Grave Expectations

A Mystery

By: Alice Bell

Narrated by: Sophie Roberts

A fast-paced and hilarious debut crime novel, in which a burnt-out Millennial medium must utilize her ability to see ghosts and team up with a band of oddball investigators to figure out which member(s) of a posh English family are guilty of murder.

“This book has bags of humor, bags of heart, and a proper murder mystery at its core.”—Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal

Almost-authentic medium Claire and her best friend, Sophie, agree to take on a seemingly simple job at a crumbling old manor in the English countryside: performing a seance for the family matriarch's 80th birthday. The pair have been friends since before Sophie went missing when they were seventeen. Everyone else is convinced Sophie simply ran away, but Claire knows the truth. Claire knows Sophie was murdered because Sophie has been haunting her ever since.

Despite this traumatic past, Claire and Sophie are still unprepared for what they encounter when they arrive at the manor: a ghost, tragic and unrecognizable, and clearly the spirit of someone killed in a rage at the previous year's party. Given her obsession with crime shows—not to mention Sophie's ability to walk through walls—Claire decides they're the best people to solve the case. And with the help of the only obviously not-guilty members of their host family—sexy ex-policeman Sebastian and far-too-cool non-binary teen Alex—they launch an investigation into which of last year's guests never escaped the manor's grounds.

What follows is somewhat irregular detective work involving stealing a priest's cassock, getting too drunk to remember to question your suspect, and of course, Chekhov's sparkly purple dildo. As Claire desperately tries to keep a lid on the shameful secret that would definitely alienate her new friends, the gang must race against their own incompetence to find the murderer before the murderer finds them.

©2023 Alice Bell (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"“Fast, funny, and furious, this book has bags of humour, bags of heart, and a proper murder mystery at its core. Alice Bell is one to watch!” —Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal

"Read this fabulous book, you will not regret it!" —Ben Aaronovitch, author of the Rivers of London series

"Bell shines in her sharp, funny debut. . . . The adroit plotting, which cannily plays with mystery tropes, is amply leavened with humor. Fans . . . will be eager for more adventures from Claire and Sophie." —Publishers Weekly

Wonderfully cosy and relistenable

As has been mentioned by other reviewers, the core characters in this story are great! The core concept of the lead investigators (Claire and Sophie) feels very novel and their relationship arc is well developed. The voice actor does a wonderful job and reminded me a lot of the real Alice Bell (who you can find on the only podcast you'll ever need). There is a bit of the story in the middle that loses momentum and kind of drags but overall this book has entered my short list of books I will happily re-listen to regularly. It feels good to be in the world imagined in this book.

Unique and brilliant

Emotionally intelligent, great story, and well told
The character depth and range is absolutely incredible. The protagonist is a genuine, lovable, and relatable character who fully accepts her version of “normal”. The novel includes all of the elements of a fantastic mystery novel, while incorporating contemporary themes. This book is also hilarious and strikes an appropriate balance of gravity and irreverence.

Didn't want it to end!

This is one of the better "cozy-ish" mysteries that I have read in a while! it has wonderful characters, a great storyline, and is not terribly predictable. By the end, the characters felt like friends, and I didn't want the book to end. I also thought the paranormal aspect of the book was handled well, and didn't overpower the plot. The narration is excellent - HIGHLY recommend!

Lively, Funny, Colorful Characters

The central characters, including the ghost, are all a pleasure and feel both dimensional and realistic. The dialog is lively and sounds like the way real people speak to one another. The plot is a bit predictable but is engaging regardless. I thought the setting wasn’t used as fully as it might have been but otherwise it was well chosen and described throughout. Sophie Roberts did a fabulous job with the narration. Recommended!!

Unique and fun

I loved the unique premise of the story, the main character who’s down on her luck without making it tiresome, and the cast of background characters - again, zany but not to the point of disbelief and story-ruining. Can’t wait to listen to the next one!

Very difficult to listen to this narration

I could not finish this. Unfortunately, the narration was not varied and became monotonous. This resulted in it becoming a bit confusing at times. The storyline was good. The characters Claire and Sophie were the reason I listen to it halfway through, but I could not finish.

A fun and funny nursery mystery in the classic sense but with a twist!

This book was recommended to me when I was bemoaning “funny” mysteries that didn’t get a single LOL out of me. There are plenty in this book 😏

Different Humorous Take

Different humorous light hearted take on a murder mystery. I enjoyed the different perspective and that it wasn’t a cliche storyline. That being said, it seemed to go on and on. A few chapters could probably be shaved off. The ending fell flat and I didn’t even realize it was over until Audible stated, “we hope you enjoyed this recording.” The narrator was excellent! I recommend light hearted murder mysteries by Clare Chase, all thought those can go on a bit too.

Vulgar

Might have been a good story if it wasn’t full of 4 letter foul words