Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Expectant Detectives | 2024 | Kat Ailes | Buy |
| 2 | Dead Tired | 2024 | Kat Ailes | Buy |
The Expectant Detectives is a cozy mystery series by Kat Ailes, with two books published in 2024. The series follows a pregnant woman who keeps finding herself in the middle of murder investigations. In the first book, The Expectant Detectives, a group of women in a prenatal class discover a body and decide to investigate. Dead Tired continues the story after the baby has arrived, proving that motherhood does not slow down the sleuthing.
The pregnancy-and-crime premise gives the series a hook that sets it apart from other cozy mysteries. Ailes plays it for both laughs and genuine suspense, with the physical realities of pregnancy (and sleep deprivation, in the sequel) becoming part of the detective work itself. The humor is dry and very British, and the mysteries are properly constructed with fair clues throughout.
Both books were published in 2024, so this is still a young series. Readers who enjoy cozy mysteries with a strong comedic sensibility and an unusual protagonist situation should start with The Expectant Detectives and go from there.