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Grave Expectations #1
Grave Expectations
A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK
'Fast, funny and furious, this book has bags of humour, bags of heart and a proper murder mystery at its core' Janice Hallett
Claire and Sophie aren't your typical murder investigators . . .
When 30-something freelance medium Claire Hendricks is invited to an old university friend's country pile to provide entertainment for a family party, her best friend Sophie tags along. In fact, Sophie rarely leaves Claire's side, because she's been haunting her ever since she was murdered at the age of seventeen.
On arrival at The Cloisters it quickly becomes clear that this family is hiding more than just the good china, as Claire learns someone has recently met an untimely end at the house.
Teaming up with the least unbearable members of the Wellington-Forge family - depressive ex-cop Basher and teenage radical Alex - Claire and Sophie determine to figure out not just whodunnit, but who they killed, why and when.
Together they must race against incompetence to find the murderer - before the murderer finds them... in this funny, modern, media-literate mystery for the My Favourite Murder generation.
'Fast, funny and furious, this book has bags of humour, bags of heart and a proper murder mystery at its core' Janice Hallett
Claire and Sophie aren't your typical murder investigators . . .
When 30-something freelance medium Claire Hendricks is invited to an old university friend's country pile to provide entertainment for a family party, her best friend Sophie tags along. In fact, Sophie rarely leaves Claire's side, because she's been haunting her ever since she was murdered at the age of seventeen.
On arrival at The Cloisters it quickly becomes clear that this family is hiding more than just the good china, as Claire learns someone has recently met an untimely end at the house.
Teaming up with the least unbearable members of the Wellington-Forge family - depressive ex-cop Basher and teenage radical Alex - Claire and Sophie determine to figure out not just whodunnit, but who they killed, why and when.
Together they must race against incompetence to find the murderer - before the murderer finds them... in this funny, modern, media-literate mystery for the My Favourite Murder generation.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 4, 2023
320 people are currently reading
13299 people want to read
About the author
Alice Bell
3 books249 followersAlice Bell grew up in South West England, in the sort of middle-of-nowhere where teenagers spend their weekends drinking Smirnoff Ice in a field that also has at least one horse in it.
She has previously worked in shops selling boat shoes and polo shirts to people who don’t own boats or play polo, but since 2016 she has worked full time as a video games journalist. In 2018 she became the deputy editor of Rock Paper Shotgun, a popular and respected PC gaming website, where you can find the many excellent reviews and serious articles about hot vampires that she has written. In 2019 she was named one of the 100 most influential women in the UK games industry.
After spending several years in London and Brighton, Alice now lives in Cork, Ireland, where she reads a lot of books, makes crochet animals, and plays video games where you can set things on fire and make elves kiss. She has probably read more detective fiction and watched more episodes of Midsomer Murders than you.
She has previously worked in shops selling boat shoes and polo shirts to people who don’t own boats or play polo, but since 2016 she has worked full time as a video games journalist. In 2018 she became the deputy editor of Rock Paper Shotgun, a popular and respected PC gaming website, where you can find the many excellent reviews and serious articles about hot vampires that she has written. In 2019 she was named one of the 100 most influential women in the UK games industry.
After spending several years in London and Brighton, Alice now lives in Cork, Ireland, where she reads a lot of books, makes crochet animals, and plays video games where you can set things on fire and make elves kiss. She has probably read more detective fiction and watched more episodes of Midsomer Murders than you.
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July 14, 2023Immensely enjoyable, relentlessly mickey-taking murder mystery with a Randall and Hopkirk Deceased vibe: our incredibly amateur sleuth is also an amateur medium, albeit one who can actually see and speak to dead people, because she's had her murdered best friend at her side since they were 17.
That's actually quite a dark premise and we definitely touch into quite how screwed up Claire is, but it's well balanced with the enjoyable elements. There's also a huge amount of fun with her sidekicks, ex cop Basher (actually Sebastian, lol) and nonbinary sarcasm teen Alex, plus the ludicrous posh family who may have murdered someone.
Great assurance in the writing--hard to believe it's a debut--and marvellous characters make this a highly entertaining comic detective romp. I hope this is a series.
That's actually quite a dark premise and we definitely touch into quite how screwed up Claire is, but it's well balanced with the enjoyable elements. There's also a huge amount of fun with her sidekicks, ex cop Basher (actually Sebastian, lol) and nonbinary sarcasm teen Alex, plus the ludicrous posh family who may have murdered someone.
Great assurance in the writing--hard to believe it's a debut--and marvellous characters make this a highly entertaining comic detective romp. I hope this is a series.
June 12, 2023
This book grew on me the deeper in that I got. At first I thought it was an interesting (but not unique premise) Claire being a young woman whose best friend, Sophie, disappeared at the age of 17 and then reappeared as a spirit. Thus Claire now encumbered with a spirit begins her life as a medium. Sophie is by far the most interesting and funny character in this book. I'd be quite happy to read another book with this crime fighting duo in it.
Claire has been booked by the Wellington-Forge family to act as a medium at their nana's birthday celebrations. However things do not go anywhere near to plan and Claire finds herself being pressganged into discovering what happened at last year's celebrations and why there is an unquiet spirit in the library. Who exactly is the spirit? Why are they hanging around the house and, far more importantly, which one of the Wellington-Forge's committed the murder? Thankfully Claire has Sophie to help otherwise, as Sophie quite rightly puts it, nothing would get detected because Claire is rubbish at it.
