detectives is perfect for when you need a laugh along with your mystery. Sometimes it veers too far into the silly lane, but overall it was entertaining.
Alice and Joe have made the decision to move out of London to the much more reasonable cost of living in Penton in the Cotswolds. They’re expecting their first child shortly and Alice joins the local prenatal class. During the first meeting, one of the women goes into early labor. While everyone is running hither and yon, a man is murdered in the store below.
Alice and her new friend Poppy decide to investigate. Soon, two other women from the class join in. It’s a typical small village cozy mystery with a plethora of weird characters, all of whom have troublesome histories with each other. I will admit to being just as confused as Alice as to who might be responsible. Although I did figure out part of the historical mystery.
I appreciated that Alice was not a domestic goddess, nor anxious to be a mom. She totally captures the fears and qualms of an expectant mother.
The star of the story is Helen, Alice’s wild child dog. If there’s trouble to get into, Helen will find it. And then the poor furbaby is poisoned. (No worries though, she survives.)
The writing here really hit home for me. I loved that Ailes was able to combine humor with something that was totally real. “It’s a strange thing, female friendship. Possibly because while there’s always the doubt lurking at the back of your mind that your romantic relationship could just be temporary, you very much expect certain platonic friendships to be a lifelong commitment.”
The ending relies too much on conveniences, but it sure is fun.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for an advance copy of this book.

“The Expectant Detectives” is the perfect lighthearted mystery to cleanse your palate. Alice and her prenatal class are amateur detectives trying to solve a murder in the British countryside. I thought the pacing was just right for a refreshing read, and this book helped me out of a reading slump. I would’ve liked to see more background into Alice’s parents and a little bit less focus on her dog, Helen. This novel is perfect for you if you’re in a reading slump or are looking for a lighthearted mystery. It’ll be out January 9th, 2024!

If you’re a fan of the show “Only Murders in the Building,” I think you’ll enjoy this! This is a story of a group of pregnant women banding together in order to solve a murder in their small town. The writing was very fun and comical, and the friendships that were built among the characters was really pure and sweet! I found the dynamic between the main character, Alice, and her boyfriend, Joe, interesting; I would’ve loved there to be more explained with that. I feel like the novel also ended abruptly with the quick reveal of the murderer literally 98% through, but overall this was a very lighthearted read with a lot going for it! It’s a pretty strong debut in my opinion!

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books/St.Martins Publishing for the ARC of "The Expectant Detectives" in exchange for an honest review.
I couldn't stop laughing and smiling through the entirety of this book. It's so filled with priceless lines and laugh out loud moments, I thought it almost functioned as a spoofy sendup of cozy mysteries.
The mystery at the heart of it, however, is deadly serious. Murder's afoot in the scenic, woodsy British countryside. And four women take it upon themselves to become amateur detectives. Not just any amateur crime solvers .......but four very pregnant women whose prenatal class on the second floor of a town shop was rudely interrupted by the murder of the shop's owner downstairs. And all of this occurring just as one of the women went into labor right there in the class
There's our narrator, newly moved in Alice, attempting to adjust to rural life with husband Joe and their rambunctious dog Helen. . And Poppy, whose partner Lin has become a prime suspect. Making it a quartet - Ailsa, a hot tempered young activist (with the baby's dad nowhere in sight) and Hen, the master of withering wit who delivered her daughter while the dead body popped up only one floor below her.
The four manage to dig up no end of clues, evidence, suspects and deep dark secrets swirling around a back-to-nature commune nestled in the woods. But they accomplish all this while exasperating Jane, the area's police detective who's as constantly irate as her estranged younger sister Ailsa.
Through Alice's eyes, the book navigates its way to the uncovered secrets and shocking reveals, along with non-stop funny observations about attempting to track down a murderer while nine months pregnant. There's literally enough material here to fuel twenty hours of stand-up comedy.
Pure fun from beginning to end and one of the most entertaining 5 star reads I've come across this year. For anyone who loves a good mystery liberally peppered with laughs, look no further.

