A really fun read, I enjoyed the banter between Claire and Sophie and the general plot of the story. It was a murder mystery style novel with great characters and really kept me intrigued. The plot kept me guessing until it finally revealed what happened at the end.

Really enjoyed this book. Lovely gentle humour from the start and a great story line. The ghost angle worked really well and had me hooked pretty much straight away.

I love the concept of this book, a medium who is helped by her deceased friend to solve a crime, and it started off so strong. The characters were likeable and it did keep me guessing throughout. It just lacked a bit of pace in the middle. The beginning was quite fast-paced and really set the scene and I’d say the last 15-20% of the book was also fast-paced and page-turning stuff. But the middle was just a little woolly for me.
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I’d definitely recommend though if you’re after a light hearted whodunnit murder mystery that does exactly what it says on the tin.
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I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was sent an advance proof copy of Grave Expectations by Alice Bell to read and review by NetGalley. What a treat! This book is a delight! It is really well written, has a cast of great characters and kept me wanting to read more and more. It is a very entertaining murder mystery – with ghosts! Not a new concept but it is a unique story in itself. I loved it and I hope there will be more escapades with these characters to come. More than worth the maximum 5 stars for me.

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.

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.

Claire arrives at The Cloisters with her school friend Sophie in tow to perform a séance at the Wellington-Forges celebrations. She’s not a very good medium, but she’s got one advantage – she really can see ghosts, and Sophie is one of them. But when the evening before the big do goes really pear-shaped, it’s down to Claire and Sophie to convince the two most sane members of the family, Basher and Alex, that one of their lot has committed a murder.

If you are looking for a spooky story with an old house, secrets and ghosts, but also an inclusive cast, humour and some drunken shenanigans, this book is for you.

Firstly I must say that “Grave Expectations” is riotous, unapologetically rude and funny. Claire and Sophie, what a duo! The dialogue here is hilarious, and many characters were amusing, especially brooding ex-cop Basher and his nibling Alex, a ray of sunshine and rainbows with a disgustingly strong constitution and the ability to shake off hangover quicker than others.

Secondly, I am already waiting for book two and more crime-solving from the most disastrous sleuth in the world. I seriously enjoyed following the clues and red herrings and Claire’s drunken discoveries. If we get more of the same in the next book, I’m so up for it!

And lastly, I cannot wait for another book by Alice Bell.

Claire works as a medium, and has just been hired by Figgy, an old university ‘friend’ who needed some last-minute entertainment for her Nana’s birthday party, which so happened to fall around Halloween. Halloween + medium = spooky vibes. In Figgy’s mind, job done. Claire and her best friend Sophie (teenager, ghost, and general spirit guide/professional snooper) are immediately thrust into the upper-class microcosm that is Figgy’s family home at The Cloisters. There the pair meet Nana, Tuppence, Hugh, Clem, Tris and Monty, as well as Basher and Alex. Claire is drawn to Basher and Alex instantly, and Nana too - the family members who don’t quite fit the mould - grateful to find some friendship with the only tolerable people there.

Unfortunately, tragedy strikes, and it isn’t long before Claire is the only person alive who can still talk to Nana; her ghost informs Claire of a lost soul in the library of The Cloisters. It is her final wish that Claire and Sophie, along with Basher and Alex, solve this mystery for her. The last thing Claire wanted to do was hang around this godforsaken house longer than necessary, but who was she to argue with a final request?

There is dark humour, diversity, and interesting character dynamics to keep you engaged throughout. Just the right combination of humour, poignance, conflict, and deduction, though slightly predictable in places. Perfect for anybody wanting a refreshing take on the murder mystery narrative.

[Thank you to Netgalley and Alice Bell for the ARC]

Grave expectations is a real fun read., Claire can see ghosts and is shadowed by her friend Sophie who was murdered as a teenager and has been with Claire ever since. Claire works as a medium using Claire to help find the ghosts she needs to impress her clients.

Claire is invited to a manor house birthday party by a childhood friend to show off her skills where the birthday Granma unfortunately dies but appears to Claire and Sophie to ask them to solve a murder. From then on it becomes a hilarious saga of accidents, misunderstandings and funny lines to solve the mystery. The characters were interesting and not run of the mill. I did find the use of pronouns with Alex the non binary character took some getting used too.

This was an enjoyable comic read that made me laugh out loud. I will certainly read more of Alice Bell. Sequels with Claire and Sophie would be fun.

This was so much fun to read. Such an interesting and novel idea for a story and I hope we see much more of these characters. I will definitely want to read more.

It's not often I adore a book within the first few sentences but this one well and truly got me hooked. Really enjoyed the writing style, characters and plot. For me it slowed down around the middle but once I got through that lull I struggled to put it down.

In my mind they become the Mystery Inc team that Alex suggests and I'd be very happy if this book turned into a series.