The book does seem to meander about a little bit to begin with but before you're halfway through the action picks up. There are some extremely comic scenes which lift the narrative but not too many as to make the book silly. The characters are interesting and Claire does bumbling detective exceptionally well. She certainly falls over more clues than she means to.
As a debut novel it's very good. I will definitely look out for Alice Bell in the future, whether Claire and Sophie are part of it or not.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
Claire has been booked by the Wellington-Forge family to act as a medium at their nana's birthday celebrations. However things do not go anywhere near to plan and Claire finds herself being pressganged into discovering what happened at last year's celebrations and why there is an unquiet spirit in the library. Who exactly is the spirit? Why are they hanging around the house and, far more importantly, which one of the Wellington-Forge's committed the murder? Thankfully Claire has Sophie to help otherwise, as Sophie quite rightly puts it, nothing would get detected because Claire is rubbish at it.
The book does seem to meander about a little bit to begin with but before you're halfway through the action picks up. There are some extremely comic scenes which lift the narrative but not too many as to make the book silly. The characters are interesting and Claire does bumbling detective exceptionally well. She certainly falls over more clues than she means to.
As a debut novel it's very good. I will definitely look out for Alice Bell in the future, whether Claire and Sophie are part of it or not.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
April 24, 2023
Should maybe listen to my gut next time and abandon a book if I don’t enjoy it.
Grave Expectations came with an interesting premise. Claire Hendricks and her dead friend Sophie come to conduct a seance for a party and get involved in a murder mystery. Claire is 30 but her friend is still 17 and amidst all the things that the story had to offer, their banter was given an important space. To be honest, I knew very early that this book won’t work for me. Unlike other murder mysteries that focus on the plot, this one was majorly about its characters. And I found none of them appealing. I pushed myself to finish the book and now it has left me in a slump.
Claire can see ghosts from the time her dead friend started making appearances ever since they were teenagers. When she discovers a ghost that has some unfinished business at the party house, Claire decides to solve the murder. And so she, Sophie, Basher (an excop) and Alex set about on a wild goose chase to unravel the mystery. Basher and Alex belong to the family that invited Claire to perform a seance and perhaps the only two normal people from that clan. As the story goes on, I found it so difficult to stay connected to the characters. I started to find everyone annoying, especially the protagonist and her ghost friend.
By the time the killer was revealed, I had had enough and was truly exhausted. Grave Expectations didn’t offer much to me and I’m not sure if I’ll read Alice’s other books. However, I also see that many have enjoyed this book so maybe a few pages into the story will help you make a decision.
Thanks for the copy @penguinindia x @reader_viddh ✨
Grave Expectations came with an interesting premise. Claire Hendricks and her dead friend Sophie come to conduct a seance for a party and get involved in a murder mystery. Claire is 30 but her friend is still 17 and amidst all the things that the story had to offer, their banter was given an important space. To be honest, I knew very early that this book won’t work for me. Unlike other murder mysteries that focus on the plot, this one was majorly about its characters. And I found none of them appealing. I pushed myself to finish the book and now it has left me in a slump.
Claire can see ghosts from the time her dead friend started making appearances ever since they were teenagers. When she discovers a ghost that has some unfinished business at the party house, Claire decides to solve the murder. And so she, Sophie, Basher (an excop) and Alex set about on a wild goose chase to unravel the mystery. Basher and Alex belong to the family that invited Claire to perform a seance and perhaps the only two normal people from that clan. As the story goes on, I found it so difficult to stay connected to the characters. I started to find everyone annoying, especially the protagonist and her ghost friend.
By the time the killer was revealed, I had had enough and was truly exhausted. Grave Expectations didn’t offer much to me and I’m not sure if I’ll read Alice’s other books. However, I also see that many have enjoyed this book so maybe a few pages into the story will help you make a decision.
Thanks for the copy @penguinindia x @reader_viddh ✨
May 13, 2023
A nice light mystery with a girl, Claire, and a ghost, Sophie, trying to solve a murder. Claire is a medium with a real gift, which doesn't make her life easier. People are not used to real mediums so Claire has to fight often to prejudice. Plus, she's growing up but Sophie will always be 17 and sometimes it's not easy to communicate with her.
I liked the story, the characters and the setting, although in places the book lacked some pace. I compliment Alice Bell on an interesting debut and I hope to read more of her in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for this review copy.
I liked the story, the characters and the setting, although in places the book lacked some pace. I compliment Alice Bell on an interesting debut and I hope to read more of her in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for this review copy.
December 27, 2023
I knew as soon as I read the blurb for this one early in 2023 that it was going to be a book For Me. Sometimes I do turn out to be wrong about these things, but in this case I was very much right. I had such a good time with this book. (And I've had ridiculously good luck with mysteries this year, most of which are having fun with the traditional mystery format/genre).
