Is it just me, or are females always the "detectives" in these cozy mysteries?
In this case, a bunch of pregnant ones. Yikes!
And what better way to take your mind off of the impending doom of squeezing a baby out of a small hole in your body, than to meddle in others' business looking for clues in a murder!! That murder btw, took place during the birth of one baby in the town. Double yikes!
Gotta love those small towns, lol.

The mystery in this story was slow to develop, so slowly I wondered if they'd ever solve the case. But Alice is one determined momma-to-be, and ultimately, her sleuthing along with the other pregnant women, actually turn up some surprising results, not only in regards to the killer, but some old town secrets.

What I'm most intrigued about is that this is the start of a series. Will the next book feature the same ladies, STILL PREGNANT, or will it move on to newly pregnant women? We shall see . . .

If you like cozy mysteries, this one was good overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. Before reading it just didn't seem like something that would mesh well - murder and pregnancy?! In reality this was brilliant! I love the very realistic portrayal of pregnancy, the bonding at prenatal classes, and the characters inner thoughts at growing a baby. Add in murder (not grizzly), waddlings, and Helen. Oh Helen was the star for sure. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series.

I enjoyed this book, though I think that it might not entirely be a cozy. There is very little violence in the book, but lots of graphic description of childbirth (though ironically at the end it is mostly glossed over). Lots of twists involved in the main and back stories, though they do all get tied up at the end. Will be interesting how the next installment goes as they took care of a lot of the villagers in the first one.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review, opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed The Expectant Detectives! Alice is one of my favorite characters, I love how she says whatever pops into her head, and she had me giggling through most of the story. I had a lot of fun following Alice and the other mothers as they were trying to find out who killed Mr. Oliver. The story took some unexpected twists and kept me sucked in from the first page to the last.

The characters are fun and engaging, and Helen the beautiful but dumb doggy sidekick is a lot of fun and steals whatever scene she is in.

This is listed as #1 in a series so I'm super excited to see where this series is going to go, and what kind of hilarious shenanigans Alice and the other mothers are going to get themselves in the middle of next!

The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes
The Expectant Detectives #1
Narrated by Kitty Kelly

Things happen quickly for Alice and her partner, Joe. They met at a bar, got together immediately, moved in together, now Alice is pregnant, and they know they can't afford to raise a child in the big city. Joe finds a place, sight unseen, in the little sleepy village of Penton and off they go to make a new start, unprepared for just about anything. Certainly they aren't prepared for childbirth and parenthood, neither of which they've given any thought to except that they can't afford those things.

The tiny house is barely habitable and is unfurnished but they have their stinky air mattress which has them rolling together into a big lump with their dog, Helen. I'd worry about Helen and any future baby of Alice and Joe's since Alice loves Helen, but will allow her off leash almost all the time. Even after things happen to Helen, she's not supervised enough to keep her out of trouble. If this story wasn't extremely cozy I would fret about Helen. But never fear, Helen one of the main characters of this series so I stopped worrying about her.

Whoa, prepare for childbirth stuff! Having never had a baby, this story make me feel happy I missed the experience when it comes to birthing. As much as Alice and her new friends judge the village folk and each other, the village does have its useful ways that have had it existing for a very long time. This is a kind of hippy, new age-ish place and they have everything you need for the most natural of births. The entire village and nearby commune seem to thrive on natural cures and whatnot. But there is some underlying resentment going on all around with this place and the people and there are a heap of secrets. It doesn't take long for Alice to realize that even Joe seems to be keeping secrets from her and she wonders if she really knows him.

But off to detect a murder that happens at the second birthing class Alice and Joe attend. This happens while they are elbow deep in the birthing experience of Hen, who goes into labor at the class. Eventually all the women of the class are in on the murder detecting in one way or another or else they are suspecting the villagers of being murderers, including a pregnant woman or two. But it's all in good fun, Alice never misses a chance for a good snack, and doesn't seem to mind that she's totally clueless about how to be a grownup and do grownup things.

I was able to both read the digital version and listen to the audiobook. Kitty Kelly does a very good job with distinctive voices for everyone. Her chirpy voice fits the story so well and there is a lot to laugh about in this story. As much as this village is so different than the rural living that I love, I do think I could get goofy with these women when it came to amateur detecting, especially when there seems to be a good snack around every corner.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.

This is exactly what I needed to keep my attention on an otherwise dreary day. It’s interesting sleuthing with characters who may have to give up their investigation at a moment’s notice if their water breaks. I loved getting to know all the characters and following along with Alice as she dealt with her trepidation at becoming a mother and solving a murder at the same time. I laughed a lot and was wrapped up in the investigation; the solution kept me guessing and I was hooked from the start. It’ll be interesting to see how the series progresses (since they all eventually have to have their babies and won’t be so expectant anymore).

This was a delightful cozy mystery with a great cast of characters. This book was very well written and the writing style gave main character, Alice a very strong and unique character voice. Overall this was a great read that I recommend checking out if you are looking for an enjoyable cozy mystery.

This book was so much fun to read. We have 4 expectant mothers playing detective trying to solve the case of a dead shop owner, and to top it off one of them was also giving birth when it happened! This author deserves all of the praise, because this plot??? WAS EVERYTHING! So Alice and her boyfriend Joe decide to leave London and move somewhere more “country” so they can raise their new baby. Little do they know what they signed up for, there is more murder, some family secrets get revealed. I can’t stop raving about this plot though, the women are hilarious, and Alice’s dog Helen is funny and totally relatable. This book needs to be read, I highly recommend.

