Dead Tired: A Mystery (Expectant Detectives Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Cotswolds, England
Publisher : Minotaur Books (June 4, 2024)
Hardcover : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 1250322731
ISBN-13 : 978-1250322739
Kindle ASIN : B0CG4KXZJW
Audiobook ASIN B0CKM11M6F
Being a new mom is murder.
Alice didn’t think her maternity leave would involve so much, well, murder. Before becoming proud new moms, she and her friends bonded more than members of a prenatal group usually would, as they became accidental amateur sleuths and solved a crime together. Now, with all this behind them and Alice’s son Jack somehow already a year old, Alice is keen to finally catch up on some sleep. So when an opportunity presents itself in the unlikely form of an eco-protest, Alice and her friends willingly chain themselves to trees and settle in as an excuse to get some overdue rest. Not the most comfortable arrangement ever, but at this point, they’ll take what they can get.
However, the next morning one of their fellow protesters is found strangled, and any hope of a peaceful interlude is suddenly swept away. Soon Alice and her friends become entangled in a plot involving rogue artists, an enigmatic local entrepreneur, and nude (optional) protesting, offering an unexpected—but not necessarily unwelcome—break from changing diapers and wrestling baby toys away from Helen the dog.
Alice, whose success rate in solving countryside murder is at an all-time high (one out of one), cannot resist the chance to demonstrate her detective skills once more, and assembles her gang of new moms to investigate this latest mystery in their not-so-sleepy English countryside village.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Alice is almost to the end of her year-long maternity leave and she is tired, taking care of a baby that first year is hard. Truthfully parenting is hard no matter what age the child is. She spends most days with the friends she met at her prenatal class. Well except for Hen, perfect Hen, because her husband left her she is now working for a local green energy company. Ailsa has her hands full with her TWINS! Poppy is pretty lackadaisical, something is definitely off with her. The young women are usually joined by Poppy’s dog Sultan and Alice’s dog Helen.
The story opens with everyone on a picnic in a nearby meadow. They are joined by some unexpected visitors who invite them to a protest against a wind farm set to be built in the meadow where they are having their picnic. They sans Hen soon find themselves chained to trees thinking they may finally get a little albeit uncomfortable sleep. When they are awakened by screams they find one of the protesters strangled. It isn’t long before they convince themselves they need to investigate the murder. Can they do it again? Can these new moms find the killer? Or will they wish they had just enjoyed what remains of their time off?
I think my problem with Alice is that I had four children over seven years and worked full-time with a leave of 6 weeks for each child. I maintained my house for the most part too, but it was never how Alice leaves hers daily. A year off per child would have been bliss. But I set that aside because I knew I was going to laugh and laugh often reading this book. These new moms, especially Alice find themselves in hilarious situations. Seriously, nude protestors! And oh my gosh, what Alice dressed her son Jack in when she took him with her to a funeral. I had tears in my eyes laughing. Plus, Alice’s dog Helen is such a lovable naughty dog who gets into all kinds of mischief.
The mystery was very well done. With one solved murder under their belts, these ladies have no trouble diving into this one, often bringing the dogs and children right along with them. They have several suspects and they come up with ways to question them or set up diversions to enable them to snoop in interesting places. They uncover some important clues but they just don’t fit together until Alice’s a-ha moment. I really enjoyed all the twists and turns and was surprised by the ending.
Dead Tired blends motherhood and mystery together in a very entertaining way. The mystery will make you think and the young mother’s and Helen’s hijinks will make you laugh out loud. I hope there will be a book three because toddlers will drive these mothers crazy and I would love to see what happens if they have another murder to solve.
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About the Author
KAT AILES works in publishing as an editor and freelanced for several years to allow her to take a couple of belated gap years, including hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. She now lives in the Cotswolds with her husband, their young son, and her beautiful but foolish dog. The Expectant Detectives was her debut novel, the first draft of which was written largely (and frantically) in three weeks after she submitted the first few chapters to the Comedy Women in Print Prize and was unexpectedly shortlisted.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”“As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.”
So fun tackling children and a murder is a task that is very hard. Thank you for the review