The premise here is that Claire is a thirty-something down-on-her-luck (aren't we all (no we're not, but a lot of us are!)) medium who can actually see ghosts*. She has been able to since she was seventeen and her best friend Sophie was murdered. Speaking of Sophie, she's been with Claire ever since she was murdered, in the form of a ghost. So there's this really neat dynamic where Claire is literally carrying her ghosts around with her, and while she struggles to become an adult and leave her past behind, Sophie will forever remain seventeen. (And presumably the book series will eventually end when Sophie's murder is solved and she can move on, but that's me guessing.)
*Hilariously, she ends up faking for most of her clients anyway because the majority of the people they want to contact have already passed on, and Claire can only commune with ghosts.
The events of the book kick off when Claire is booked for the 80th birthday of the matriarch of a posh and rich old English family when she runs into an old college acquaintance. While there, Grandma kicks the bucket, but surprisingly isn't murdered. Before she moves on, her ghost asks Claire and Sophie to solve the murder of a ghost that WAS murdered on the estate. And also to find out who the ghost is in the first place, because they are unrecognizable. Soon Claire and Sophie rope in a couple of family members to the task, and set about investigating . . . well, pretty much the entire family. It is great fun.
My favorite part about this book, besides that it made me laugh out loud and I really grew to love all the characters (there's a lovely found family aspect to it in addition to everything else) was that the author takes care to provide Claire (and Sophie to an extent, even though she doesn't have POV in the book) with actual emotional conflict and character growth. This isn't going to be one of those series where all the characters are static and do the same things book after book, never changing. This is going to be the opposite of that.
I'm very much in for however many of these Alice Bell wants to write, and I've already pre-ordered Displeasure Island (out in May 2024).
[4.5 stars, not sure if rounding up or down yet]
The premise here is that Claire is a thirty-something down-on-her-luck (aren't we all (no we're not, but a lot of us are!)) medium who can actually see ghosts*. She has been able to since she was seventeen and her best friend Sophie was murdered. Speaking of Sophie, she's been with Claire ever since she was murdered, in the form of a ghost. So there's this really neat dynamic where Claire is literally carrying her ghosts around with her, and while she struggles to become an adult and leave her past behind, Sophie will forever remain seventeen. (And presumably the book series will eventually end when Sophie's murder is solved and she can move on, but that's me guessing.)
*Hilariously, she ends up faking for most of her clients anyway because the majority of the people they want to contact have already passed on, and Claire can only commune with ghosts.
The events of the book kick off when Claire is booked for the 80th birthday of the matriarch of a posh and rich old English family when she runs into an old college acquaintance. While there, Grandma kicks the bucket, but surprisingly isn't murdered. Before she moves on, her ghost asks Claire and Sophie to solve the murder of a ghost that WAS murdered on the estate. And also to find out who the ghost is in the first place, because they are unrecognizable. Soon Claire and Sophie rope in a couple of family members to the task, and set about investigating . . . well, pretty much the entire family. It is great fun.
My favorite part about this book, besides that it made me laugh out loud and I really grew to love all the characters (there's a lovely found family aspect to it in addition to everything else) was that the author takes care to provide Claire (and Sophie to an extent, even though she doesn't have POV in the book) with actual emotional conflict and character growth. This isn't going to be one of those series where all the characters are static and do the same things book after book, never changing. This is going to be the opposite of that.
I'm very much in for however many of these Alice Bell wants to write, and I've already pre-ordered Displeasure Island (out in May 2024).
[4.5 stars, not sure if rounding up or down yet]
November 1, 2023
Yikes! Where do I start with this one?
I won't call this a complete mess because there were a few good moments and, honestly, points for the great idea of having a medium who is haunted by the ghost of her best friend as an amateur sleuth.
But this didn't work very well for me.
It's not the first time that a cosy mystery disappoints me. For me, there's a certain balance this type of books need but that isn't always achieved. Especially in terms of characters and humour. I don't know why but it seems that there is a tendency to exaggerate. The main character is completely over the top, the humour too simplistic. For me, this simply doesn't work.
In this case, what is the deal with having a thirty-something year-old woman behaving like a teenager? How interesting is that she keeps on drinking and throwing up for most of the story? Does it make sense that the amateur sleuth is a very ignorant person (or someone who acts ignorant all the time), who doesn't see anything? Claire was too messed-up to be anything of interest.
Sophie, the ghost best friend, would probably provide a good excuse for a drinking game. Drink a shot everytime Sophie says "ohmigod" and you'll end up like Claire after a night out. I don't drink and didn't count the "ohmigods", but they where too many to be healthy.
The rest of the characters are basically the rich, dysfuncional, family members which are pretty dysfunctional and nasty, as they ought to be. And while I think it's great to add a non-binary character, I must say I got fed up with Alex pretty soon. Too tiring, too many jokes about millenials.
The humour was very weak, very tired. I doubt some of the jokes had ever been jokes in the first place, but there you go. This book was like a bad comedy show, one you watch because there's nothing else to watch. Or you're waiting for the next show, the one that's really worth it. Or because your brain is just dead.
I know there will be a second book, but at this moment I'm not entirely sure I will read it. I'd like to give it the benefit of the doubt because I believe this was a debut. But I don't know. Don't have a lot of expectations. No even grave ones.
(Gosh!)
I won't call this a complete mess because there were a few good moments and, honestly, points for the great idea of having a medium who is haunted by the ghost of her best friend as an amateur sleuth.
But this didn't work very well for me.