Looking for your next cozy mystery? This one takes place in Penton, a small quiet village about 3 hours from London. Alice and Joe have just moved there to get a little more space than their former shoe-book apartment before they welcome their baby into the world. They signed up for a local prenatal workshop to feel less clueless for what's to come in 4 weeks but got more than they bargained for. What they didn't expect was for one of their classmates to go into labor while a murder is taking place in the same building! Alice feels very much like a fish out of water while she, along with her classmates Poppy, Hen, and Ailsa, start playing detectives in their very hippy, essential oil loving, gong bath and comic yoga lovers' new village. Alice is more of a McDonalds kinda girl but she's trying to hang alongside her goofy dog Helen who keeps causing trouble. While the group starts looking for clues everything seems to keep heading back to the local commune where a mysterious death occurred 10 years ago... 

This book was hilarious! I read it in just over 24 hours, thank you cold, and could not stop cracking up. The humor reminded me of a British version of Finlay Donovan as Alice is quite sarcastic and keeps putting her foot in her mouth while trying to make friends with her fellow soon to be mamas. This story has a lot of secrets and I'm guessing there will be more books to come due to how much detail went into it. This is another found family/community book and I loved that each character was so different and well developed. One of my favorite characters though was her dog ,Helen. She's just living her best country dog life and could not possibly have gotten into more trouble. By the end of the book she's repeatedly not invited to outings, and as a dog mom I found this hilarious. This book also explores the anxiety and nerves that come from being pregnant and also a peek into Joe's life being raised without a Dad. There's a lot going on but I think you'll dig it! Thank you Minotaur, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. Pub Day is Jan 9th!

Grab your yurt and your hippie beads and join The Expectant Detectives in solving a murder. Kat Ailes’ British murder mystery is told from the viewpoint mother-to-be Alice. The story takes place in Penton, a small village outside of London. The action begins during Alice and Joe’s first pre-birthing class when one of the other attendees goes into labor and gives birth. At the same time, and in the same building, a man is murdered.

Classmates Alice, Poppy, Hen and Ailsa, all ‘heavy with child,’ begin an investigation, which involves several trips to a commune. Join in a gong bath, a birthing ceremony, shopping for essential oils, and interrogating suspects.
I loved the story, the four main characters, and Helen the dog.

•The Expectant Detectives (ARC)🤰🏼•

📚Genre: cozy mystery
🤔Rating: 🍺.5(1.5/5)
#️⃣ of pages: 384
👯‍♀️ read if you like: the Finlay Donovan series, crunchy mamas & cozy mysteries
📆Publishing Date- January 9, 2024

👍🏼:
•there were some funny parts & I loved the dog, Helen 😂

👎🏼:
•SO SLOW
•I really don’t even know what happened
•not a fan of a single character, except the dog


Overall…
This is a very quirky cozy mystery and tbh, it didn’t do it for me at all. Admittedly, this is a very niche genre & I don’t think I was truly in the mood for it. The humor was not my favorite, the subject was strange & it was hard for me to follow. I did laugh some and I enjoyed the dog.

Thank you @netfalley and st Martins press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!


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Kat Ailes
The Expectant Detectives: A Mystery (Expectant Detectives Mystery
Alice
Alice has a murder to solve...unofficially.
When looking into this murder, she uncovers so many other mysteries that may even lead to her own door.
I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley and am leaving a review.

I have found a new must read series. The story begins with Alice and her partner moving to the small town of Penton just barely before her due date. She and Joe are not ready to welcome their new child nor is the place they are living. In an effort to make friends, make the town her home, and get prepared for her child, Alice and Joe attend child birth classes. When the first class ends with not only a unexpected delivery, but also a murder, Alice quickly falls into other soon to be moms to figure out what happened. It isn't long before we learn that the town in full of secrets and one of the people keeping a big secret is very close to her.

The story is fun and engaging. I really like the fact that the leads are woman who are about to give birth or have just given birth. Alice's unpreparedness for motherhood reminded me of some of my own insecurities before having a child. Alice and Poppy's dog walks and investigating were some of my favorite parts. Of course, Helen the dog completely stole the show at times! I didn't see all the twists that kept this story moving along, but they all come together in the end to make a fun story. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Life and death collide in a rural English village. A woman goes into labor and gives birth during a prenatal class above a New Age shop while the shop owner is being murdered downstairs. So of course, a group of extremely pregnant women suddenly decide the homicide investigator is completely incompetent, and it's up to them to comb the English countryside in search of the killer. Laced with dark humor, this is a decent mystery, but unfortunately, the characters all come across as shallow and immature.

