A review by leandrathetbrzero
Grave Expectations by Alice Bell

adventurous emotional funny mysterious relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I bought this book on whim simply for the cover. A cast of characters - one of them clearly a ghost - approaching a large estate? Yes. Just yes.

This paranormal mystery just charmed me, to be honest. The premise hooked me: medium Claire and her old childhood friend-cum-ghost are hired for a seance and quickly find themselves solving a murder mystery...and the murdered person's identity is unknown. No body, no name, and really not much luck on their side. And then once I was settled in the narrative, I just loved the back and forth between Claire and the ghostly forever-teenaged Sophie. It's one of those mysteries where I didn't mind piecing together the mystery without much trouble, because I was just thoroughly entertained by the characters.

In fact, I would love for the series to eventually look into Sophie's mysterious disappearance and death.