It's not the first time that a cosy mystery disappoints me. For me, there's a certain balance this type of books need but that isn't always achieved. Especially in terms of characters and humour. I don't know why but it seems that there is a tendency to exaggerate. The main character is completely over the top, the humour too simplistic. For me, this simply doesn't work.
In this case, what is the deal with having a thirty-something year-old woman behaving like a teenager? How interesting is that she keeps on drinking and throwing up for most of the story? Does it make sense that the amateur sleuth is a very ignorant person (or someone who acts ignorant all the time), who doesn't see anything? Claire was too messed-up to be anything of interest.
Sophie, the ghost best friend, would probably provide a good excuse for a drinking game. Drink a shot everytime Sophie says "ohmigod" and you'll end up like Claire after a night out. I don't drink and didn't count the "ohmigods", but they where too many to be healthy.
The rest of the characters are basically the rich, dysfuncional, family members which are pretty dysfunctional and nasty, as they ought to be. And while I think it's great to add a non-binary character, I must say I got fed up with Alex pretty soon. Too tiring, too many jokes about millenials.
The humour was very weak, very tired. I doubt some of the jokes had ever been jokes in the first place, but there you go. This book was like a bad comedy show, one you watch because there's nothing else to watch. Or you're waiting for the next show, the one that's really worth it. Or because your brain is just dead.
I know there will be a second book, but at this moment I'm not entirely sure I will read it. I'd like to give it the benefit of the doubt because I believe this was a debut. But I don't know. Don't have a lot of expectations. No even grave ones.
(Gosh!)
September 25, 2025
Halloween Bingo 2025
Claire is a half-hearted medium. She can genuinely see and talk to ghosts, but she's crap at dealing with living people. Sophie is her school pal who was murdered and now haunts Claire. When a school acquaintance asks Claire to do a séance at a family gathering, Claire and Sophie travel to their rundown manor. They are a hit with the family grandma, who is looking forward to the séance. Except she dies the evening before the event and comes to ask for a ghostly favour: find out if a family member committed a murder at the previous year's party.
Claire is a true crime fan and fancies that she and Sophie can solve this mystery. However, she overestimates their talents. Even teamed up with two of the grandchildren, Sebastian (Basher), depressed former police detective, and Alex, a non-binary young adult, it's pretty tough sledding. Especially since Basher keeps reminding them about logic, evidence, and legality of their actions. They are adorably hopeless, as most of us would be.
Out of sheer persistence, unaccountable luck, and a little spectral assistance, Claire finally does break the case. Unfortunately, in the process she estranges Basher and Alex, fights with Sophie, breaks into a church, catches the flu, sets off a home alarm, sprains an ankle, and unearths the body of the victim in the pouring rain. Bell seems to be willing to put her main character through a veritable obstacle course to get to the answer. Still, I can't help but think that this bumbling is more realistic than the smooth investigations of other fictional amateur detectives.
Claire and Sophie have issues that they are going to have to deal with. Why was Sophie killed? Why is she tethered to Claire? If they can resolve her unfinished business, does Sophie want to move on? Especially since she complains that drunk or sleeping humans are very boring. Strangely, their lack of focused investigative technique endears the duo to me. I am pleased to see that the second book is held by my library, so I can check in on this odd couple again.
I read this book for the Genre: Supernatural square of my Halloween Bingo card.
Claire is a half-hearted medium. She can genuinely see and talk to ghosts, but she's crap at dealing with living people. Sophie is her school pal who was murdered and now haunts Claire. When a school acquaintance asks Claire to do a séance at a family gathering, Claire and Sophie travel to their rundown manor. They are a hit with the family grandma, who is looking forward to the séance. Except she dies the evening before the event and comes to ask for a ghostly favour: find out if a family member committed a murder at the previous year's party.
Claire is a true crime fan and fancies that she and Sophie can solve this mystery. However, she overestimates their talents. Even teamed up with two of the grandchildren, Sebastian (Basher), depressed former police detective, and Alex, a non-binary young adult, it's pretty tough sledding. Especially since Basher keeps reminding them about logic, evidence, and legality of their actions. They are adorably hopeless, as most of us would be.
Out of sheer persistence, unaccountable luck, and a little spectral assistance, Claire finally does break the case. Unfortunately, in the process she estranges Basher and Alex, fights with Sophie, breaks into a church, catches the flu, sets off a home alarm, sprains an ankle, and unearths the body of the victim in the pouring rain. Bell seems to be willing to put her main character through a veritable obstacle course to get to the answer. Still, I can't help but think that this bumbling is more realistic than the smooth investigations of other fictional amateur detectives.
Claire and Sophie have issues that they are going to have to deal with. Why was Sophie killed? Why is she tethered to Claire? If they can resolve her unfinished business, does Sophie want to move on? Especially since she complains that drunk or sleeping humans are very boring. Strangely, their lack of focused investigative technique endears the duo to me. I am pleased to see that the second book is held by my library, so I can check in on this odd couple again.
I read this book for the Genre: Supernatural square of my Halloween Bingo card.
May 22, 2023
Based on the synopsis, I thought I would like this but I was wrong.
Too much swearing, too many annoying characters especially Sophie, too much smoking of weed and cigarettes.