Overall, a fab read that I would recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Publishing for a copy of “ Grave Expectations “ for an honest review.

This was a really enjoyable and humorous book , with likeable and quirky characters.
This was more than a cosy crime , and kept you guessing right up to the end.I loved the relationship between Claire , the medium, and Sophie , the ghost .Hopefully this will be the start of a series of books, as we never found out how Sophie met her end !
Highly recommended

'This isn't a whodoneit, its a whodeadit and a howdeadit and a whendid it'

The best of quirky British humour and wit, Grave Expectations is a murder mystery where the only thing they know is that there's a lost ghost, probably a murder and it was very likely it was one of the family members that hired her.
Claire and her forever 17 snarky sidekick best friend get into all sorts of adventures and are determined to find out the who, what and where of this murder, getting them in some interesting predicaments. Claire reminded me of Jen from Extraordinary with her grit and sarcastic humour and I loved every second.

Claire Hendricks is struggling to make ends meet. Her side line as a medium is assisted by Sophie- her best friend who died aged 17. When an old college friend invites her to be the 'entertainment' at a family get together for her grandmother's birthday she agrees. What they are not prepared for is an irate ghost demanding they find out who murdered him.

This was a fun premise with some great characters. The family are such wonderful conglomerate of the sort you'd expect to find in the house. (I'm not sure I'll ever view carving a chicken in the same way!) It was an enjoyable romp & I hope to meet Claire & Sophie again. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

An original and enjoyable romp from Alice Bell. Claire, a medium, along with her spirit guide Sophie (who used to be her best friend) are employed by an old university friend as the entertainment for a family function. Inadvertently, they end up uncovering a murder. A great comedy caper that just borders on the right side of frantic.

Claire can communicate with ghosts, her friend died when she was 17 and is always with her. A lovely, fun mystery. Staying at the home of a University friend a ghost is unsettled, a murder has been been committed but who is the ghost. Loved it from start to finish.

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.

Please tell me this is the first in a series and there will be more stories featuring Claire and Sophie.
It's a bit slow at the beginning even if there's all the element of crazyness that I loved. The aristo family is great and dysfunctional.
There's ghosts, murder and a very funny story that made me laugh but also kept me guessing as the mystery is solid.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

“The truth was that Claire was not a very good medium. Her figure was not suited to maxi-dresses, incense made her sneeze … She also wasn’t good at coming up with significant but vague things to say about the afterlife ... The only part she was good at was that she could genuinely see and talk to dead people, but as it turned out, that bit was the least important.”

My thanks to Atlantic Books Corvus for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Grave Expectations’ by Alice Bell.

The novel’s protagonist is Claire Hendricks, a hapless 30-something true crime fan who works as a medium. She runs into an old university friend, Figgy Wellington-Forge, who hires her to provide entertainment for a party at her family’s country pile. Sophie, Claire’s best friend, accompanies her though in actuality Sophie rarely leaves Claire’s side, as she’s a ghost.

Arriving at The Cloisters, Claire and Sophie discover an unquiet spirit, who had met a recent untimely end but is unable to communicate. They team up with the least unbearable members of the Wellington-Forge family – depressive ex-cop Basher and teenage reactionary Alex. So, commences an unusual murder mystery in which they not only have to discover whodunnit but also uncover the identity of the victim from a list of guests who attended a party the previous year. No further details to avoid spoilers.

Recently I have read a few murder mysteries with psychics and mediums as the protagonists and I felt that ‘Grave Expectations’ was done well. I especially appreciated the poignancy of the relationship between Claire and Sophie.

The various ghosts that popped up in the story reminded me a little of BBC’s ‘Ghosts’. For Claire it was a definite challenge to not carry on conversations in front of people who were unaware of her gift. It was easy to forget that Sophie was not corporeal. There were times when the pacing was a bit variable, though it didn’t overly effect my appreciation of this promising debut.

Overall, I found ‘Grave Expectations’ an intelligent paranormal mystery. It was also quite funny, especially in terms of Claire’s wry observations throughout. As Alice Bell signed a two book deal, I am hoping for a sequel or even a series.

Of you like a detective mystery with a difference then this book is right up your street. The crime solving duo at the centre of the novel are Claire an amateur detective/medium and her best friend Sophie......who just happens to be dead.

This book is a mixture of serious story cou0led with hilarious episodes, especially some of the "conversations' between Claire and various ghostly characters she meets along the way.

This was an interesting take on a traditional murder mystery in that the 'detective' is not just Claire, but also the ghost of her best friend, Sophie. The two make a compelling double act, and there are some hilarious conversations between them. I loved the twist with the gardener ghost right at the end of the story and also the diverse cast of characters which really made this story rich and inclusive. Parts which were more distressing were sensitively written and the mystery itself was well written too. I enjoyed!

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **