Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in the Expectant Detective series and it is soooooo good. For anyone in a pare ting role you will relate to Alice and her friends. They are sleep deprived, exhausted, looking for anything to break up the monotony of taking care of children. This is definitely my new favorite cozy series!

Thank you to Minotaur Books for the advanced reader copy and to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Dead Tired is the second book in a cozy mystery series that started with Expectant Detectives. We again follow Alice in her new home in the English countryside. But now, she and her friends from the prenatal care classes all have infants. And somehow they manage to stumble across a dead body.

It took me a bit to remember who was who. I should have reviewed the characters from the first book before beginning to listen to this second one. But I was immediately captured again by the great deadpan humor. The first person POV is perfection. I had an easier time deciding who I trusted, and I enjoyed all the strange adventures Alice and her friends went on as they worked again to solve a crime. And of course, Alice's dog Helen continues to steal all the scenes she is in.

I was especially impressed by the absolutely amazing audio performance by Kitty Kelly. She had a fantastic feel for Alice's POV and her level of sarcasm and humor.

I am so glad this is a series and look forward to more to come. Both the mysteries and the comfort of bonding with other new parents are so well done.

New moms who are looking for something non-kid-related to do join a local environmental activist group and find themselves mixed up in (another) murder investigation!

This cozy mystery is right up my alley for obvious reasons, and I found myself relating sooo much with fellow hot mess mom Alice and her friends. It is the second installment in a series, and I had not read the first book, but I didn't feel the least bit lost. The story dragged a bit at times but was full of interesting characters and hilarious dialogue that sometimes had me cackling. Hats off to the audiobook narrator, whose delivery was impeccable.

The Expectant Detectives are back! Dead Tired is the second book in this mystery series about a group of new moms in the Cotswolds who investigate crimes they just happen to stumble into. The moms met at a prenatal class in the first book, and this one picks up when the babies are all about a year old. The moms, babies, and dogs are enjoying a picnic when they encounter two eco protestors. Next thing you know, Alice and company are chaining themselves to trees as part of an overnight protest to protect the meadow from becoming a wind farm. The next morning, one of the protestors is dead. But never fear – the moms are on the case and about to get down to “detectoring”!

This clever cozy mystery is so much fun! It’s light but twisty, with no shortage of potential suspects and motives. Fans of cozy mysteries will be charmed by this quirky cast of characters. Alice is hilariously endearing; she’s cute and chatty, sarcastic and completely socially awkward, and the way she stumbles through new motherhood is so relatable! Alice’s unruly dog Helen is such a hoot too, constantly getting herself and Alice into embarrassing scrapes. I am loving this series and am thrilled that the author is leaving the door open for future installments!

The audiobook version makes this story even more enjoyable. Narrator Kitty Kelly is perfect as Alice! Her delivery is wry and humorous, and her British accent really makes you feel like you’re in the English countryside.

Another fun book in what is now a favorite series of mine! This unexpected but seriously close friend group, who are willing to jump out of their comfort zone so easily for each other and to try new things is such a delight to read about. I feel like the MC is even more comfortable in this book so there are less gaffes and more genuine laughs. The fact that Alice and her new friends love to snoop and don't pretend otherwise is refreshing in a cozy mystery like this one and I totally understand them trying to find meaning and purpose for their lives outside of motherhood (which is of course miraculous and important, but also important for mom to find her own purpose as a singular person). As a newish mom I totally felt so many of the motherhood portions and wish I had such a close friend group, who would drop everything to help you and your new babe. The mystery had me all twisted up and very shocked by all the reveals at the end!

Title: Dead Tired
Author: Kat Ailes
Genre: Mystery
Media: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

—————————

Favorite quote: N/A
Sum of this book in 5 words or less: Funny people!
KU: Yes

—————————

Themes: parenting, murder, dogs

—————————

Thoughts:

Short summary - A group of new mom friends tackle solving crimes during their maternity leaves and after.

I laughed out loud for a couple parts of this book and I absolutely adore books that can actually make me laugh! I’m sad that this was my first book by this author, but I’m going to go back and read the first in this series! I love the friends' relationship with each other - it was pure gold!

Another fun cozy mystery! This one solidified the fact that this series reminds me a bit of the Finlay Donovan series which I loved. The found family vibe in these women is great and their friendship is so comical. Plus the addition of the dogs makes me heart happy. Helen being the worst dog in this one made me laugh so many times. Some how I think the ladies were even better investigators in this one lol

Overall I enjoyed this book and going back to the countryside of England. I still think Alice's character is absolutely hilarious and I loved all the antics that her, baby Jack, and Helen got into.

Similar to the first book in this series I felt like the conclusion of the murders was rushed and left me with questions about motive.

