Ellen Curtis is not a house cleaner. She's a declutterer. Let's get that straight.
She’s also an amateur detective in Simon Brett’s latest series, which is three books strong now.
It turns out that dead bodies have a way of turning up in the messes Ellen is called in to deal with as proprietor of “Spacewoman.” In Waste of a Life, Cedric Waites, a reclusive hoarder, may have died of food poisoning. It’s doubtful he ever checked the “best by” dates on his frozen dinners.
Then again, his son and daughter-in-law, who had little time for him when he was alive, sure would like to get their hands on his money.
Why is Dodge, the troubled but talented man who helps Ellen with the building and repair needs in her business, on the run? He may have been the last one to see Cedric alive, but that shouldn’t be an issue. Should it?
Even Ellen herself falls under suspicion when she throws out all of the dead man’s old food containers. That was evidence. Was this an act of decluttering or deception?
The Decluttering Series also includes The Clutter Corpse and An Untidy Death. They are cozy mysteries, and definitely light and quick reading. Yet, Ellen’s relationships with her grown children, and her ongoing struggle to deal with her husband’s death, add depth and substance to these stories.
Her annoying mother, Fleur—who will only refer to Ellen as a cleaner—provides ample comic relief.
Ellen just rolls her eyes at Fleur’s antics and goes on sorting out her clients’ lives — and deaths. Much to this reader’s delight.
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