The Grapples of Wrath

Grave Expectations #3

by Alice Bell

THIS MYSTERY HAS THEM IN A CHOKEHOLD...

Medium turned private investigator Claire Hendricks is excited to embark on her first official case. Pro-wrestling manager Ken King, convinced that his late father, Eddie, is haunting the gym and show venue, hires Claire to help, unaware that her teenage best friend, Sophie, now a ghost, comes as part of the package.

But Eddie is adamant he did not die of natural causes, and tasks Claire and Sophie with bringing his killer to justice. As the investigative duo question Eddie's family, friends and employees, it quickly becomes clear that in the world of pro wrestling reality and fakery have an interesting relationship, and getting to the truth of what really killed Eddie might be more complicated than they expected...

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Ghosts, Queer, Fiction, Paranormal, Audiobook

368 pages, Hardcover

Published January 2, 2026

About the author

Alice 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.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Third in the series about unwilling medium Claire, in her 30s, perma-haunted by the ghost of a murdered schoolfriend who is an eternal stroppy teenager, and attempting to solve murders as you do. The intriguing thing about this twist on Randall and Hopkirk Deceased is that the books actually consider the practical implications. viz, Claire is deeply traumatised, barely able to maintain friendships let alone a relationship, and the object of serious police suspicion for her random weird appearances in murders. Also, many of the beloved tropes of TV amateur detectives turn out not to work at all well in practice.

It's a gleefully silly, fun series with a real, bitter, painful edge to it, and as such floats my boat immensely.

[thefourthvine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to enjoy this series, but I'm increasingly aware that Bell has written us all into a corner, and that knowledge lurking around the edge of the story is kind of messing with me.

Claire's life is grim to read about. Bell does her best to make it quirky and funny rather than "welcome to the pit of despair," but we all see the pit anyway. It's right there, center stage. Most of what formed the pit is trauma, and most of Claire's trauma centers around Sophie, her ghost best friend, and ghosts in general. She's isolated, socially and developmentally stunted, and generally miserable, and it does make sense, given her weird circumstances.

Claire's many, many issues make her a lot of what she fears she is. In this book, for example, they made her a bad friend, someone who cannot be trusted. They made her make a lot of decisions that arose from her inability to trust and her inability to empathize with others. (Tough to see other people's perspectives or care about them when you are massively depressed and mired in your own problems, after all.) And history suggests she's not going to learn from this at all. Which is the crux of the problem Bell has created for me.

I, as a reader, want better things for Claire. I want to see some tiny improvement in her life, some suggestion that she can stop being such an absolute fucking disaster. And Bell is giving me none of that, probably because Claire's problems cannot be resolved without addressing the Sophie Issue, and the Sophie Issue is also a fundamental part of how the entire series is structured. So Claire hasn't really made any improvement or changed at all since the end of the first book. And Bell seems fine with that. I, increasingly, am not.

I like Claire (even though this entire screed probably makes it sound like I don't), but that means I want better things for her, and the better things just keep on not happening. At a certain point, I'm just not going to be able to read any more about a thirty-year-old woman who acts and thinks like a teenager, has a locus of control so far outside her body she can't even see it from where she's standing, who lives a life of whiny desperation, and who never learns from any of her many mistakes.

[Olly Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third in the wonderful Alice Bell’s series with the murder solving, if haphazardly, Claire and Sophie. Really loved this one: wonderfully funny characters, twisty plot which feels solvable but wasn’t quite, and a perfect Brighton summer setting for my January reading. Can’t wait for the next one!

[Charlie Bates · Rating 2 out of 5]

I randomly found the first of this series in a little free library box in Byron bay, really enjoyed the first one, liked the second one with some flaws but this was unfortunately really quite boring and a struggle to read.
The mystery was not interesting in the slightest, the environment felt small, there was 0 storylines between the 4 main characters and Sophie and Claire didn’t address any of the huge issues from the previous book.

[Soozee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really had to struggle to get into this book. The main obstacle was the author insisting on hiding the gender of 'Alex' and using the pronoun 'their' all the time. Why being androgynous required being also being plural beat me, and I was not even slightly interested whether s/he was male or female, and it was totally irrelevant to the story. Indeed, the character him/herself was pretty much irrelevant and very one dimensional.

