Waste of a Life
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Ellen Curtis is about to have her own life thrown into chaos in this third light-hearted decluttering mystery!
"Brett layers the old-fashioned puzzle with deep psychological insights . . . Not to be missed" Booklist Starred Review
Declutterer Ellen Curtis has been working to bring order into the life of Cedric Waites, a recluse in his eighties who hasn’t left his house or let anyone inside it since his wife died. On one of her regular visits, Ellen finds the old man dead.
Sad but, given his age, perhaps not unexpected. Nothing to get worked up about . . . until the police raise the suspicion that Cedric might have been poisoned! The cause seems be something he ate, and as Ellen cleared away the old man’s food containers, she is under suspicion. As is Dodge, who works for Ellen and has unhelpfully done a runner . . .
Meanwhile, a rival declutterer is out to sabotage Ellen’s reputable business, her two grown-up children are back home and in crisis, and she has a potential love interest. Ellen’s life has taken on a chaotic turn of its own! Can she uncover the killer and bring order back to her own life?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Edgar finalist Brett's gentle third Decluttering mystery (after 2021's An Untidy Death), kind and empathetic Ellen Curtis, the owner and sole employee of SpaceWoman, a company in Chichester, England, offering decluttering assistance, is asked by Social Services to bring order to the home of Cedric Waites, a recluse in his late 70s. Over the course of her regular visits, she becomes fond of the old man and is shocked when she arrives one afternoon to find him dead. The autopsy reveals that he was poisoned by something he ate. Ellen's occasional helper, Dodge, who has a deep-seated distrust of the police, becomes a prime suspect. Dodge's running off complicates the situation for Ellen, whose easy narration pulls readers into her visits with her eccentric and often well-read clients, her interactions with her family, and her observations on the unpredictability of life. These interludes may seem extraneous to Ellen's murder investigation, but, in fact, often impart salient information. Ellen's personal problems, such as dealing with a manic depressive grown son, deepen her character along the way to the satisfying conclusion. This book is pure pleasure.