The plot wasn’t going anywhere really so I abandoned it.
Too much swearing, too many annoying characters especially Sophie, too much smoking of weed and cigarettes.
The plot wasn’t going anywhere really so I abandoned it.
November 26, 2023
3.5/5 rounded up
Grave Expectations by Alice Bell is a really fun paranormal crime fiction debut that kept me interested in both the characters and what would happen. I will say that listening to the audiobook means you have to really concentrate otherwise it is easy to miss things/get confused, and I did find myself having to rewind quite a bit because I wasn't paying close enough attention. That being said, the audiobook was still really great to listen to, and I thought Sophie Roberts did an excellent job with the narration. The accent was a little difficult for me to understand at times, so I did end up listening to this at around 2.5-2.8x speed; 2x speed in the car.
This crime-solving group of friends gave me a bit of a diverse Scooby Doo gang vibe without Scooby, and I enjoyed the story taking place among the characters along with the actual mystery portion. It ended up getting a lot more emotional than I thought it would, but there are also plenty of funny moments to round everything out. I think Grave Expectations should be read by millennials who enjoy slower-paced ghost stories with loveable characters and quirky chapter titles. I would definitely read a follow-up to this whether the same characters are in it or not, and I can't wait to see where Bell will go next.
Grave Expectations by Alice Bell is a really fun paranormal crime fiction debut that kept me interested in both the characters and what would happen. I will say that listening to the audiobook means you have to really concentrate otherwise it is easy to miss things/get confused, and I did find myself having to rewind quite a bit because I wasn't paying close enough attention. That being said, the audiobook was still really great to listen to, and I thought Sophie Roberts did an excellent job with the narration. The accent was a little difficult for me to understand at times, so I did end up listening to this at around 2.5-2.8x speed; 2x speed in the car.
This crime-solving group of friends gave me a bit of a diverse Scooby Doo gang vibe without Scooby, and I enjoyed the story taking place among the characters along with the actual mystery portion. It ended up getting a lot more emotional than I thought it would, but there are also plenty of funny moments to round everything out. I think Grave Expectations should be read by millennials who enjoy slower-paced ghost stories with loveable characters and quirky chapter titles. I would definitely read a follow-up to this whether the same characters are in it or not, and I can't wait to see where Bell will go next.
July 15, 2024
3.5 rounded up.
This was a fun and funny murder mystery debut that sees a medium with a bad reputation going to a house party only to have a ghost tell her about a dead body no one else knew about.
What follows is an amateur detective cold case murder mystery with a rag tag group of rich relatives, unknown motives and a ghost bestie trying to help out.
I laughed a lot in this one and get why its gotten so much good buzz. Will definitely be eagerly awaiting more from this debut author! A perfect light-hearted spooky season read!
This was a fun and funny murder mystery debut that sees a medium with a bad reputation going to a house party only to have a ghost tell her about a dead body no one else knew about.
What follows is an amateur detective cold case murder mystery with a rag tag group of rich relatives, unknown motives and a ghost bestie trying to help out.
I laughed a lot in this one and get why its gotten so much good buzz. Will definitely be eagerly awaiting more from this debut author! A perfect light-hearted spooky season read!
June 25, 2024
Some of the overleaf reviews in the book say this book is 'funny' or 'humorous' but maybe witty is a better description. Thoroughly enjoyed this look at the fictitious lives of modern English misfits. The mystery is clever, the hook is novel, and the whole book works well.
It is nice to see the character arc as Claire (finally) learns to use her unique advantage to help her investigate. To be fair, in similar circumstances I might fall into the same trap she does of not realizing I had something really special. I have great hopes for the upcoming book as well.
It is nice to see the character arc as Claire (finally) learns to use her unique advantage to help her investigate. To be fair, in similar circumstances I might fall into the same trap she does of not realizing I had something really special. I have great hopes for the upcoming book as well.
January 16, 2023
The synopsis made me think this book was to be a melding of Richard Osman and Ben Aaronvich and to be honest it was not a wrong assumption but with the authors own unique style, humour and angsts added into this mix, I am not going to be a bore and recant the tale like all reviewers seem to feel is mandatory (it’s not, it’s boring) suffice to say in a cold, dark and wet january this book brought laughter and light into my world, so thank you very much to Alice Bell for writing it and to Netgalley for letting me read it early, I will be buying this on audible so please get a good narrator 😉
June 17, 2023
Ghost stories are generally not my cup of tea. Described as adult humour containing a murder mystery with a depressive ex-cop named Basher, this sounded different and promising. After reading too many who-done-its, I hoped Grave Expectations would suit my twisted sense of humour. The book started well but soon slowed down and by the time I had sorted everyone out (living and ghosts), I began to lose interest, especially as many characters were thoroughly unpleasant.
My constant problem was the 'teenage reactionary, gender neutral, Alex'. Whenever Alex was described as 'they/them/their', I kept thinking someone else had arrived in the scene, causing my confusion and ruining the flow of the plot.
Maybe this will appeal to other readers, but not to me, I gave up at 40%.
DNF
Thank you the author Alice, Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the ARC, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.
My constant problem was the 'teenage reactionary, gender neutral, Alex'. Whenever Alex was described as 'they/them/their', I kept thinking someone else had arrived in the scene, causing my confusion and ruining the flow of the plot.