When I’m craving for a comfort read I always get drawn to cozy mysteries with pets. Good thing I have the ARC of The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes —- it had everything I’m looking for in a murder mystery:
✔️ MC with a great, albeit wry, sense of humor - I love Alice’s rambling thoughts!
✔️ Supporting cast of characters that have impressionable personalities - I adore Poppy, Hen and especially Ailsa!
✔️ A scene-stealer dog, described by Alice as the Legally Blonde of the Dog World 🐩
✔️ Multiple suspects with red herrings galore
✔️ Set in a small picturesque town with a commune in the nearby woods

What makes this cozy mystery unique is that the MC and her gang are all expecting, hence the title. They’re all in their third trimester (gasp!) and are playing amateur detectives!🤰🏻🫄🫄🏾🤰🏼As a new mom (again😉), I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! It’s not only relatable but there were lots of LOL moments that sure kept me entertained from start to finish. I would definitely want to read more about Alice and her crew, maybe next time they will be solving crimes with their newborns in tow!!!🤪

It gets real wild when, 1 week into living in the English Country side and at her second prenatal class, Alice finds herself becoming aquinated with the miracle of childbirth on the second floor while someone is getting murdered on the first floor...and so, the whole group of mummys and daddys to-be find themselves suspects in a murder investigation.

Typical Saturday night in the Cotswolds? (Honestly, I have no clue. I've never been there.) Wonderful opening for a cozy chick-lit mystery? That's an emphatic YES from me.

What are 4 women on maternity leave to do? Obviously slueth. Everyone- lovers, friends, aquintances- is a suspect. And as they unravel the murder mystery they find themselves wrapped up in quiet a few other mysteries as well. Including but not limited to: the history and happenings of the local commune, the efficacy of gong baths, essential oils and cosmic yogo, affairs (?) & paternity, water birth, and what exactly is up with a questionable local political leader. In addition to the mystery the characters were definitely characterin'...

I loved reading along from Alice's POV; her internal dialogue, linguistic clumsiness, love for her troublesome dog Helen, her questioning of her existing relationships and understanding her navigation of a new place with new friends perfectly encapsulated how it feels being thrown so fully into adulthood when you're about to become a parent. Add the different personalities of the other three soon to be moms she meets & their partners and you are presented with an even fuller picture of how unique each journey can be.

There was a chapter in this book that literally had me laughing outloud for a solid 5 mintues (it involved tupperware), the internal dialouge was millenial perfection, the shennanigans made me want to find a group of moms and a mystery, and the conclusion was satisfying & heartwarming.

Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes is an incredibly imaginative debut novel and one you going to want to read. This romp through the British countryside is actually a murder mystery with a wildly mixed up family drama that starts when a young expectant couple moves from London to Penton in the country while the young woman is in her eighth month of pregnancy and beginning maternity leave. She brings her crazy dog with her.

The next day they attend the first prenatal class upstairs in a hippie health food store and during the class one of the pregnant women goes into labor and delivers her baby right there. While that’s happening, the store owner is murdered downstairs.

Then the expectant mothers get together and decide to become detectives and try to solve the murder. They discover that the murdered shop owner used to be part of the commune that still exists at the top of a hill in the woods on one side of the town. But he and the man who owns the commune had a disagreement and haven’t spoken in ten years since a girl died. However they’re having trouble getting information.

And then another influential town politician is killed. What’s going on?
What can the expectant detectives do next? And will the real police detective be upset? Read this wacky but enjoyable book and find out.

The book was a bit slow for me. It didn’t quite hit the mark I was expecting. The humor fell flat. I just didn’t connect with the characters. Parts of it I found very interesting. I’m sure it was just my personal taste. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through Net Galley.

The Expectant Detectives is a hilarious and delightfully chaotic mystery. Alice has just moved to the Cotswolds with her partner Joe. She’s about to give birth to an unplanned baby and is hoping to find friends in the small town. Alice and Joe sign up for a prenatal class that has much more adventure than they bargained for. Not only does one of the members go into labor, someone in the shop downstairs dies while the birth happens. Alice starts to investigate what she views as a suspicious death and unveils a confusing mystery.

Alice is such a funny and cheerful character. I love how she investigated people to get more information about clues, but managed to form genuine connections along the way. Alice and the members of the prenatal class were a unique group that bonded together despite their differences. Of course, Helen plays an outstanding role as Alice’s beloved dog. Helen unintentionally gives Alice clues about the mystery, while being both adorable and terrible. Kat Ailes has a very witty style of writing, especially internal dialogue. The Expectant Detectives would be perfect for readers who love Finlay Donovan. I would love to see more adventures from Alice!