I really wish there had been more character development for everyone from the last book. While this book is taking place a year after the first one I felt like I still really didn't know much about the characters besides the fact that they all had their babies. I was also really looking forward to closure from the first book but those events were hardly mentioned.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the performance by Kitty Kelly and found this book more enjoyable to listen to than having physical copy.

The Expectant Detectives are back! Dead Tired is the second book in this mystery series about a group of new moms in the Cotswolds who investigate crimes they just happen to stumble into. The moms met at a prenatal class in the first book, and this one picks up when the babies are all about a year old. The moms, babies, and dogs are enjoying a picnic when they encounter two naked eco protestors. Next thing you know, Alice and company are chaining themselves to trees as part of an overnight protest to protect the meadow from becoming a wind farm. The next morning, one of the protestors is dead. But never fear – the moms are on the case and about to get down to “detectoring”!

This clever cozy mystery is so much fun! It’s light but twisty, with no shortage of potential suspects and motives. Fans of cozy mysteries will be charmed by this quirky cast of characters. Alice is hilariously endearing; she’s cute and chatty, sarcastic and completely socially awkward, and the way she stumbles through new motherhood is so relatable! Alice’s unruly dog Helen is such a hoot too, constantly getting herself and Alice into embarrassing scrapes. I am loving this series and am thrilled that the author is leaving the door open for future installments!

The audiobook version makes this story even more enjoyable. Narrator Kitty Kelly is perfect as Alice! Her delivery is wry and humorous, and her British accent really makes you feel like you’re in the English countryside.

This series is perfect for fans of Finlay Donovan and Dial A for Aunties. Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Kat Ailes’s debut mystery, The Expectant Detectives, was one of my favorite mysteries I read in the last year. British cozy mysteries hit that sweet spot of light, fun reads that aren’t fluffy and deliver a great mystery. In the first book, we were introduced to a group of expecting mothers who found themselves involved in a murder investigation after an eventful antenatal class. In the follow up, Dead Tired, the new mums have another mystery on their hands.

Where did The Expectant Detectives leave off? (no spoilers)

Alice and her partner Joe had moved from busy London to the sleepy countryside village of Penton when they discovered Alice is pregnant. They are adjusting to country life, and their dog Helen is quite content. Alice met a group of women at her antenatal class who form a close friendship. Poppy is laidback (her partner Lynn is definitely not), Hen is beautiful and uptight, and Alisa is a hippie-ish free spirit. When someone is murdered during their antenatal class, the four expecting mothers decide to play detective. What else do they have to do? A murder is solved, babies are born, and life in Penton calms down…for now.

What is Dead Tired about?

Alice didn’t think maternity leave would involve so much, well, murder. Nearly one year after having their babies, the new mums are trying to enjoy their maternity leave. On a picturesque picnic (which honestly doesn’t live up to the hype), their lunch is disrupted by a very beautiful and very naked couple having a photoshoot done. The pair are protesting the desecration of the meadow to build a wind farm. Even more awkward than the public nudity, it turns out Hen works for Aether, the green energy company they are protesting.

Hen doesn’t mention her affiliation with Aether, and Leila and Raven (the nude couple) invite the four to a planning meeting about the protest (Hen obviously refuses to attend). One thing leads to another and Alice, Poppy, and Alisa find themselves chained to trees alongside the Earth Force members. When Leila is murdered the night of the protest, the four friends can’t help but get involved. Afterall, they have a 100% solve rate for murders (exactly 1 out of 1).

What did I think?

Ailes’s writing and the Expectant Detective mystery series as a whole is such a delight to read. The mysteries are compelling and the reader can follow the clues right alongside the amateur detectives. Alice is a fantastic leading character and narrator. Not only is her commentary hilarious, but the British banter among the friends makes the books have a light and fun feel, despite the murder.

As with the first book in the series, the audiobook is narrated by Kitty Kelly and she perfectly captures Alice’s unique voice. Her cadence delivering Alice’s one-liners is flawless and she brings her character to life. A shout out to one of my favorite small moments in the book, right after Alice learns that nude Raven’s brother is named Sam, she comments on how it is a bit strange their parents would name one Raven and the other Sam. He responds that ‘Raven’ is his chosen name. Later he mentions that Helen is a weird name for a dog, and Alice deadpans “it’s her chosen name”. I laughed out loud!

Alice’s boyfriend Joe takes a backseat for this book, which didn’t detract at all. Alice and the other mums are close friends now, and there was more than enough content surrounding them. As a bonus, Alice’s best friend from London, Maya, makes a strong appearance. And we may be seeing a lot more of Maya, depending on how things play out!

Poppy and Alice’s friendship is one of my favorite parts of the series. As the new book opens, Alice has noticed Poppy seems withdrawn. Hen and Alisa have gotten closer, relying on one another now that both are single moms. All four women have unique personalities, but they work well as a friend group. I was excited to hear there was a second book after loving the first book so much, and it didn’t disappoint. Except when it ended, because I was sad it was over!