Maybe this will appeal to other readers, but not to me, I gave up at 40%.
DNF
Thank you the author Alice, Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the ARC, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.
November 9, 2023
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Grave Expectations (Grave Expectations #1) by Alice Bell sounded like a paranormal mystery that was going to be right up my alley, but it never quite managed to hook me like I was hoping it would. On paper it sounded good, but for me the cast of characters were much more grating than endearing. I definitely won't be back for the sequel. Thanks anyway, NetGalley.
Grave Expectations (Grave Expectations #1) by Alice Bell sounded like a paranormal mystery that was going to be right up my alley, but it never quite managed to hook me like I was hoping it would. On paper it sounded good, but for me the cast of characters were much more grating than endearing. I definitely won't be back for the sequel. Thanks anyway, NetGalley.
July 10, 2023
Took me ages to read because it was one of the most boring books I have read.
October 6, 2023
4.5 rounded up. This was a really fun and quirky debut. Clare can see and speak to ghosts and finds herself in the middle of a who done it. It's very funny in parts. I preferred the first half over the second but will definitely read whatever is up next from Alice Bell.
April 12, 2024
Absolutely loved this. It was like Knives Out for 30-something year old British spooky nerds (guilty as charged). Lots of fun and can't wait to read the next one.
August 30, 2023
Absolutely loved this - really funny, likable, well-paced and full of heart. The teen vs adult and Gen Z vs millennial humour was truly on point, and for a broadly light hearted book, the way it dealt with those griefs too big and awful to look at directly really resonated with me.
September 9, 2023
I pretty much listened to all 10 hours of this while tidying.
That’s not even related to the book, but anyway...
I was expecting the murder mystery to be a little more...murder-y, but this was good fun!
It’s really more about the characters, and the found family vibes were strong 🥰
That’s not even related to the book, but anyway...
I was expecting the murder mystery to be a little more...murder-y, but this was good fun!
It’s really more about the characters, and the found family vibes were strong 🥰
August 30, 2023
1.5/5 stars
I'm a millennial. I love ghosts, mysteries, and anything within the medium/psychic trope. This should have been a slam dunk.
But UGH, it wasn't.
I hated it the further I got into it. I desperately wanted to DNF and call it quits, but felt like I needed to finish it due to it being an ARC.
The millennial jabs were semi-funny (yes I can laugh at the absurdity of myself), and I didn't have any issue following the they/them pronouns as some other reviews seemed to struggle with. I also curse regularly personally, so again, the use of swearing was a-okay with me.
In other words: this book SHOULD have worked for me! I am its target audience!
I don't know what it was about this book. Maybe because it didn't seem to be especially plot driven?
It was boring.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All views expressed are my own.
I'm a millennial. I love ghosts, mysteries, and anything within the medium/psychic trope. This should have been a slam dunk.
But UGH, it wasn't.
I hated it the further I got into it. I desperately wanted to DNF and call it quits, but felt like I needed to finish it due to it being an ARC.
The millennial jabs were semi-funny (yes I can laugh at the absurdity of myself), and I didn't have any issue following the they/them pronouns as some other reviews seemed to struggle with. I also curse regularly personally, so again, the use of swearing was a-okay with me.
In other words: this book SHOULD have worked for me! I am its target audience!
I don't know what it was about this book. Maybe because it didn't seem to be especially plot driven?
It was boring.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All views expressed are my own.
July 13, 2023
I need a sequel, and a third book and fourth and fifth with my new favourite crime-fighting quartet
December 12, 2023
I love a good ghost story, but this was boring and dull. I had to skim to finish it.
September 6, 2025
RATING: 3
SEASONAL VIBES: Autumn
FORMAT RECOMMENDATION: Audiobook is fine
FAVOURITE CHARACTER: -
CHARACTERS:
Claire, the clairvyant (lol)
Sophie, the spirit guide
Alex and Sebastian (Basher) nephew and uncle duo
The extended family of Alex and Basher
REVIEW:
Summary -
Claire meets an old school friend who invites her to perform a seance as entertainment for her family gathering. Each year, the extended family comes to their nana's mansion and someone books entertainment, which now so happens to be Claire.
She is a modern medium with her spirit guide, who is no other than her best friend. Sophie died when she was a teen and now hangs around with Claire as she possibly has unfinished business (probably to get her murder solved)
But after the party, the grandmother passes away and tells Claire that she knows her family killed someone. She is not the murder victim, they did someone in last year at her birthday, but she never had proof. So she asks them to figure the mystery out before she fades away forever.
Claire teams up with Alex and Basher (ex cop) to solve a murder without a corpse.
Positives -
The premise. Not only is this laid out to be a fun story, but book two in the series also promises a great premise.
It's not a typical 'old lady died, whodunnit' - and I appreciate that Bell tried something new.
I really appreciated the fact that this author tries her best to step away from the typical 'cosy tropes', like the main female character always ends up with the main guy. Basher is gay :)
Negatives -
Sadly, I don't think the idea panned out as it should. When we are talking murder mystery (personally), I love it if we get to the actual murder part before 50% of the story. Not only did it take almost the last chapter to find out who died and where their body is, but it also felt underwhelming. When you make the reader wait so long, the mystery and the reveal better be worth it.
