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lorialdenholuta's review
4.0
My interest was piqued by the promise of a story about a professional organizer turned amateur murder investigator. I got what I hoped for with an outrageous organizing job being the catalyst for a murder mystery.
The story kept me guessing right up to the end. The cast of characters is big, and nearly everyone might have had some sort of motive or involvement with either the victim or the woman who claims to have killed him, though no one believes her. Red Herrings abound!
Our protagonist, Charlotte Adams is juggling crime solving with trying to keep her clients happy and tending to her odd group of friends needs. All this activity makes for a cozily cluttered story, and I enjoyed everyone's place in the adventure—with the exception of Detective Sargant Pepper Monahan, who is beyond rude to her former friend Charlotte... and Charlotte meekly takes whatever venom Pepper spits at her. I do wish Charlotte had stood up to her and addressed that problem, but that issue would be my only complaint. In the end, I was nicely surprised. And that's what a well-crafted mystery should give a reader. Well told!
My thanks to author Mary Jane Maffini, Beyond the Page Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
The story kept me guessing right up to the end. The cast of characters is big, and nearly everyone might have had some sort of motive or involvement with either the victim or the woman who claims to have killed him, though no one believes her. Red Herrings abound!
Our protagonist, Charlotte Adams is juggling crime solving with trying to keep her clients happy and tending to her odd group of friends needs. All this activity makes for a cozily cluttered story, and I enjoyed everyone's place in the adventure—with the exception of Detective Sargant Pepper Monahan, who is beyond rude to her former friend Charlotte... and Charlotte meekly takes whatever venom Pepper spits at her. I do wish Charlotte had stood up to her and addressed that problem, but that issue would be my only complaint. In the end, I was nicely surprised. And that's what a well-crafted mystery should give a reader. Well told!
My thanks to author Mary Jane Maffini, Beyond the Page Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
corncobwebs's review against another edition
The ending didn't surprise me as much as the ending in the first book, but it was still good! Between this series and Hoarders, I can't stop organizing my house!
ssejig's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like I read another book by Maffini and didn't enjoy it half as much. This was a cute, fast read about a professional organizer with a penchant for falling over dead bodies. In this book, she's helping an otherwise organized woman corral her plush toy collection. While the organizer, Charlotte Adams is there, two boys scare the bejeebers out of both of them. Later, one of the boys ends up dead and Charlotte's client is claiming responsibility. Charlotte doesn't believe her and decides to help out even over the objections of her client and her former best friend who is now a cop. She'll have to navigate crazy clients, a newsman who is determined to keep her in the spotlight and somebody who is out to kill not only Charlotte but the people helping her out.
chadleyc's review
1.0
I got a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
I like cozy mysteries. I am not a big fan of the protagonist-is-disliked-by-the-police trope. But in this case, I understood how the police felt. Charlotte Adams is one of my least favorite protagonists ever. I found myself actively hoping she would suffer some horrible catastrophe and one of the other characters would take over the story.
The mystery serves as a plot device for Charlotte to come up with a lot of scenarios, but I didn't really care about the resolution.
All-in-all not a book I enjoyed.
I like cozy mysteries. I am not a big fan of the protagonist-is-disliked-by-the-police trope. But in this case, I understood how the police felt. Charlotte Adams is one of my least favorite protagonists ever. I found myself actively hoping she would suffer some horrible catastrophe and one of the other characters would take over the story.
The mystery serves as a plot device for Charlotte to come up with a lot of scenarios, but I didn't really care about the resolution.
All-in-all not a book I enjoyed.
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