I didn’t guess the ending at all, and it was cleverly constructed. In mysteries, it’s nice when the reader can look back and notice that the clues were there all along, we just needed to fit them together. Alice’s superpower is that people underestimate her. She’s funny and kind, but she’s sharp as a tack behind her friendly exterior. The last line has me hoping that there is a third book in the works!

I liked Dead Tired as much as the first book, The Expectant Detectives, which is a high bar! If you haven’t read this series yet, I can’t recommend it enough.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for my copy. Opinions are my own.

3.5 stars. Overall, this book was a cute cozy mystery. I found myself laughing at the main character’s antics several times and the writing was well done.

However, I don’t think I’m the target audience for this book. If you are a mother, than you will probably deeply relate to the book in a way I couldn’t. While cozy mysteries aren’t usually as intense, the pace of this felt pretty slow for me. The cozy part of the mystery was the mom group and friendship between the women as they get used to motherhood. The murder itself takes place at an environmental protest, so the plot centers around the group fighting the installation of wind turbines in a local park.

If those topics are of interest, then this book is worth a read. It just wasn’t for me. However, I would read another series by this author in the future.

*Note, I have not read the first book of the series and read this as a standalone.

Happy Pub Day on Tuesday (I’m tardy) to @k.ailes (Kat Ailes) and DEAD TIRED, the second installment of The Expectant Detectives series. When I was invited to read and listen to The Expectant Detectives, I was expecting a fun and light read and it exceeded my expectations. See my post from January for the review.

Dead Tired was just as funny. Alice and her friends have had their babies but that doesn’t stop them from stumbling upon murders and doing their own “detectoring.” They get themselves caught up once again in a murder investigation and really can’t help themselves getting more and more involved. So many laugh out loud moments. Alice and her dog are my favorites, and I could laugh at their antics all day. I’m already excited for another book!

I very much enjoyed the narrator, Kitty Kelly, in the audiobook and preferred the audio over the text copy only because she really brings Alice’s character to life.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Many thanks to @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for the opportunity to read this one and pick up with this crew where they left off in book 1!

My favorite mommy group from Penton is back at it again! But, this time they have babies. Mommy-hood has definitely turned our MC, Alice, into a more careful adult, but she still manages to

Hooray for the return of the Expectant Detectives! Well, they (Alice, Poppy, Hen, and Elsa) are no longer expecting—their babies are now a year old—but somehow another murder falls into their laps in this small village in the Cotswolds. These women, friends since they met in ante-natal class in the previous book, are overwhelmed by the duties of motherhood, and, as the title indicates, dead tired. However, the prospect of unraveling another criminal perks them up, and they plow forward in hilarious fashion, determined to solve the crime before the police do. The characters they encounter here, largely associated with a green energy company and a group of environmental activists, make for good victims and suspects. These characters are relatable, especially Alice, who manages to make it to the end of the book with her son, her dog, her home, and her car more or less intact. They are warm and funny, and use their “young, overwhelmed mothers” status to good end, as they are often overlooked and rarely viewed as investigators. This series is especially good on audio, as it is easy to envision that Alice is a friend telling you this story, complete with her trademark sarcasm and witty asides. Although I’m a bit suspicious of just how many people can be murdered in the English countryside before everyone moves away and there are no more murders to solve, I’m already looking forward to the next adventure of these intrepid mothers! Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

Happy publication day to Dead Tired by Kate Ailes! A big thank you to @macmillan.audio and #netgalley for the ALC- all opinions are my own and my opinion is that I loved it! Getting this book “forced” me to read the first book in the series, The Expectant Detectives. I firmly believe that you should read these in order because you really get to know the characters in book one and it’s nice to have that history going into Dead Tired. It is typically risky getting book two, knowing you need to read book one first, and not knowing if you will like either. I believe this is a risk worth taking for this series- I absolutely adored these books and NEED MORE.

The characters are so fleshed out, so THEMSELVES, so consistent and fortunately, so funny. Alice has become what feels like a beloved friend, and I want to hang out with this group! In this book, the babies have been born and maternity leave doesn’t go the way any of them expected. Alice, Poppy, Hen and Ailsa find themselves a year into motherhood and in the middle of another mystery. It is just a hoot and a half and I recommend both books! It was particularly fun to read them one after the other.

Narrator Kitty Kelly NAILS IT. She has great different voices for the many characters (which allows them to be very easy to keep straight) and she makes funny lines even funnier. Perfect, perfect casting for these books!

4.5/5 stars
10 hours 18 minutes at 1x on audio, I listened at 1.25x
Location: Penton in the Cotswold Hills

The Expectant Detectives series is back with book two, Dead Tired! After not particularly loving the first book, Kat Ailes has redeemed herself with this follow-up!

