Really enjoyed "Dead Tired" by Kat Ailes, the second in the Expectant Detectives series. Although I have not read book one in this cozy and charming series, there was good character development of Alice, her funny misbehaving dog Helen and friends and their toddlers. I enjoyed the activist plot, and the activist meetings, characters and squabbles felt realistic. Moral predicaments such as whether to eat at McDonald's were funny as well. The mystery was well-written and the scenery in the Cotswolds and London helped the book provide a nice escape. Looking forward to reading book one of this series as well. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

Another good entry in The Expectant Detectives series of books. The new moms are caught up in more murder investigations and once again “help” investigate and solve the cases.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of Dead Tired in exchange for this review.

Dead Tired is number 2 in a series, which I didn’t realize when I started reading it. I would guess that having read the first in the series would have made the characters stand out from one another a bit more and would have been more enjoyable, but I liked this book even without that.

Alice is a new mother on maternity leave. She has three other new mom friends, and together they happen upon more murders than one might hope. They are not above snooping around looking for clues, considering suspects, and asking impolite questions, and they seem to get results.

In Dead Tired, three of the ladies join an environmental protest against woods being cut down for a wind farm. Everyone is chained to trees overnight, but when they wake up, the enigmatic Leila, the woman who invited them to the protest, has been strangled to death. There is more to Leila than meets the eye and motives and suspects abound.

The writing style is appealing and chatty, so this book felt easy and fun to get into at the end of long days. Kind of a Sophie Kinsella vibe, but with more dead bodies. Check it out!

I loved this book so much. The gang is back together investigating another murder. This book has all the same hilarious comedy of the first book. Watching Alice and her friends navigating motherhood also brought so many hilarious moments. The mystery of this one had many twists leaving you guessing who the murderer was.

Alice and Helen are back in Dead Tired the second book in the Expectant Detetives series. Alice and her mom friends may be short on sleep, but that doesn't stop them from getting wrapped up in another murder investigation. Life in a small English Village seems to be quite deadly. When a murder occurs at an eco protest where Alice is chained to a tree, her friends quickly drag her into investigating with them. In addition to trying to keep one year old Jack clean and Helen out of trouble, she is often cajoled into doing investigating with friends Alisa and Poppy.

I really like the character of Alice. She is smartly funny with endearing flaws. From hoping the dog will clean up the food the baby drops on the floor, to choosing a nap over cleaning for her son's birthday party, I found her very relatable. The group of women get themselves into some funny and sticky situations as they try to uncover a murderer.

This is a wonderful cozy mystery and I can't wait to read what Alice and her friends get up to next.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review.

Dead Tired, the second in the Expectant Detectives series, is just as humorous as the first. I found myself chuckling out loud numerous times while reading this.
The babies are all now about 1 year old and the mothers have all remained friends. Alice’s dog, Helen, hasn’t calmed down at all and continues to provide much of the comic relief. On a picnic together, the mothers meet two nude protestors and accept their invitation to a meeting of their environmental group. That leads to them agreeing to chain themselves to some trees overnight in hopes of finally getting a full night’s sleep. But things go awry when the next morning, one of the protestors is dead - strangled. Of course, the ladies can’t just leave things to Inspector Harris and end up doing their own investigation.
I adore Ailes’ writing. She has the ability to create a fun turn of phrase. Or the perfect idea. “It’s good to have a friend who is morally superior to you in almost every aspect - it gives you someone to look up to, someone to hold you accountable, someone to lie to on a regular basis.”
She seems to just nail new parenthood - the sleep deprivation, the inability to keep a clean house or clothes, the desire for adult company and conversation. But she doesn’t stint on a good solid mystery and I had no clue who was behind the murder. I can’t wait to see what Ailes has in store next.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for an advance copy of this book.

Dead Tired is the second book in The Expectant Detectives series and picks up a little over a year after the ending of the first book. The babies are all around a year old and the moms are nearing the end of their maternity leaves or have just gone back to work.

After meeting two nude activists and agreeing to attend an upcoming environmental protest, Alice and friends end up involved in another murder investigation for one of the nude activists found at the protest and this time there’s more at stake for Hen since it’s her new boss’s company that’s the target of the protest. The group is still nosy albeit helpful in some ways and other times not so much especially when Helen, Alice’s dog, is around.

I think I enjoyed this book better than the first one since I had a better sense of the quirkiness of the characters and there wasn’t a lot of side quests happening this time around and their investigation was pretty straightforward.


Thank you @minotaur_books for this gifted ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I shouldn't have even given this one a chance after I dnf'd the first one. I was so bored that it wasn't worth it to continue.

3.5⭐Dead Tired is a cozy mystery set in a small town, featuring stay-at-home moms, babies, and a clever dog. Alice becomes embroiled in a murder investigation after a protester is killed and discovers a web of secrets as she delves deeper. While the series aims to be humorous, I found it lacking in suspense and it didn't keep me turning the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

The first book in this series was great and this second book did not disappoint. I am excited for this series and I want more!

I enjoyed this installment of Alice and the gang with their detectoring! These mysteries are cozy and quick! As an American I especially enjoyed brushing up on phrases not commonly used as well! Will look forward to the next!