Thank you to Kat Ailes, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

3.5 stars

This was an original cozy mystery: the amateur detectives are four extremely pregnant women in a pretentious faux counterculture British village. Alice, our narrator, and her partner Joe have left London to have more room and an atmosphere more conducive to raising children.

This is a very funny book -- Alice's asides about pregnancy are often hilarious. The first night of their childbirth prenatal classes, one of the participants actually gives birth in a room above the shop where they meet. When the birth excitement is over, they go downstairs to let in emergency responders and discover the proprietor of the shop dead.

So, the four main characters decide since they aren't working and have a lot of time on their hands, that they should investigate the death. There are all kinds of strange links to an old commune from back in the day and some of the current residents of the town. There are actually links everywhere - one of the main characters is the bad-tempered sister of the bad-tempered police detective.

Madcap at times, always entertaining, and wrapped up more or less neatly by the end. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book had all the cozy mystery vibes I needed this season, plus some unexpected cult-related suspense! So good! Will definitely be looking for new books by this author.

For Alice and her partner Joe, moving to Penton was supposed to be a chance to escape to the country and enjoy the birth of their first baby. However, it isn’t long after they arrive that a dead body is discovered, and they are considered among the suspects.

With suspicion clouding their every move, Alice and her new-found pregnant friends set out to solve this crime and clear their names.

This book had me thinking of another book I really enjoyed the whole time. I couldn’t put my finger on it for a while and when I finally did it was like a lightbulb. It reminded me a lot of Finlay Donovan. The humor was very similar. However, I find Finlay to be fast paced and full of action and adventure, where this one was very slow and left me wanting. I thought it would be a fun twist to have the main character be pregnant, but a lot of the humor did fall flat on me, and I do have a child. I just felt that it was too in your face and over the top and cheesy for my liking. I also thought that this one was a bit too long for my liking at almost 400 pages. Much of the story, especially in the beginning could have been tightened up and removed to spare the reader. I did enjoy the setting of a small quaint British town. It sounds like a great place to live minus the murder that is. Helen, the dog did make for a fun supporting character.

If you are looking for twist on a traditional cozy mystery, then check this one out.

Thank you so much to St Martins Press, Minotaur Books @minotaur_books, and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Well, after the recent immense popularity of elderly detective fiction (“Killers of a Certain Age” by Deanna Raybourn, “The Thursday Murder Club” series by Richard Osman, “Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers” by Jesse Q. Sutanto), here comes a totally unexpected new genre: the pregnant detective in Kat Ailes' very funny “The Expectant Detectives” (although you are still not spared frequent trips to the bathroom).

Alice and Joe have just moved to the countryside from London — she’s 38 weeks pregnant and eager to make new friends. At their second prenatal class, being held on the second floor above a wind chime/essential oils type shop, one of the participants goes into full unplanned early labor. It’s a messy (very messy) and noisy affair, and while the instructor, 3 other pregnant women (including Alice) and 3 partners are on the second floor helping Hen give birth, the proprietor, Mr. Oliver, is being murdered downstairs.

Delightful Alice, the narrator, joins up with also pregnant Poppy to investigate the crime. They try to recruit Ailsa, the third still pregnant member of the prenatal class. Alice and Poppy are ex-Londoners, still perpetually confused by the Cotswold country ways, while Ailsa is a dreadlocked native, sometimes a member of the local suspicious commune and sister to the homicide detective investigating the case. Alice endures gong baths, musty newspaper archives, vegan organic hippy cafes with Karma Kola, corn exchange, and commune visits in her quest to root out the truth. Which may or may not also involve her partner, Joe. The result is a heartwarming and laugh out loud story.

This book is just so charming, witty, and hilarious. Author Ailes’ first draft of this debut novel deservedly won a Comedy Women in Print Prize and I predict this book will find a large audience, including rom-com readers (where the pregnancy is just in the epilogue). 5 stars!

Helen, the Legally Blonde of dogdom, deserves her own series.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO No eye colors at all.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): ALMOST Lin is a gardener and there are lots of flowers and herbs. Slippery elm bark, as dodgy as it sounds, actually is used to herbally treat UTIs, but not as much for gastrointestinal issues.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!