Bookseller Reviews
View all
Family Mayhem, Grisly Murder and Ghosts Galore!
This is an absolute classic where its not just about the who-dunnit but the where and how at the same time and with a wide range of colorful and at times h... READ MORE
Ghostly!
Claire is a medium, who with her best friend Sophie bring comfort to families who have lost someone. Do the families believe Claire can really talk to the ... READ MORE
Knives out but ghosts and somehow more swearing
I have never read too much crime or thriller before but Grave Expectations felt like an amazing and warm hug of a gateway book into the genre! It's juvenil... READ MORE
Synopsis
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.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Atlantic Books
- ISBN: 9781838958428
- Number of pages: 400
- Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 25 mm
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allLove it
Claire Hendricks can see and speak to ghosts. Aided by the ghost of her childhood best friend, Sophie, who went missing at age 17 and has been tied to Clai... READ MORE
A Fabulous Fun Read
What a fun book .something different from the usual murder mysery story .Light and engaging with great characters ,if you like the TV Series Ghost you wil... READ MORE
Lots of Fun - Absolutely Loved It
This novel is an unusual mash up of the cosy crime mystery and the paranormal. Clare has been ‘haunted’ by her best friend Sophie ever since the latter was... READ MORE
A quirky crime duo
"Grave Expectations" by Alice Bell is a fun crime book with a twist: Claire and her deceased best friend Sophie investigate a murder in this book which I h... READ MORE
Witty country-house murder mystery with ghosts
Claire is a thirty-year old medium, haunted by the ghost of her seventeen year old friend Sophie. Ever since Sophie materialised at her own vigil, Claire h... READ MORE
Fun murder mystery with ghosts!
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 stra... READ MORE
Aimed at younger adults but I still sniggered
As a 64-year old, after reading a few pages of Alice Bell’s Grave Expectations, I suspected I was not in the target demographic for the book. The main char... READ MORE
Loved this!
This book had me hooked from a few pages in, when a character is described as "not just a mum, but an M&S mum." From then on, it was a delight in so many w... READ MORE
A fun read
This was a fun read and something a little different to the usual murder/mystery and whilst there are times when I found it a little immature - surprising ... READ MORE
A Great Read!
I really enjoyed this (maybe) murder mystery that had Claire and Sophie trying to solve a crime that no one but they had any proof of occurring (and frankl... READ MORE
A decent whodunnit with a difference
This is a decent whodunnit with a difference; as, the person helping the lead protagonist, Claire, is her friend, Sophie, a ghost.
It’s well written and ... READ MORE
Riotously funny
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 mediu... READ MORE
A quirky ghostly read
I started this with high hopes as it was compared to the TV series Ghosts, which I loved for its humour and pathos. Unfortunately, this book did not compar... READ MORE
Loved it!
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 f... READ MORE
A delight!
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... READ MORE
Fun
Claire Hendricks can see and speak to ghosts. Aided by the ghost of her childhood best friend, Sophie, who went missing at age 17 and has been tied to Clai... READ MORE
Quirky, funny and fun!
I didn't quite know what to expect with this…a thirty-year-old medium, Claire, and her seventeen-year-old ghostly companion, Sophie, trying to solve a (may... READ MORE
Murder Mystery
I’d class this as a modern cozy murder. Modern because of the language, and the non binary character. Claire can see ghosts and works as a medium with her ... READ MORE
Quirky and different
I’m really not sure what I thought of this book. At times it was confusing and manic, but overall I enjoyed this quirky book. Claire and Sophie made a grea... READ MORE
Hilarious!
Thank you to Alice and her publishers for this early review copy.
This is a hilarious crime read! A great and rather unique duo to solve the crime...
A man... READ MORE
A unique whodunnit debut novel
This is a unique whodunnit with a difference; as, the person helping the lead protagonist, Claire, is her friend, Sophie, a ghost.
It’s well written and ... READ MORE
A whodunnit with a difference
This is a decent whodunnit with a difference; as, the person helping the lead protagonist, Claire, is her friend, Sophie, a ghost.
It’s well written and ... READ MORE
A Great Debut - funny and weird
This book grew on me the deeper in that I got. At first I thought it was an interesting (but nit unique premise) Claire being a young woman whose best frie... READ MORE
Highly amusing murder mystery
I love a so called cosy murder mystery and for me, Grave Expectations didn’t disappoint. Many times I laughed out loud as Claire and best friend Sophie, oh... READ MORE
A quirky paranormal murder mystery
“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 ... READ MORE
You may also like...
East of Eden
Price: £12.99
I Who Have Never Known Men
Price: £9.99
Hamnet
Price: £10.99
The Housemaid
Price: £10.99
The Wedding People
Price: £10.99
The Names
Price: £10.99
We All Live Here
Price: £9.99
Wild Dark Shore
Price: £9.99
When the Cranes Fly South
Price: £9.99
The Correspondent
Price: £9.99
Sunstruck
Price: £9.99
Land
Price: £25.00
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Price: £22.00
The Long Shoe
Price: £9.99
The Divorce
Price: £9.99
Heart the Lover
Price: £9.99