Hilarious! This was a zany cosy murder mystery about a group of women who meet at a prenatal class. When the old man who owns the store underneath where the prenatal class is held dies during the class, the group is convinced that the police are not doing enough to investigate, so they decide to look into things themselves. It turns out that the town holds many secrets. Anyone who has ever been nine months pregnant will identify with the women, and find a lot to laugh about. The small village is home to a hippie commune and new age stuff which adds to the humour. ( )

I took a chance on a mystery with a cute title and had so much fun reading it! Joe and Alice decide to leave London for the small town of Penton in the Cotswolds. The fact that Alice undertakes this move at approximately 38 weeks pregnant, with a handful of a dog named Helen isn't the strangest thing that takes place. The area has a very hippie vibe--with lots of tie dye, natural cure shops and even a local commune. The bodily fluids flow when Hen's water breaks during the first prenatal class and by the time the paramedics arrive, they wonder who exactly they are there for--a possible baby or the dead guy in the shop below the classroom. It's a bit edge, a bit dark but as the story goes along, the characters really get together and all kinds of mysteries are revealed in this small town. ( )

This was a fun read! Some parts of the story were rather funny and the mystery kept me guessing. Pregnancy and childbirth play a prominent role in this story and I thought it was rather entertaining to imagine a group of hugely pregnant women playing detective. I am so glad that I took a chance and decided to give this book a try.

Alice and her boyfriend, Joe, have just moved to town with their dog, Helen, and are due to have a baby very soon. They enroll in a childbirth class and not only does one student go into labor during the first session but a man dies in the shop downstairs and they are all considered suspects. Alice wants to make friends and what could be a better way to bond than solving a murder with some of the women she has met at childbirth class?

I listened to the audiobook and thought Kitty Kelly did a great job with this story. This is only the second time that I have listened to this narrator’s work and I have been impressed both times. She did a great job with the more comical moments in this story which helped to bring the story to life. I liked the voices that she used for the various characters in this story and thought that she brought just the right amount of emotion to her reading. I believe that her performance added to my overall enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that there was a nice balance of humor and mystery in this book and I loved the fact that it kept me guessing until the end. I plan to pick up the second book just as soon as it becomes available.

I received a review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio and Minotaur Books. ( )

Alice is eight months pregnant and she and boyfriend, Joe, have decided that London isn’t the best place to raise a child so they have moved to the small town of Penton, a place Alice describes as ‘hippy posh’. The first night there, they have signed up for a prenatal ‘crash course’, partly to meet new people but mostly because both Alice and Joe have been kind of avoiding the whole birthing experience.

The course has been going fine, well, except for all the graphic descriptions of childbirth but there are other couples, most of whom seem friendly and just as aghast at the birthing details as Alice and Joe. But suddenly things go way off script. First, one of the other expectant mothers goes into labour and Alice finds herself pulled into help and second, the man who owns the store downstairs is found murdered.

When the wife of one of the other expectant mothers, becomes the main suspect, she suggests she and Alice do their own investigation. They enlist the aid of some of the other women and soon find themselves immersed not only in this recent murder but two suspicious occurrences of a nearby commune from many years ago.

The Expectant Detectives is Kat Ailes debut cozy mystery novel and what a fun and funny debut it is. The characters are all mostly likeable especially Alice who seems to have few filters. She is insecure and undiplomatic, not the best characteristics for an amateur detective, but she is also hilarious. But I think my favourite character is Alice’s dog, the irrepressible Helen. I don’t know if this is the start of a new series but I sure hope so because I don’t think I’ve laughed out loud reading a cozy mystery as I did with this book.

Oh, and the mystery is pretty good too.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review ( )

The Expectant Detectives is Kat Ailes debut contemporary mystery, out from Minotaur Books.

Alice and Joe have moved to the small town of Penton in the English countryside with Alice 8 months pregnant. Immediately signing up for a prenatal class, and hoping to make some friends, they try to settle into their new life. But someone unexpectedly goes into labor during the second class, and the shop owner is found dead. Having nothing better to do, the women become determined to solve the murder, much to the chagrin of the men in their lives.

Alice isn't necessarily a likeable character, but she's not unlikeable either. I was just kind of indifferent to her, possibly because as a childless adult I couldn't relate to her. She just seemed kind of...not smart sometimes. Even Hen, one of the pregnant women, seems to think she's completely dumb and useless. I did really like Ailsa, as she was the one who didn't give a crap about anyone else and told it like it was. Poppy and Lin were a good counter-balance to Alice.

The writing was okay, although even for a cozy mystery it seemed really slow. I knew not to expect a fast-paced suspense, but it lagged a lot for the first half. The forest commune was an interesting addition to the story, intertwining a lot of the characters together and connecting storylines.

All in all, a pretty good debut from Kat. This appears to be the first in a series, which could be interesting. If you're a fan of cozy mysteries, family secrets, hippies, and dogs, then give this one a try!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @MinotaurBooks for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own. ( )