She’s back! Helen, the Legally Blonde of dogdom, has her own series! Well, so does her delightful, no longer pregnant, fur-parent Alice. And Helen has a little face that she can lick peanut butter off — one year old Jack. This is the second “Expectant Detectives” novel, the first taking place while Alice was 38 weeks pregnant as a murder occurred while she and her fellow mums were in a childbirth class. The mums, Ailsa, Poppy, Hen and Alice, banded together to solve the murder mystery. It’s now a year later and everyone is burdened by an intense year of first time parenting.

During a picnic in a Cotswold meadow, the young mums meet a pair of naked environmentalists, who are protesting the wind farm that will destroy the meadow, along with a 500 year old copse of chestnut trees. Hen doesn’t say much, since she’s the PA to the CEO of the corporation responsible. Alice is initially confused, asking “aren’t wind farms good for the environment?” but the two nude people insist it’s “greenwashing” — something that promises more environmental benefits that it delivers. Without Hen (who needs her job), the other three decide to attend an Earth Force meeting out of curiosity. Alice, Poppy and Ailsa go a step further: agreeing to be chained to the ancient trees to prevent their plowing down. It’s quite uncomfortable, made more uncomfortable by the fact that one of the chained up tree huggers (an original nude person) is murdered overnight.

Alice is such a delightful, funny and charming main character. She’s a reluctant detective, too — having to deal with a laughing baby at a funeral or Helen becoming a swamp creature makes her adorably different from other cozy sleuths. Her friends are also experiencing the same challenges, although Ailsa has it doubled with twins and only Hen is not on maternity leave. The author has constructed another wonderful mystery with a great cast of characters. 5 stars! Definitely waiting for the toddler installment next!

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 are mentioned at all.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO A meadow and a copse of chestnut trees are part of the plot.

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

This is a light hearted cozy mystery that involves stay at home moms or moms on maternity leave.
Alice finds herself involved in a murder investigation of a local protester, and soon she finds herself wrapped up in a lot of secrets, and she knows she needs to act fast.
I haven't been able to connect to any of the characters, but this is still a fun cozy mystery series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.