Simon Brett, author of the Fathering and Charles Paris mysteries, launches a new series of decluttering mysteries with The Clutter Corpse.

Ellen Curtis owns a decluttering business in southern England. SpaceWoman helps people declutter their homes, and most of Ellen’s jobs come from people whose family members are hoarders. With some coursework in social work, Ellen tries to help the hoarder deal with their life issues as well, such as resentful neighbors and problems with bills.

One of Ellen’s best friends, Hilary, is a psychotherapist who works with prisoners who are about to be released after a life sentence. After Hilary sees Nate Ogden’s mother’s home, she’s afraid he won’t be able to go there upon release. Hilary asks Ellen for a favor. Will she clean up the woman’s house? Ellen certainly doesn’t expect to find a body stuffed in a back room. To make it even worse, Ellen recognizes the corpse.

Now, her curiosity gets the better of her. Ellen digs into the past, meets with a drug dealer, and puts herself in danger. That’s typical behavior for an amateur sleuth.

Ellen Curtis wasn’t my favorite amateur sleuth. Even with her decluttering business, she tends to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong. The story dwells too much on Ellen’s own past and family history. With the addition of all of that background, it’s a slow-moving story that becomes tedious and stuffy. Readers may want to skip this introductory volume that becomes too much framework and not enough mystery.

Simon Brett’s website is www.simonbrett.com

The Clutter Corpse by Simon Brett. Severn House, 2020. ISBN 9781780291246 (hardcover), 184p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I receive the book to review for a journal.