Should maybe listen to my gut next time and abandon a book if I don’t enjoy it.

Grave Expectations came with an interesting premise. Claire Hendricks and her dead friend Sophie come to conduct a seance for a party and get involved in a murder mystery. Claire is 30 but her friend is still 17 and amidst all the things that the story had to offer, their banter was given an important space. To be honest, I knew very early that this book won’t work for me. Unlike other murder mysteries that focus on the plot, this one was majorly about its characters. And I found none of them appealing. I pushed myself to finish the book and now it has left me in a slump.

Claire can see ghosts from the time her dead friend started making appearances ever since they were teenagers. When she discovers a ghost that has some unfinished business at the party house, Claire decides to solve the murder. And so she, Sophie, Basher (an excop) and Alex set about on a wild goose chase to unravel the mystery. Basher and Alex belong to the family that invited Claire to perform a seance and perhaps the only two normal people from that clan. As the story goes on, I found it so difficult to stay connected to the characters. I started to find everyone annoying, especially the protagonist and her ghost friend.

By the time the killer was revealed, I had had enough and was truly exhausted. Grave Expectations didn’t offer much to me and I’m not sure if I’ll read Alice’s other books. However, I also see that many have enjoyed this book so maybe a few pages into the story will help you make a decision.

Thanks for the copy @penguinindia x @reader_viddh ✨