Alice and the gang are back, and since I can now appreciate her spunkiness and charm, this was a fun cozy mystery! With their one-year olds in tow, I was especially impressed that Ailes didn't just cast these young toddlers aside for ease of storytelling; they were part of the day-to-day amateur sleuthing, and the characters' lives adapted to accommodate their children (how true to life)! Truths about motherhood were ever-present, and I enjoyed how honest and real Alice was in her journey as a mother! Although being a parent makes this story even more relatable, this mystery is universally appealing!

I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel about Joe, Alice’s partner, but I am beginning to understand his sarcastic remarks!

Continuity throughout a series is huge to me, and I was delighted that Kitty Kelly was again back to narrate these antics! I just love how she portrayed Alice and her emotions!

Bonus points for the mention of the old TV show CatDog!

I can't wait to continue on with this series and see what happens next!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

This second in series cozy mystery was published practically on the heels of the first book, at least in the US market (published January 9, 2024, in US; first published June 8, 2023). The sequel didn't quite reach the level of its predecessor for me, but it didn't fall far short. I was definitely entertained. I perceived that it had less personality than the first, though, in all fairness, that perception might be colored by the fact that it's hard to come up with truly fresh baby and dog antics, upon which so much of the humor of the first book relied. Those parts aside, the new mystery stands well on its own, fitting thoroughly into the world created in the first book, with interesting layers and interconnections, and having a decent twist at the end.

The first book is alluded to often, but on a very basic level. I recommend reading these books in order, even though it's a fresh and separate story, at least to get to know the main characters and how they became friends.

The end leaves an opening for third installment, which I will surely read if it comes to fruition.

Kitty Kelly narrates the audio edition, as she did for The Expectant Detectives. If the series continues, Kelly would be a most welcome, comfortable piece of its success. That is, I like the consistency of a returning narrator in a series (as long as I like the narrator's work).

This unbiased review is based on an ARC supplied by the publisher—Macmillan Audio. Publication is expected June 4. [3.5⭐]

"Dead Tired" is the second book in the hilarious "Expectant Detectives" mystery series from Kat Ailes. I wasn't sure how this book would stack up to the first in the series, but it did not disappoint. This book was such a fun, lighthearted, and cozy mystery full of twists and surprises. Alice and her friends were hilarious, and I loved that this book took on real-life issues that we face as parents. I wasn't sure about the eco-protest storyline at first, but it ended up being a compelling mystery. I had many guesses and suspects in mind, and I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. “The Expectant Detectives” is quickly becoming a new favorite series. Fingers crossed for book #3!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kitty Kelly. She did such a fabulous job bringing the story to life and made it extra fun with her comedic timing. She had unique voices and accents for the many characters, which made it easy to tell them all apart. I was completely hooked by her storytelling and highly recommend this one on audio!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook, and to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun sequel!
The "expectant detectives" find themselves caught up in a protest to save a meadow from a developing wind farm. After a night chained to a tree, one of the protesters ends up strangled. Even though these ladies are new moms, they can't help but be intrigued by the mystery and end up once again investigating.
This group of new moms is fun. They are all different and have different lifestyles, but go well together. We get some old characters like Rowan from the first book, and new characters like the people from the protest. I wanted more Helen! She's too funny.
Something I appreciated was that this book does not make parenthood seem easy. It felt very real and was fun to read because of that.
Like the first book, this book did focus a lot on the mystery, but there was trips with the babies, and other things that focused more on the friendships and family. The plot moved along well and I did not see the ending coming.
I believe the audiobook had the same narrator as the first one. She had a very British accent (as the book takes place in England), but it was not hard to understand or follow. She really put a lot of emotion into the narration.
I can't wait to see what antics Alice and the girls get into next!

Thank you St Martins and MacMillan audio for review copies of Dead Tired, a second in a strong new cozy series, perfect with the cozy tropes of unwitting detectives, small town themes, and a higher than expected body count. What stands out here is the recognition that new moms aren't robots, aren't just moms, but are perhaps, besides being dead tired (so true), are still people with brains, intellect, and interests/experiences that make them more than moms. I am grateful for that kind of gentle theme woven into a fun cozy mystery.


But the real win is Ailes' subtly snarky writing, her humorous turns of phrase about friendship and women and motherhood, and how for me this humor keeps the book real, makes me say I would befriend Alice in a second, messiness celebrated (and I would humor the dog). I get the chaos vibes, the uncertainty of new motherhood and female friendships and perhaps wanting something more outside of the day to day stuff... Ailes gets this and I love that her mysteries are funny, smart, and engaging, a great series of fans of Finlay Donovan!

I LOVED this on audiobook in particular, Kitty Kelly nailed the tone and humor and made me laugh out loud