This is the fourth book in the Tallie Graver Mystery series. This is the first book I have read and I think reading the previous books would definitely have helped.

Tallie is divorced and her cleaning business is starting to shine, she’s ready to go against Audra McNeal for a major contract at the Astercromb mansion. The contest is for each woman to clean a room and then be judged on the results. Tallie leaves in haste, leaving her tools behind so she has to return for them. She sure didn't think she will find Audra dead and rolled up in a carpet, tossed in the dumpster. One thing leads to another as Tallie sets out to find out who would want such a nice person dead...but was Audra as nice as Tallie thought?

I really enjoyed Tallie and I will definitely be going back to read the previous books.

What a cute start to a cozy series. I loved themed cozies and a lot of the themes are overdone and I love the fact our heroine is a cleaning lady. This book had a little humor and romance thrown in as well. What a fun read. I did guess the killer before the bog reveal, but still loved this book. And I will read the second one.

This one was ok. I think I’m starting to loose interest in this series. It just seemed a little far fetched.l, even for a cozy mystery. Seems like I’m in the minority tho, so give it a try! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Tallie Graver is vying for a big cleaning contract for Mrs. Petrovski at her Astercromb mansion. She is competing against Audra McNeal and they have each been assigned a room to clean to the owner’s specifications. Tallie and Audra have become friends but she is going to fight hard for this job so she has plenty of work for the women that work for her.

Tallie does get the contact but it isn’t because of her cleaning expertise. It is because she found her competitor dead, rolled up in a carpet, and tossed in a dumpster. Thankfully the police chief doesn’t have her as number 1 on his suspect list but that doesn’t mean she isn’t going dust and sweep together every clue to find out who killed Audra. She has to be careful though or she may end up using her family’s services instead of just helping with the family business.

Ms. Simon has really written a wonderful mystery. Twists and turns plus a red herring or two. I dove right into this story and didn’t look back. I read the book in two evenings but would have read it all in one if my eyes and brain would have cooperated. The ending was unexpected and satisfying too.

While a great mystery is important, this series shines because of its strong characters. Tallie has changed so much since book 1, Cremains of the Day. Her relationship with Max is getting more serious and she is pulling away from her ex-Mrs. Waldo status. Her relationship with the sheriff is evolving as well in an interesting way. I liked Tallie right away but it is great to see a character grow realistically as Tallie has. Making the story even more enjoyable is that the regular supporting cast is developing nicely too. Add to that the unique characters we meet like Mrs. Petrovski and her nephew and you have a story that is extremely hard to put down.

Wonderful characters and compelling mysteries keep me coming back for more of this series. Misty Simon is such a fine storyteller, she never disappoints. She entertains and tests my brain. Carpet Diem is a Perfect Escape and I recommend it highly.

Carpet Diem is the fourth book in the Tallie Graver Mystery series! We meet up again with Tallie who is going head to head with a rival for a cleaning contract. But of course, that rival winds up dead...

The major flaw I see in a lot of cozies is the lack of character development. As the series goes on, the character doesn’t grow, but that’s not something I find in this series. With each book, I see Tallie growing as a character and I love that. It makes her feel very well-developed and real.

I also love the other characters as well! I think that’s my favorite thing about this particular cozy series. The characters are delightfully entertaining and warm. They feel like real, everyday people.

Overall, this is another great addition to a very suspenseful and addicting series! I can’t get enough of Tallie and her friends! XD

Trying to get her cleaning company off the ground, Tallie Graver agrees to a completion with the prize being the contract to clean out a mansion. Her competition ended up dead, wrapped in a carpet. Fearing that her company's reputation may be at stake, she starts to look into the murder. It took me about a third of the book to earn up to Tallie, but I'm glad I stuck with the book and her. Plot was fair and I failed to guess the correct villian.

I certainly do enjoy reading cozys where the main character has an unusual or out of the ordinary sort of job. The queen of squeegiedom and hearse driver are definitely not two that I would imagine a person/character having at the same time. Tallie is certainly spunky enough to manage both positions, she learned to deal with the hoity-toity elite as a result of her previous marriage to Waldo III. The basic story is that Tallie finds a body (again) and it turns out that the friend she thought she had made was not so much of a friend. Apparently, other people didn't think too highly of the victim as well, which most likely explains why she ended up wrapped in a carpet and dead in a dumpster. Tallie has been asked to be a concerned citizen and not a nosy parker. Such an enjoyable personality surrounded by other interesting characters, some more interesting and less annoying than others, to be sure. This was my first Tallie Graver mystery and although it is number four in the series I did not feel at a loss for having not read the other three. I find myself wanting to read the others because of how enjoyable this book turned out to be., but not because the characters confused me or I felt as though I was missing pieces to the plot. In fact, it was very easy to keep names and personalities straight while reading. That might have been due to the wonderful snickerdoodle cookies that I made from the recipe at the end of the book, which I used as a snack while doing my best to be an e-reader detective (I was often on the couch or at the island and not on the armchair). There are plenty of red herrings and I wasn't able to ascertain the truth completely until the big reveal. I was also very pleased with the romance angle and the ever-supportive and caring boyfriend, who cooks too! Looking forward to the next installment entitled Varnished Without a Trace.

fast paced, and superbly written, this book is a wonderful mystery!
keeps the reader engrossed with a fascinating mystery.

