The Clutter Corpse by Simon Brett

Genre: Cozy mystery

Publisher: Severn House

Publication Date: June 2, 2020

Introducing an engaging new amateur sleuth, declutterer Ellen Curtis, in the first of a brilliant new mystery series.

Ellen Curtis runs her own business helping people who are running out of space. As a declutterer, she is used to encountering all sorts of weird and wonderful objects in the course of her work. What she has never before encountered is a dead body.

When Ellen stumbles across the body of a young woman in an over-cluttered flat, suspicion immediately falls on the deceased homeowner’s son, who has recently absconded from prison. No doubt Nate Ogden is guilty of many things – but is he really the killer? Discovering a link between the victim and her own past, Ellen sets out to uncover the truth. But where has her best friend disappeared to? And is Ellen really prepared for the shocking revelations to follow? (from Amazon blurb for The Clutter Corpse)

 

My thoughts:

Many thanks to Severn House for a copy of The Clutter Corpse in exchange for an honest review.

This is a clever premise for a cozy mystery series. I’m excited that I got to read it!

The story takes a while to warm up. The corpse doesn’t show up until the very end of chapter two. But after that, the mystery unfolds naturally. Given that Ellen is the one who finds the corpse and has a personal link to her, it makes sense that she wants to figure things out.

That’s usually one of the hang-ups I have with cozy mysteries: the amateur sleuth seems to have little to do with the deceased and has no business asking questions. But Brett skirts this issue cleverly as he gives Ellen a personal/professional connection with both the murder victim and also with the suspect.

After all, she was supposed to be decluttering the suspect’s future home with his hoarder mother. And the victim? Let’s just say that Ellen’s professional encounter with the young woman left a nasty taste in her mouth. Through Ellen’s friends, there are multiple other connections, too.

Characters

Ellen won my sympathy immediately. She doesn’t simply declutter a home, send a bill, and move on to the next job. In many cases, she continues a relationship with the recovering hoarder because she knows that though they may have too many possessions, they lack one truly necessary thing: a friend.

Queenie, who collects cats, needs Ellen to listen to her endless cat stories. Ashleigh, a young single mom, needs someone to teach her how to do the practical aspects of mothering. Like, say, throwing away dirty nappies or feeding her beloved child on a regular basis. And then hold her accountable for actually doing it.

Simon Brett obviously knows about the psychology of hoarders and other mentally ill people. His compassion and understanding of those with hoarding disorder impressed me; he never treats the disease lightly, as if the people are objects of ridicule.

Ellen herself has something from her past that haunts her. But she’s not a dark character. Rather, she’s a practical one who knows that though the past might be tragic, living in it robs today of its joys. That, coupled with her insatiable desire to understand other people, makes her press forward in life.

Tone

The tone is less light-hearted than I expected, given the cozy genre. Considering that Brett touches on issues of mental illness, drug abuse, prisons, and death, though, the relatively serious tone makes sense. However, Ellen’s wry quips about her life are funny, and there’s plenty of comic relief (especially whenever her melodramatic, competitive mother appears). The book is thoroughly enjoyable.

Plenty of mysterious tidbits about these intriguing characters suggest that Simon Brett will write  future decluttering mysteries. I’d gladly read more about her surly-sweet friend Dodge, her melodramatic mother Fleur, her two grown children, or even some of Ellen’s clients. They were memorable and fascinating.

Recommended for those who love cozy mysteries!

If you like cozy whodunits featuring women in unique jobs, check out my review for Survival Can Be Deadly by Charlotte Stuart, which also features a single mom with an unique job: private investigator at a “discount detective” agency. You can also read the first chapter of Stuart’s new book, Why Me? about a female consultant investigating the world of chimera research. Also check out my review for The Scent of Murder and The Secrets of Bones by Kylie Logan, featuring an administrative assistant/cadaver dog trainer.