04/06/2020

Set in Chichester, England, this gentle series launch from Brett (the Fethering mysteries) introduces Ellen Curtis, a widow with two grown children who runs her own business called SpaceWoman, which offers decluttering and interior restyling. As Ellen goes about a typical workday, she chats engagingly about her clients, her friends, her actor mother, her children, her deceased husband, and her adventurous youth. However, her afternoon takes an unexpected turn when she stops in at the cluttered apartment of Maureen Ogden, whose grown son, Nate, has recently been released on parole from prison where he was serving time for his live-in girlfriend’s murder. Amid the stacked newspapers and piles of debris, Ellen finds the body of an emaciated young woman. Could Nate be the killer? Ellen decides to investigate. The languid lead-up to the body’s discovery turns out to be necessary preparation for another murder and the denouement. The appealing Ellen is fortunate to pursue a profession that allows her to enter into the homes and minds of her clients. She is sure to win many loyal fans. Agent: Lisa Moylett, CMM Agency (U.K.). (June)

'Watching Ellen investigate... on her own is thoroughly fascinating. Brett fans, along with readers who liked Richard Roper's How Not to Die Alone (2019), will love this quirky, warmhearted mystery'

'Watching Ellen investigate... on her own is thoroughly fascinating. Brett fans, along with readers who liked Richard Roper's How Not to Die Alone (2019), will love this quirky, warmhearted mystery'

05/01/2020

Ellen Curtis owns a business, SpaceWoman, helping people declutter their homes in southern England. Most of her jobs come from people whose family members are hoarders, and she tries to help them deal with their life issues as well. One of Ellen's best friends, Hilary, is a psychotherapist who works with prisoners who are about to be released. Because Hilary doesn't believe Nate Ogden will be released to his mother's home unless the house is cleaned up, Ellen agrees to help. Unexpectedly, she uncovers a drug addict's body stuffed in a back room, something that usually doesn't happen on her job. When Ellen recognizes the corpse, she's curious enough to dig into the past, meet with a drug dealer, and put herself in danger, typical behavior for an amateur sleuth. VERDICT Brett, author of the "Fethering" and "Charles Paris" mysteries, launches a new series with a story that dwells too much on the protagonist's past and family history to make for a tedious, stuffy account. Readers may want to skip this cold introduction, which has more framework than mystery. [See Prepub Alert, 11/18/19.]—Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

A new series by author/narrator Simon Brett is cause for rejoicing. Ellen Curtis is a declutterer who works with hoarders and those who need a nudge at organization. Brett’s portrayal of low-key Ellen is supportive and tactful when she needs to persuade her clients to let go of possessions. Listeners will be intrigued by elderly Queenie, who has 11 cats, and Ashleigh, who loves her baby but lives in squalor. Even before Ellen discovers a body at the home of one of her clients, she exudes an undercurrent of sadness. Characters are well rendered, with Ellen the standout as she investigates what turns out to be a murder. Most entertaining is Ellen’s aged mother, Fleur, an actress who is always performing. Even though this mystery includes issues relating to mental illness, drugs, prison, and death, its upbeat tone makes it an enjoyable listen. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

2020-03-15
Brett, long a prolific and sharp-eyed observer of the British middle class’s crimes and misdemeanors, launches a new series whose heroine wants to declutter your life.

Despite some misgivings about the aeronautical implications of the name, Ellen Curtis is content that SpaceWoman aptly communicates her vocation: to give her clients more room to grow in all sorts of ways by helping them clean out their domiciles. Her matter-of-fact approach to both her clients and the work she does, often aided by a hauler she’s dubbed Dodge, usually bulldozes obstacles that intimidate the hoarders who’ve erected them. This time, however, she’s stuck with three problem cases at once. Historian Tobias Lechlade’s wife, Dorothy, is so intimidated by him that she can’t commit to engaging SpaceWoman, and once she does, Tobias is more interested in hitting on Ellen than in letting her clean out his attic. Jeanette Tallis, who’s filled an entire outbuilding on her homestead with outfits she’s never worn and mostly never even unpacked, doesn’t want the services her wealthy husband, Bruce, is willing to pay Ellen to provide, and things get even messier after she changes her mind. Worst of all is Ellen’s trip to see Maureen Ogden, a serious hoarder whose son, Nate, paroled years after killing his girlfriend with a frying pan, plans to live with her if everything works out. Catching sight of a hand attached to a female corpse in Maureen’s cluttered home is enough to persuade Ellen instantly that everything’s not going to work out. As usual, Brett develops his mystery in fits and starts, with a particularly lumpy flashback to Ellen’s years of marriage, but he fits most of the pieces together smartly in the end.

Come for the clues, stay for the heroine’s appealingly no-nonsense new voice.