Publishers Weekly
07/10/2023
Bell shines in her sharp, funny debut, a supernatural whodunit centered on medium-for-hire Claire Hendricks. Claire and her best friend, Sophie, are headed to a former monastery in the small English town of Wilbourne Major, where Figgy Wellington-Forge, Claire’s university friend, has invited her to entertain the family with her gift. Readers will quickly deduce that Sophie is actually a ghost who serves as Claire’s spirit guide and eavesdrops on her marks to provide information that makes her powers seem more impressive. But Figgy’s plans to hold a séance as a birthday treat for her grandmother go awry when Nana dies suddenly. Her ghost appears to Claire and Sophie to inform them that, while her death was natural, she’s met the ghost of an unknown person inside the house’s library who was recently murdered. Claire decides to help solve the mystery, and enlists some of Figgy’s more trustworthy kin, while heeding Nana’s warning that someone in the family was the killer. The adroit plotting, which cannily plays with mystery tropes, is amply leavened with humor. Fans of the British TV series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) will be eager for more adventures from Claire and Sophie. Agent: Stevie Finegan, Zeno Literary. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
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
“For fans of murder mysteries, a cold case, and a friendly sleuthing ghost!”
—Jamie Canaves, Book Riot
“A delicious mashup of grisly murder, country house, and semi-helpful ghosts—imagine a really cockeyed game of Clue heavily seasoned with whimsy and downright silliness. . . . It’s a lot of fun.”
—Stuart MacBride, author of No Less the Devil
“A very funny, entertaining, twisted take on the country house murder mystery. Wonderful.”
—S.J. Bennett, author of All the Queen's Men
“Knives Out vibes with added ghosts. Fresh, funny and hugely enjoyable.”
—Catherine Ryan Howard, author of Run Time
“Alice Bell weaves a fun, gripping murder mystery with a supernatural twist.”
—Woman’s Own
“A fun and surprising character-driven whodunnit.”
—Daisy Jackson, Heat
“Funny, fast, sharp, original, and addictive, Grave Expectations is a unique breath of fresh air. Brilliant!”
—Andrea Mara, author of All Her Fault
“An addictive, hilarious, rollicking debut—fresh, original and utterly brilliant."
—Sam Blake, author of Remember My Name
“A really unique concept paired with whip-smart writing and lots of heart.”
—Heather Darwent, author of The Things We Do to Our Friends
“Clever and playful contemporary cosy mystery. Think Ghosts meets Knives Out.”
—Catherine Kirwan, author of Cruel Deeds
“Clever, unpredictable and a genuinely humorous modern day country house murder mystery which left me guessing.”
—Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man
“Utterly delightful—like Ghosts mixed with Clue.”
—Simon Toyne, author of Dark Objects
“This book positively lit up my weekends. . . . A story that will both send chills down your spine and wrap you up in a hug.”
—Ally Wilkes, author of All the White Spaces
“Witty, addictive, and breathes some much needed (undead) life into the cosy crime murder mystery genre."
—Adam Simcox, author of The Dying Squad
Kirkus Reviews
2023-07-13
How do you solve a murder when you don’t know who the victim is?
Claire Hendricks has a leg up on your run-of-the-mill sleuth: Her BFF Sophie is a sassy teenage ghost who helps Claire communicate with the dead. The live woman and the ghost—who died in the 1990s under mysterious circumstances—travel around England performing séances, and now they're heading to Wilbourne Major, where they've been hired by Figgy Wellington-Forge to entertain at her grandmother's birthday party. Three generations of Wellington-Forges gather at the family estate, where, unfortunately, Nana dies the night before her party. This simultaneously casts a pall over the festivities and leads Claire on a quest: Nana, in her first moments on the other side, sees a sad-looking ghost wandering through the library and begs Claire to figure out who it is and how they died. With the help of Figgy's brother Basher and nonbinary nibling, Alex, Claire is able to pin down Nana's birthday party the year before as the site of the murder and one of the guests as the victim. Claire, who usually has little company other than Sophie and the rest of the dead, revels in her newfound friendships with Basher and Alex even as she turns a skeptical eye to the rest of their family. The next few days see Claire following a series of clues (with help from local ghosts) to try to figure out if a Wellington-Forge is in fact a murderer and which unlucky party guest died. But Claire has a secret in her past, and her excitement is clouded by anxiety: Will she be abandoned when the truth is revealed? There are certainly a few missteps in this mystery. The sprawling family, for example, could have stood to be a little less sprawling (maybe Bell could have cut out a generation?) as the many posh-named characters are hard to keep track of. And while Bell occasionally mistakes cheap one-liners for wit, there is just enough humor and heart to keep readers amused.
A goofy supernatural whodunit.