The Sophie angle - uhm, how shall I put this? Sophie, who died in the 90s, sounds like how a kid talks in 2025. That's one problem, the other issue I took with Sophie is that almost all of the time it felt like Alex and Basher both could hear her, she was so 'part of the conversation' and Claire wasn't always telling them what Sophie said. Perhaps it's clearer in the physical book, but the audiobook left me wondering a fair few times if I missed something and everyone can now hear her as well.
Speaking of Alex and Basher, I think the friendship bloomed a bit too fast for my liking. Sure, Bash had his reservations, but he came around quickly and invited Claire to stay with them. We even end the story with her moving in with them, after, I kid you not, Claire helped lock up Alex's father. I don't know, this needed more time in the oven for my taste.
And you can tell this was a debut novel from the exaggerated, overacted and definitely not needed scene when everyone finds out that Claire worked with the police before. It felt like someone told this author - OK, now we need a tipping point, some drama, so that the reader feels for the protagonist bla bla....
(This thing, by the way, is forgiven and forgotten in a day)
WOULD I CONTINUE THE SERIES?
I'm debating it. The premise of the next book is very good, but I already have so many series (good ones) that I am not sure I wish to add another one to my TBR.
Time will tell, perhaps if I find book 2 in the library, I might.
Plus, Alice is a debut author, so I am sure the books can only get better from here.
FINAL THOUGHT
It's not a bad story by any means.
I enjoyed some aspects of it, but I don't think t left enough of an impression for me to reach for book 2.
SEASONAL VIBES: Autumn
FORMAT RECOMMENDATION: Audiobook is fine
FAVOURITE CHARACTER: -
CHARACTERS:
Claire, the clairvyant (lol)
Sophie, the spirit guide
Alex and Sebastian (Basher) nephew and uncle duo
The extended family of Alex and Basher
REVIEW:
Summary -
Claire meets an old school friend who invites her to perform a seance as entertainment for her family gathering. Each year, the extended family comes to their nana's mansion and someone books entertainment, which now so happens to be Claire.
She is a modern medium with her spirit guide, who is no other than her best friend. Sophie died when she was a teen and now hangs around with Claire as she possibly has unfinished business (probably to get her murder solved)
But after the party, the grandmother passes away and tells Claire that she knows her family killed someone. She is not the murder victim, they did someone in last year at her birthday, but she never had proof. So she asks them to figure the mystery out before she fades away forever.
Claire teams up with Alex and Basher (ex cop) to solve a murder without a corpse.
Positives -
The premise. Not only is this laid out to be a fun story, but book two in the series also promises a great premise.
It's not a typical 'old lady died, whodunnit' - and I appreciate that Bell tried something new.
I really appreciated the fact that this author tries her best to step away from the typical 'cosy tropes', like the main female character always ends up with the main guy. Basher is gay :)
Negatives -
Sadly, I don't think the idea panned out as it should. When we are talking murder mystery (personally), I love it if we get to the actual murder part before 50% of the story. Not only did it take almost the last chapter to find out who died and where their body is, but it also felt underwhelming. When you make the reader wait so long, the mystery and the reveal better be worth it.
The Sophie angle - uhm, how shall I put this? Sophie, who died in the 90s, sounds like how a kid talks in 2025. That's one problem, the other issue I took with Sophie is that almost all of the time it felt like Alex and Basher both could hear her, she was so 'part of the conversation' and Claire wasn't always telling them what Sophie said. Perhaps it's clearer in the physical book, but the audiobook left me wondering a fair few times if I missed something and everyone can now hear her as well.
Speaking of Alex and Basher, I think the friendship bloomed a bit too fast for my liking. Sure, Bash had his reservations, but he came around quickly and invited Claire to stay with them. We even end the story with her moving in with them, after, I kid you not, Claire helped lock up Alex's father. I don't know, this needed more time in the oven for my taste.
And you can tell this was a debut novel from the exaggerated, overacted and definitely not needed scene when everyone finds out that Claire worked with the police before. It felt like someone told this author - OK, now we need a tipping point, some drama, so that the reader feels for the protagonist bla bla....
(This thing, by the way, is forgiven and forgotten in a day)
WOULD I CONTINUE THE SERIES?
I'm debating it. The premise of the next book is very good, but I already have so many series (good ones) that I am not sure I wish to add another one to my TBR.
Time will tell, perhaps if I find book 2 in the library, I might.
Plus, Alice is a debut author, so I am sure the books can only get better from here.
FINAL THOUGHT
It's not a bad story by any means.
I enjoyed some aspects of it, but I don't think t left enough of an impression for me to reach for book 2.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2025
This was so much fun! Sophie Roberts' narration really brought the story to life. A rough diamond amongst Audible's often-disappointing free offerings in the Plus catalogue. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel.
abandoned
June 11, 2023In hindsight, I don't know why I requested this one from NetGalley - the fun title and cover, I suspect. But it's really not my thing and it's not aimed at me. It's clearly aimed at people young enough to find constant swearing highly entertaining (rather than deadly boring), who feel that all the cool people take drugs (rather than it being for losers) and who think that they/them should be taken seriously as pronouns for a single person (rather than realising the grammatical absurdity of it). On the other hand I can see that it is quite fun and quite well written - the basic premise of a woman who has been able to see ghosts since her murdered best friend turned up posthumously has a lot of potential, as does the idea that they (that's they in its correct sense, meaning more than one person) intend to solve a murder of a ghost haunting the house they're visiting.