The plot circled around Claire and her friend the ghost Sophie (another annoying character, endlessly bored with everything). Claire fancies herself as some sort of detective, having solved a murder previously, presumably because she could speak to the dead victims. They become embroiled in a death at a wrestling rink, as the dead man insists he was murdered. 'Assisted' by Alex and the rather odd Basher, they begin to investigate.

Over all its quite a fun read, hampered by almost interchangeable characters as few stand out as strong, identifiable characters in their own right. There are a few chuckles and the premise of a person linked (almost physically) to a ghost is quite good. Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3 Stars]

I am very conflicted about this series. On one hand, I love the writing style (funny, engaging) and the hook (millennial + dead best friend = amateur sleuths). But on the other, I've finished the last two books with a feeling of immense frustration, because the characters feel stuck in place and unable to move forward.

Claire is - and there is no other way to put this - a fucking disaster. Depressed, traumatised, socially awkward and anxious. Her best friend Sophie was murdered when the girls were teenagers, and ever since then, Claire has been able to see ghosts, and Sophie's ghost is permanently attached to her. This naturally makes her a little odd, but reading as she stumbles through every interaction, and fails to deal with her issues or connect with people is truly agonising.

My biggest problem with this series is that whatever the murder plot is for the current book takes centre stage, and the characters we've followed since book one stay in the same emotional limbo. Claire is a mess, Sophie is petty and cruel, and Alex and Basher orbit the story as one note side characters. How long is this series going to be? How many books before we get some development in Claire's relationship with Sophie, or any more understanding about her murder? How long until Claire starts to actively help herself?

At this point I don't know if I want to keep going, but I guess I'll see how I feel if/when a fourth book is announced.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.

Claire Hendricks sees ghosts, literally. Her best friend Sophie died as a teenager and is now permanently linked to Claire - where Claire goes Sophie goes. Claire used to make a small living as a medium, but after solving two murders (with Sophie's help) she has now turned private investigator. Seeing ghosts can make you a little socially awkward, particularly until you can learn to differentiate them from the living, and Sophie has anxiety. But her first murder introduced her to two new friends Basher and Alex.

Anyway, enough background, Claire's first paying job is at a local pro-wrestling gym. Alex has been hanging around (their latest craze) and it turns out that the manager, the wonderfully named Ken King, believes his dead father Eddie is haunting the gym and asks Claire to find out what is preventing him from moving on ... and move him along.

The thing is, Eddie is convinced that his brother Nate killed him, and wants Claire to investigate because the police ruled it death by natural causes.

This was silly, funny, informative (I learned a lot about pro-wrestling) and there were so many suspects and so much drama flying about that I had no clue as to the actual murderer until the last minute.

Another cracker in this quirky series.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 3 in the Grave Expectations series, where Claire and her ghost companion Sophie are trying to solve the mystery of the dead wrestler in Brighton.

This is a completely batty series of cosy crime with over the top characters but with a dark thread of humour running throughout.

Sophie and Claire are trying to repair the damage to their relationship caused by the events of book 2, we get further glimpses into what life was like when Sophie was alive. There continues to be cameos from characters we've met in the previous books as we learn about the bizarre world of professional wrestling and the soap opera drama that takes place in this little gym in Brighton.

I enjoyed seeing all the characters again, although Claire's lack of logic and practical skills continues to drive me barmy. Basher really needs to sit her down and explain things rather than issuing threats to her like she's a teenager! Although she continues to act like one.

I'm looking forward to the next in the series, seeing Claire grow up a little and hopefully finding out a bit more about what happened to Sophie!

Book received free via NetGalley.

[LC Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favourite of the series to date, BUT I'll still read the next one. The things that bugged me the most is that Basha has lost all warmth and fun and is just kind of mean and annoying all the time? He maybe had one good moment. Alex has more to do, but it also just kind of...thin. The wrestling world was a great venue for a murder mystery to play out and I did actually quite like the resolution, mostly ( a few quibbles but not worth spoiler font).

There are more hints planted for the bigger story still to be played out but it feels very much like it's going to be played out for a loong time, which I'm not sure I like. The Sophie/Claire dynamics are definitely getting more stressed, and Claire even sort of acknowledges this at one point out loud in this book (she thinks something like "sometimes it seemed to her that Sophie was just really not a good person" and like...yeah.

I will keep an eye out for the next book though.

Note about the audio: generally pretty good except weirdly there were a few glitches - repeated sentences that didn't get caught in an edit/post-production. Makes me think it was maybe a little rushed.

[Dabarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a massive fan of this series and the main protagonists - Claire and Sophie, who are a very extraordinary sleuthing duo, even though one of them is dead. So I was obviously super excited to read a new book by Alice Bell, this time set in the world of wrestling! Well, what can I say! Except the fact that there was not enough Basher in the book, it was another corker for me. I love the author's sense of humour and the dialogues and the immersive way in which Alex embraced wrestling,and the dog. And ghosts. And I liked the fact that the author added a bit more layers to the relationship between Claire and Sophie. I hope one day Sophie's disappearance will be solved. I ended up listening to most of the book and must also add that Sophie Roberts is a great choice as a narrator. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a free ecopy of the book

[Shaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won't lie, I saw an Alice Bell ARC for a new Sophie and Claire story and blindly applied for it without reading the blurb. Wrestling is like a religion in my household, so I was delighted with the setting.

I really enjoyed the setting, which was mainly behind the scenes of an indie wrestling organisation. I absolutely loved some bigger name wrestlers being name checked (woke my husband to tell him Orange Cassidy got a shout out), and it felt like a little love letter to wrestling fans.

Non-wrestling fans will still enjoy the very twisty murder plot, Sophie's biting teenage sarcasm, and Alex is just hilarious in this. Cannot recommend this book enough, really fun (and funny) to read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[EM Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remain a huge fan of this series. While The Grapples of Wrath is not my fave book thematically (I love pirates, and big haunted victorian houses considerably more than wrestling, of which I know nothing), this is still an hilarious little novel, with plenty of excellent puzzle pieces to push together and very enjoyable characters. I particularly admire that Bell writes the kind of story that you can actually solve yourself before MC Claire gets there, but it's never too obvious and you're usually having too much fun to try and fiddle round with things in your head. It's rare that I read something that manages all 3, so big props.

If you like comedy mysteries with a supernatural spin, I strongly recommend giving these a crack.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was unsure about a mystery set in an indie pro wrestling gym, but I never should’ve doubted Alice Bell. I will read anything she writes forever.

The audiobook is completely perfect (aside from a few random repeated lines on my Libro fm copy that I assume were a glitch??). Every line is delivered so well, with a combination of humor and darkness that is just *chef’s kiss*.

I care about these characters so much that I don’t want them to be sad!! But they, sort of definitionally, are. There was def a point when I was genuinely quite depressed for them, but she always goes to the edge and then sliiightly pulls it back.

[jessica hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

the story of this book was about a medium Claire and her dead teenage best friend Sophie solving a murder In a wrestling gym with friends Basher and Alex. I enjoyed the story from beginning to end and had me laughing and sympathetic at various times in the book.
however, the reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because of the many typos and mistakes (at least they didn't make sense to me) I spotted while reading the story. someone should've reviewed it better before it got released.

[Hazel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book....and I rarely ever give up on a book. I was several chapters from the end and I just couldn't do it to myself anymore.
Sophie is annoying and unfunny, I understand she is stuck in her school age self but she is an unbearable character, this book might have read better as a concept without Sophie's presence.
I am pleased this was a library book and not one I had spent money on.

[AcidGirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haha, Claire is still very relatable and on brand with her introvert fixation on things and being a barely functional human adult. Loved that in the end her big reveal was actually completely unnecessary and messed up the police's work because they were on the murderer's heels the whole time. So realistic. The friendships balance the darker parts nicely. This series ended my litfic and GR challenge induced reading slump. 🙏

[Kristen Perrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Alice Bell’s biting wit, fabulous characters, and the creative set-up of her murder mysteries. The Grapples of Wrath is another cracking addition to the series, with the added flair of some unforgettable pro-wrestling characters and a wonderful Brighton backdrop. Come for the spooky humour, stay for the satisfying twists and turns. An absolute delight from start to finish.

[Leticia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read a murder mystery set in the world of wrestling before, so that was fun. However this is still the most committedly depressing humorous series I've ever read. I just want Claire to catch a break! Please someone help Claire!

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the 3, but still pretty solid.

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid entry in the series. I do wish Alex and Basher didn't feel so much like minor characters but the rest of the supporting cast for this one were very entertaining and dramatic

[Simon Burdus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would’ve liked a bit more interaction between some of the characters to develop their relationships and backstory. But plot was solid. Fun read again.