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A review by mackenzierm
The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes
slow-paced
3.5
3.5 stars.
Alice and her partner, Joe, move to the sleepy and idyllic village of Penton, hoping to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of her first child. The rural bliss they'd hoped for doesn't quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their prenatal class, and they find themselves amidst a murder investigation. Alice and her newfound pregnant friends set out to solve the murder and clear their names. As they investigate, more secrets and tensions are revealed than first met the eye, leaving Alice in way over her head.
THE EXPECTANT DETECTIVES took me a while to get into, and I nearly made the decision to DNF because I was struggling. Evidently, I persevered and ended up enjoying the story. It's a slow build-up as Alice, Joe, and the village of Penton are introduced, spanning many chapters before anything of true interest crops up. I also found Alice's internal monologue to be difficult to parse through - she comes off as very ditzy and I wasn't sure I could follow her along for the duration of this book. Once things started happening though, this became a non-issue as I was thoroughly interested in what mysteries lied within the village of Penton.
I soon began to adore Alice - she's quirky, always says the wrong thing, and finds her way into an enormous amount of trouble. She's a great main character for this story with her witty sense of humour. I also really liked her newfound pregnant friends: Hen, Poppy, and Ailsa. Each were well described and dynamic characters that developed a good bond with Alice. Ailsa, in particular, may be my favourite of Alice's new friends because she is so prickly and unafraid of putting others in their places whilst also maintaining a high level of secrecy around herself. Lastly, on the note of favourite characters: Helen. Helen is loaded with golden retriever energy and makes for a great companion for Alice. Both love snacking and seemingly get into the MOST trouble, whenever possible. I'm a sucker for a dog in a book, particularly a mystery, so Helen was quickly high in my esteem.
As for the mystery - Alice and her pregnant friends quickly find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation when a murder occurs during their prenatal class, leaving them all as key suspects. I loved seeing these pregnant women sleuthing through the town, discovering new secrets and long-old tensions in Penton. The mystery aspects of this story were well done and I enjoyed how each clue the women discovered led them onto another trail before all the clues came together to enable the reader to parse out the bigger picture. The ending was well done and I can't wait to see what book two has in store!
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Minotaur Books, for a gifted digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions shared are my own.
Alice and her partner, Joe, move to the sleepy and idyllic village of Penton, hoping to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of her first child. The rural bliss they'd hoped for doesn't quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their prenatal class, and they find themselves amidst a murder investigation. Alice and her newfound pregnant friends set out to solve the murder and clear their names. As they investigate, more secrets and tensions are revealed than first met the eye, leaving Alice in way over her head.
THE EXPECTANT DETECTIVES took me a while to get into, and I nearly made the decision to DNF because I was struggling. Evidently, I persevered and ended up enjoying the story. It's a slow build-up as Alice, Joe, and the village of Penton are introduced, spanning many chapters before anything of true interest crops up. I also found Alice's internal monologue to be difficult to parse through - she comes off as very ditzy and I wasn't sure I could follow her along for the duration of this book. Once things started happening though, this became a non-issue as I was thoroughly interested in what mysteries lied within the village of Penton.
I soon began to adore Alice - she's quirky, always says the wrong thing, and finds her way into an enormous amount of trouble. She's a great main character for this story with her witty sense of humour. I also really liked her newfound pregnant friends: Hen, Poppy, and Ailsa. Each were well described and dynamic characters that developed a good bond with Alice. Ailsa, in particular, may be my favourite of Alice's new friends because she is so prickly and unafraid of putting others in their places whilst also maintaining a high level of secrecy around herself. Lastly, on the note of favourite characters: Helen. Helen is loaded with golden retriever energy and makes for a great companion for Alice. Both love snacking and seemingly get into the MOST trouble, whenever possible. I'm a sucker for a dog in a book, particularly a mystery, so Helen was quickly high in my esteem.
As for the mystery - Alice and her pregnant friends quickly find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation when a murder occurs during their prenatal class, leaving them all as key suspects. I loved seeing these pregnant women sleuthing through the town, discovering new secrets and long-old tensions in Penton. The mystery aspects of this story were well done and I enjoyed how each clue the women discovered led them onto another trail before all the clues came together to enable the reader to parse out the bigger picture. The ending was well done and I can't wait to see what book two has in store!
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Minotaur Books, for a gifted digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions shared are my own.