I am really loving this easy breezy, sarcastic cozy mystery series.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Kate Ailes heroines from Expectant Detectives reappear in Dead Tired and they’re mostly on maternity leave. The women, often with nursing babies, decide to take part in a climate change protest joining people desecrating an ancient meadow by building a wind farm.

They decide to join the protest by camping overnight chained to a tree but in the morning one of the protestors turns up dead.

But since the women think the local detective is not quite good at her job and they solved the last murder in town, they decide to sneak around and try to solve this one too.

The murdered woman was from London so they try to go to her funeral but it’s extremely posh, unlike her and them, so they really don’t fit in and leave fairly quickly.

How and if they actually solve the murder with babes in arms before their maternity leaves end is definitely an interesting story worth reading.

This is the second installment in The Expectant Detectives series by Kat Ailes. I thoroughly enjoyed returning to the small country life of the Cotswalds to see how our new moms are handling that newborn life. Lo and behold they once again find themselves entangled in a murder mystery.

I really enjoyed this second book, it was nice to see the friendships growing among the characters and I adored how much they leaned in on each other as they navigated parenthood for the first time. I actually saw a lot of growth and depth to our main character and found her to be overall less aloof and annoying.

I had a great time watching these characters hijinks as they solved yet another mysterious murder in their small town. This series is hilarious and as light hearted as it gets for a murder mystery.

I want to thank Minotaur books and NetGalley once again for the opportunity to review an early copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Dead Tired, Kat Ailes’ follow-up to The Expectant Detectives is just as fun and enjoyable as its predecessor. In this story, Alice and the friends she made in the small rural community she and her boyfriend Joe moved to are now mothers to babies instead of expecting them. I found all the pregnancy vibes so funny in the first book that I wondered if Ailes could keep up the level of funny with very small children instead and spoiler alert, the answer is yes. Alice’s ding dong dog Helen is back for additional comic relief. These are more slow burn mystery with a heavier focus on funny and the relationships between the women. For as ditzy as Alice is most of the time (another layer of funny) she also can be surprisingly observant and pick up clues that may seem unconnected to the reader. I felt like the motive of one and the execution of the other was clever. I’ve really enjoyed the first two books and I’m really looking forward to the next adventure, and murder, Ailes has for these women. Will she set it when the children are in their terrible twos? I can already imagine a fresh round of childhood disasters to deal with.

The second novel in The Expectant Detectives is here, Dead Tired, and spoiler - it's great! Alice, Poppy, Hen and Ailsa are back with all their babies in tow. And surprise, Ailsa had twins, which I loved being a mama to twins also! This time around the mums and babes are having a picnic in the woods when along comes some naked protestors, Leila and Raven! They share that the area they are in will soon be demolished for a site for wind fans. The ladies end up joining their protest on a whim which included being chained up overnight to the trees. 24 hours off baby duty sounded like a good plan at the time. However they are jolted awake the next morning to Poppy screaming, as someone has gotten strangled. Now the story is off and running. A great cozy mystery with lots of twists and turns around every corner. I absolutely loved this one and it's great getting to know the characters more. Move over Helen, (woof), Alice is now my fav!! Her character is so funny and blunt; I was cracking up constantly. While this story revolves around a murder, I loved that it showed an honest look at motherhood, the sweetness but also the challenges, especially during the first year or so. Also found family and community is heavy with this group of ladies. Kat Ailes is getting her stride and I can't wait to read more from her in the future! Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the gifted copies in exchange for an honest review.

As with Expectant Detectives, I really loved the characters and their relationships with each other. Their dialogue was witty and entertaining. Also similar to the first book, I wasn't impressed with the mystery part of the plot. I was entertained overall, but it wasn't a page turner for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From the first page to the finale, I was immediately pulled into the world that is Alice and her friends. And once again, they get involved in another murder investigation and this time the stakes are higher. I love the camaraderie of the women and the role they have in this drama. The mystery was nicely done with secrets abounding left to be uncovered. When I thought I was on the right trail, the author changed directions which benefited the story being told. It was fun watching all the pieces fall into place and after all was said and done, only one person was left standing, the killer. Overall, this was a delightfully charming sequel and I look forward to more adventures with Alice and her friends.

Dead Tired is the second book in The Expectant Detectives series.

What a cozy mystery series, who would have thought maternity leave for the ladies would result in being witness to another murder in the small little countryside village they live. They certainly didn't however, they find themselves investigating the murder while learning the ins and outs of motherhood.

My favourite gal pal pack is back and well, understandably exhausted. I think I enjoyed Dead Tired more than I enjoyed The Expectant Detectives. Kat Ailes writes very realistic characters and situations which makes it even more so entertaining. The good and the bad of new friendships as well as motherhood mixed so well. It was such a fun and interesting read; I hope this series continues.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

Expected Pub date: June 4, 2024.

Alice is back. The fantastic saga of "The Expectant Detectives" has churned out another little gem. A year has passed, and Alice, now a new mother, begins to suffer from small motherhood problems: little sleep, naughty children and the need to relax. We face another homocide and the gag is back too!
Now they have to deal with the eco-activists.
I found the writing improved compared to the first book, on the other hand the characters are always fun.
As for the plot, however, the story is new, but the modus operandi is still the same as the first book, unfortunately this is a characteristic of books defined as cozy mystery, you already know what awaits you, there are no big twists.
Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books for giving me this copy, in exchange for an honest review.