A group of expectant women, all near their delivery dates, meet and begin investigating a murder that occurred during their ante-natal class. Alice somehow seems to get assigned many of the tasks of the investigation. It is fun to follow her fumbling through these tasks.
It was both a funny and entertaining sort of chicklit cosy crime! can't wait for the next in the series :)

I wanted to read The Expectant Detectives by Kat Aisles because it sounded like an interesting premise. It is a cozy mystery. When Alice finds out she is expecting, she and her partner move out of the city to a small town. They attend a birth group and Alice meets some other expectant mothers who she is able to begin a friendship with. During their first birth group meeting, one of the moms goes into labor and a tenant in the downstairs shop turns up dead. This group of expectant mothers sets out to solve the murder and some other mysteries that have popped up in the town.

This one had calamities in the vein of Finlay Donovan. It was a cute, sweet, cozy mystery.

This just was not for me. I did enjoy the little humor, and wanted to try a different genre, but overall, just did not fit my style.

Very funny (I snort-laughed several times while reading this), great cast, good mystery, and my new favorite literary dog...

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. This was a fun little mystery involving women who are all pregnant and explores the move from big town to small country village. There were some fun twists and turns.

cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, laugh-riot, snarky, closed-circle-mystery****

Old friends, new friends, a New Age community, feminists, advanced pregnancy, and a murder to solve. At their first group meeting an herbalist was murdered downstairs and things got crazier from then on. Laughed myself silly over this well done cozy mystery!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley.

Please remember, I don’t read a lot of mysteries, and maybe now I know why. There is so much to keep track of! This was a true mystery to me, as I truthfully had no idea “whodunnit.” I really enjoyed the first half of this book, where pregnant Alice, her newfound friends in rural England, and her imbecile dog try to solve a murder that occurred downstairs from their birthing class. I found Alice funny. Her witty descriptions of her new hometown, her self awareness of ever-present pregnancy cravings, and the description of Helen, her dog, had me amused. But to me, the second half of this book dragged as speculations bogged down the plot and characters from the past really started to confuse me. If you are a mystery lover, this book may be worth your time, it just was not my cup of tea.

Interesting read. A couple is expecting a baby and decides to move from London to the country, only the place they choose holds secrets and they involve the couple which only becomes clear near the end of the book. But the crimes that have occurred are solved it appears that everything is going to be okay. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This had me laughing right out loud! I had a feeling there would be some light murder, and a lot of baby advice, and probably some female friendships...but Noone prepared me to be ready for the snark or silliness!
Normally a cozy mystery or cozy fantasy for me is at most a 3.5 just by design, but the fact that I laughed out loud so many times (and believe me when I say that is rare in a mystery book) bumps this up to a 4.5 with a round to a 5 because, why not!
Thanks for the ARC!

3.5 Stars: Alice and Joe are expecting a baby in a month and decide to leave London for the quiet country town of Penton. During their second day of childbirth class, which is above the local herbal shop, one of the other participants gives birth right there, and a man dies downstairs. Alice and another person from the class, Poppy, take their dogs for a walk the next day to compare notes, as everyone from the class has been questioned by the police. The dogs slip away and they have to follow them into the local commune, where they inadvertently notify them of the death the day before. If you think this could be a recipe for a comical mystery, you would be right. Alice, Poppy and a few others from the childbirth class decide that they must do their own 'detectoring' in order to clear their names and those of their partners. While doing this, there are lots of mishaps, humorous discoveries and even a few surprises that I did not see coming. My favorite character is Helen, Alice and Joe's dog. She provides so much entertainment, including sitting on a toy piano in the middle of the night and screaming because she scared herself, which in turn scare Alice and Joe.

If you like a light mystery with fun characters and engaging writing, this is one to pick up.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book review of The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First, thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this early release!
Grab this! You can pre-order it since it comes out January 9, 2024.

I thought it was a super fun whodunit!

Alice is expecting and along with her partner, Joe, decides to move to the country to race their child, outside the hustle and bustle of the city. At her first prenatal class, they end up being questioned as suspects in a murder investigation.
When Alice and her other pregnant friends from class decide to investigate the death, the craziness starts. They discover the local commune has a crazy, sordid past and while there, her dog Helen is nearly poisoned and dies. All the clues have them suspecting various folks in this small, sleepy town. Will they all figure it out before someone else comes up murdered?
Quick read, great characters and some really funny parts!
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Expectant Detectives
Kat Ailes
Mystery
Nancy
4

Londoners Alice and Joe hadn’t planned on moving; they both loved the city and their life there. With Alice unexpectedly pregnant, though, they’ve decided that the smog, their lack of a yard, and all the general urban dangerousness make it unwise to stay. So, convinced by the flowery descriptions online of the glory of a tiny country town, they’ve rented a cottage (sight unseen) in Penton, where they intend to set up housekeeping in the isolated village. Long walks with Helen (the dog), and with the baby when he arrives in a few weeks, tea in what promises to be their charming new garden, sounds so idyllic that they’re more than a little stunned to to discover the crumbling condition of their new home. They’re determined to make a go of it, so they inflate the air mattress in the sitting room (their bed won’t fit in the bedroom and definitely can’t be maneuvered up the narrow stairs) and set out for the (extremely expensive) childbirth class they’ve signed up for, hoping to meet other young couples as they learn enough about having a baby that they can manage not to muck it up.

The class is held upstairs over the local herbal store whose owner is found murdered halfway through the second class, prompting one of the women to go into labor and creating general chaos, but also sparking a shared interest in the expectant mothers as they band together to find the killer on their own.

Expectant Detectives is a genuinely funny, enjoyable read! Helen (the fantastic dog) alone is worth the price of the book. If you’re looking for something light, entertaining, and fresh, I hope you’ll pick this up!

My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for the chance to read this book prior to its publication.

Look for this review and more at NancysBookNook on Facebook!