But in Grave Expectations we finally see Lincoln and Charlie commit to a serious relationship, the appearance of a serial killer targeting paranormal humans and the possibility that someone close to Lichfield Park is trying to harm Charlie. It was great to finally see the common thread connecting all the mysteries that the Ministry has encountered finally becoming evident, as the members confront kidnappings, betrayal and spirits from their past. When the pair arrive at The Cloisters, they find themselves drawn to a tragic and unrecognisable ghost, clearly an unquiet spirit who met an untimely end. Teaming up with the least unbearable members of the Wellington-Forge family - depressive ex-cop Basher and teenage reactionary 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 debut mystery for the My Favourite Murder generation." 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. In 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.

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. Selection panel review Witty, addictive, andbreathes some much needed (undead) life into the cosy crimemurder mystery genre.” It’s a really great mystery novel, a good story and all ends are neatly tied off and it was really funny and I want more of Claire and Sophie and Basher and Alex and really I want to know what happened to make Sophie a ghost. Charlie and Lincoln return to London to find two supernaturals have been murdered, and Charlie might be next. As if that wasn't bad enough, the man who adopted her has escaped from prison, and the committee members have just learned some news that infuriates them. Now there's talk of sending Charlie away again. Far away.I had stated before tha I’m so looking forward to waking the dead with Corvus and PRH in 2023 and beyond. To see Grave Expectations published at all is almost unbelievable, let alone getting to work with editors as smart and passionate as Sarah and Anna, who have helped bring Claire and Sophie to life (and un-life) in ways I never expected. It’s very invigorating to be so supported in my efforts to put more swearing, crying, and falling over into cosy crime.” The way that the ending is written, and judging that the next part of the story is a novella and NOT a full length novel of only Lincoln's point of view, leads me to believe that a true happy ending for Charlie (Charlotte) and Lincoln is impossible. Despite this traumatic past, Claire and Sophie are still unprepared for what they encounter when they arrive: 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.

Witty, addictive, and breathes some much needed (undead) life into the cosy crime murder mystery genre." - Adam Simcox 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. Planning to buy Grave Expectations for your group? Buy books from Hive or from Bookshop.org and support The Reading Agency and local bookshops at no extra cost to you.She grew up in Southwest England, and after spending several years in London now lives in Cork, Ireland.

This is one of those books that I wish we had a ten number scale instead of 5 stars because it's a true 7 to me. 3 seems too low and 4 too high. The next book to be featured on the Zoe Ball Radio 2 Book Club will be Grave Expectations, an exciting debut novel by Alice Bell. The book was released on 4 May and Alice will be on the show with Zoe on Thursday 29 June. 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 book positively lit up my weekends with its cosy, affectionate, funny, awkward brand of ghostly crime-solving. Perfect for fans of BBC's Ghosts, Alice Bell has a keen eye for characterisation and the ridiculous, creating 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

Grave Expectations

After spending several years in London and Brighton, Alice now lives in Cork, Ireland, 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. When Claire is hired to be the entertainment by an old ‘friend’ from University at a family gathering at their country pile, The Cloisters, she can’t afford to refuse. Things get complicated when Claire & Sophie realise someone has come to an untimely end at the house, and almost everyone seems to be hiding something. The concept of Grave Expectations is nothing short of delightful and the novel shines best when it’s exploring the ramifications of being a medium and being one in the modern day. Tonally it reads like Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) meets Midsomer Murders (the show, not the much-darker books by Caroline Graham): charming, breezy, with moments of pathos and darkness scattered throughout what is a predominantly light book. Claire and Sophie team up with self-assured teenager Alex and sceptical ex-police officer Bash to try and work out who has died and who killed them. Even though I've given 3 stars to each book in this series so far, this one is my favorite. I think that finally I am seeing some plot movement and character development.