The Expectant Detectives

Ailes’s witty debut opens with Alice and her boyfriend, Joe, deciding to move from London to a small town in the Cotswolds two weeks before Alice’s due date. Utterly unprepared for their imminent parenthood, the pair attend a local birthing class, where one of the students delivers her child mid-class. Chaos reigns as fellow students attempt to help the new mother, so no one is sure who was (or wasn’t) in the room when Mr. Oliver, owner of the herb shop downstairs, keeled over dead. What at first appears to be a natural death turns out to be a case of poisoned tea, and before long, Alice has teamed up with a group of other women from the birthing class to investigate. They make a surprisingly effective sleuthing team, sussing out Mr. Oliver’s many secrets by relying on their individual strengths. As the soon to be mothers turn up evidence that the town has been host to a string of suspicious deaths, they receive threats aimed at slowing their investigation. Meanwhile, Alice notices that Joe has been acting strangely, and fears how close to home the group’s inquiry might get. Full of charming characters, including Alice’s goofy dog, this fast-paced, original cozy is great fun. A sequel would be welcome. (Jan.)