Motherland meets Midsomer Murders in this fresh and funny mystery about a group of soon-to-be mums who turn detective when there's a murder at their antenatal class.

'Cosy crime at its finest!' JANICE HALLETT
'A sharply witty debut' SIMON BRETT

'The epitome of fun and witty cosy crime' iPAPER

For Alice and her partner Joe, moving to the sleepy Cotswold village of Penton is a chance to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of their unexpected first child. He can take up woodwork; maybe she'll learn to make jam. But the rural idyll they'd hoped for doesn't quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their local antenatal class and they find themselves suspects in a murder investigation.

With a cloud of suspicion hanging over the heads of the whole group, Alice sets out to solve the mystery and clear her name, with the help of her troublesome dog, Helen. However, there are more secrets and tensions in the heart of Penton than first meet the eye. Between the discovery of a shady commune up in the woods, the unearthing of a mysterious death years earlier and the near-tragic poisoning of Helen, Alice is soon in way over her head.

CAN YOU SOLVE THE MOTHER OF ALL MURDERS?

FEATURED IN THE EVENING STANDARD'S BOOKS TO WATCH IN 2023 AND THE NEW YORK TIMES' 'NEW MYSTERIES FOR A NEW YEAR'

Praise for The Expectant Detectives
'A gloriously smart and witty telling of the darker side of NCT groups - this is really funny with edge' HELEN LEDERER

'A complete triumph. Perfectly plotted, brilliantly observed and just so much fun' LAUREN BRAVO

'A twisty, turny murder mystery guaranteed to satisfy any amateur detective's cravings, with belly laughs big enough to give you stretch marks' FIONA LEITCH, author of The Cornish Wedding Murder

'Kat Ailes nails small town cosy crime in her debut novel. From the first page, I was hooked. I laughed an awful lot; the writing is so clever and funny' CHRIS MCDONALD, author of the Stonebridge Mysteries

'A humorous, remarkably touching debut. Pacy, funny, with just the right undertones of dark' EVA VERDE, author of Lives Like Mine