But it's not for me, so I'm abandoning it at 15% and not rating it, since it was my mistake to choose it. Probably an enjoyable read for the right reader.
But it's not for me, so I'm abandoning it at 15% and not rating it, since it was my mistake to choose it. Probably an enjoyable read for the right reader.
May 23, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Claire is trying to solve a mystery with Sophie who is a ghost. It was an easy read, perfect for cozy couch time. I received this eARC from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion. Thank you.
May 26, 2024
I actually enjoyed this book, it was a lot of fun and a really easy read. Not a lot happened to be fair untill near the end and Claire was more like a teenager than the actual teenagers in the book, I don't know how she manged to make it to adulthood but it was good and i enjoyed all the different places that they went and the banter with the ghosts and I'm glad I read it. The only thing I struggled with was the use of they/them instead of he/she but I just tried to skip over those bits
February 17, 2023
A modern day murder mystery.
There's been a murder at The Cloisters, the family estate of Claire's university friend Figgy. Figgy's family is your typical multi-generational family, they loathe each other so much, they only come together for gatherings when necessary for a birthday or holiday. Medium Claire was supposed to be the entertainment for grandmother's birthday party this year. But then she and her ghost-sidekick Sophie find out that someone was murdered by a family member at last year's party. Together with family members Basher and Alex they now need to find out who was murdered on the family estate before the murderer can catch up with them.
I really liked the concept and the first few chapters. When the hunt for the murderer starts in earnest though, it seems that the mystery takes a back-burner. We get lots of scenes between the characters getting to know each other and doing mundane things. This slowed down the pace of the book for me.
Furthermore, the pop-culture references and dialogues seemed to be targeted at an audience that is younger than 40 years of age. I'm not saying people over 40 might not enjoy the book, but the dialogues might grate a bit.
Nevertheless, this is a murder mystery where the protagonists have to work for the clues, they don't fall out of the sky, and the characters get some things wrong and blunder several interviews with suspects. This made the murder mystery part of the story much more realistic.
There's been a murder at The Cloisters, the family estate of Claire's university friend Figgy. Figgy's family is your typical multi-generational family, they loathe each other so much, they only come together for gatherings when necessary for a birthday or holiday. Medium Claire was supposed to be the entertainment for grandmother's birthday party this year. But then she and her ghost-sidekick Sophie find out that someone was murdered by a family member at last year's party. Together with family members Basher and Alex they now need to find out who was murdered on the family estate before the murderer can catch up with them.
I really liked the concept and the first few chapters. When the hunt for the murderer starts in earnest though, it seems that the mystery takes a back-burner. We get lots of scenes between the characters getting to know each other and doing mundane things. This slowed down the pace of the book for me.
Furthermore, the pop-culture references and dialogues seemed to be targeted at an audience that is younger than 40 years of age. I'm not saying people over 40 might not enjoy the book, but the dialogues might grate a bit.
Nevertheless, this is a murder mystery where the protagonists have to work for the clues, they don't fall out of the sky, and the characters get some things wrong and blunder several interviews with suspects. This made the murder mystery part of the story much more realistic.
May 1, 2024
"You think you will die, but you just keep living, day after day after terrible day."
— Purported to be Charles Dickens, Great Expectations; actually manufactured by the internet
I'm a fan of Alice Bell via her work on Rock Paper Shotgun and the Electronic Wireless Show, so picking up this book felt oddly like hearing the voice of a familiar old friend, with the exact same tongue-in-cheek internet-savvy humour I've been steeped in my whole life.
Grave Expectations features our main character, downtrodden and down-on-her-luck millennial Claire, who can genuinely speak to ghosts but still only barely makes a living semi-scamming people and improvising her way through psychic readings, tag-teaming clients with her dead best friend Sophie by her side... until the day comes that they get to use their abilities to try to solve a real murder, in this semi-send-up of cozy murder mysteries.
It's such an interesting balance and contrast throughout the book: Claire is the real deal but no one believes her; she has real supernatural talent but can't make it work for her in any impressive way. In that sense, it also reminds me a bit of Alex Stern in Ninth House, where their abilities to see ghosts have pretty much ruined both their lives.
Mostly I'm deep in my feelings about the dynamic between Claire and Sophie: the way they co-dependently love each other but also feel embittered and (quite literally) tethered to each other; the way Claire is squandering her life while her much more extroverted, confident friend is trapped in limbo. Their relationship is really the beating heart of the whole book; what girl hasn't had a really complicated dynamic with her teen bestie, and Bell taps into that relatable feeling so, so well.
It's warm and funny and with a diverse supporting cast, and it's so genre-aware of all the cozy murder mystery tropes it's playing around with. It has an interesting twisty-turny puzzle of a plot, too, where I couldn't quite figure it out in advance.
The narrative voice is maybe a little too jokey and silly and tongue-in-cheek sometimes, but other times I was literally laughing out loud. Good read. I'm absolutely here for the next one, Displeasure Island (which, coincidentally, comes out tomorrow!).
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