This is a very fast-paced, upbeat, quirky cosy mystery. Tallie and her cleaning crew make a bid for a big contract, but the odds are stacked against them. Still, Tallie is nothing but determined. Not to the extent of killing her main rival, though, but that is how it might easily appear. So it’s important to Tallie to find out who really is the murderer, even though this will take up a lot of time in her already very busy life.
Tallie is brilliant. She’s hugely likeable and engaging. In fact, all the characters we meet are larger than life and thus fascinating. There’s the requisite hint of romance to give extra enjoyment and a clever mystery that’s not easy to solve.
This is part of a series but works as a standalone. However, you’ll probably want to read the two preceding books once you’ve discovered this author and her lovely series.

Carpet Diem is the fourth book in Misty Simon's Tallie Graver Mystery series. Tallie and her cleaning crew are up against her friend Audra for a big contract at a local mansion. When Audra ends up dead, Tallie feels the need to solve her friend's murder. As Tallie cleans away layers of Audra's life, she learns her "friend" is not what she seemed. Tallie continues to work part-time at her family's funeral home and juggle her new romance with Max. Tallie is a likable character, and the supporting characters are a bonus. This is a good, light cozy mystery.

Carpet Diem is about Tallie Graver’s cleaning business. Competing for a contract at the Astercromb mansion, Tallie feels honest competition is not a bad thing until she finds her dead opponent rolled up in a carpet. Tallie gets the job but spends her time searching for a killer in between scrubbing. I loved this plot. It was the first of Misty’s series. She keeps you guessing until the end. Tallie is involved in solving the murder even tho she angers the police chief. I thought her love interest, Max, put a damper on part of the story. Her dad didn’t help as he was trying to get Tallie to drive the hearse for his funeral parlor. She certainly had her hands full. Good story!!

Source: NetGalley and Kensington Publishing
Rating: 4½/5 stars

Tallie Graver never thought her life would be fulfilled by cleaning toilets, dusting bunnies, and vacuuming with a perfect top of the line vacuum. Tallie loves her vacuum, her clients are generally quite lovely, and Tallie’s business, thanks to those lovely clients, has grown to include an actual crew of cleaners. Yeah, when you throw in her awesome boyfriend, Taliie’s life is quite fulfilled.

And then . . . .

Feeling feisty and all kinds of confident, Tallie decides to throw her hat in the ring for a HUGE local cleaning contract. Once upon a time, Tallie and her ladies were the only game in town, but now she has some friendly competition. Tallie totally knows her crew are the best in the business and a little friendly competition never hurt anyone . . . . except the actual competition. Shortly after the maid service auditions, Tallie finds the body of her only competition, her precious vacuum is caught up in the fray, and the sheriff is once again very displeased. Very. Displeased.

Being sucked into another investigation means less time with her handsome boyfriend, grief from her family over her involvement and the possible danger, and the incredible displeasure of the sheriff. To be fair, Tallie didn’t go looking for a new investigation, only her vacuum! What’s more, even with the sheriff’s great displeasure, even he has to admit, people will talk to Tallie and reveal things they simply won’t say or reveal to the police. As Tallie begins to poke around and aske questions, she uncovers on inconsistency and lie after the next leading her to believe, her friendly competition wasn’t as friendly as she initially believed.

In the midst of all her investigating, Tallie also has to deal with the fallout from her family and the ever-evolving nature of her relationship. Her family is, yet again distraught over Tallie’s investigative inclinations, the funeral home is in desperate need of Tallie’s help (UGH!), and her boyfriend is contemplating some big life changes that will absolutely impact Tallie and their future together. Juggling forty-two balls at the same time isn’t easy and if Tallie drops even one, her very fulfilled life may just come crashing down all around her.

The Bottom Line: I truly believe this series is picking up steam with each new installment. Tallie is becoming not just a character I like, but a beloved character whose world I very much enjoy returning to time and again. There’s no stagnancy in this series; in fact, every aspect of this series is evolving, and this is something I find I must have in my reads. Tallie’s personal life takes a significant turn in this book, her business is becoming a small empire, and her relationship with the sheriff and involvement in murder investigations is changing too. The evolution I’m seeing in this book/series is making it stronger and creating a real connection to the characters for me. I want to know more about these people, the town, and the next investigation Tallie is going to find herself a part of. In all, the Tallie Graver Mystery series may be one of my favorite cozy mystery series.

This title was quirky and fun! I haven’t read the first books in this series yet, but this one definitely kept me reading! Tallie used to be rich, but now lives with her pets in a small studio apartment over a funeral home. She divorced her rich husband and is now a cleaning lady with exciting adventures. This book has a lot of mystery, with just the right amount of romance! I’ll be reading the rest of the series next!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

Now I read a whole heap of cozy, but there is always something inherently easy about them; they are easy to fall into, easy to like characters, and we always get a resolution. There are no cliffhangers in cozy. I like to think I'm a good judge of them too, with at least experience. What makes this book fall down slightly is the extremely complicated plot, with Tallie dashing this way and that and constantly changing her mind about what's she's doing and then overthinking some of the simplest things. At first it was helter skelter around the murder, but I thought it might calm down when she actually investigated and we could see some suspects in the making. Instead it got worse until everything was a hot mess, and I couldn't look away.

I liked the characters and the small town feel. The plot could have been polished and maybe it was before it was published. Perhaps now some of the things Tallie is chasing have been sorted the next book won't be so hectic. I can definitely see the potential in this book and in these characters, I just felt like this had teething problems. Three stars.

I love Tallie, she's one of the funniest and most fun amateur sleuths in cosy mystery-land! She asks great questions, has solid relationships with her friends and family, who are always (un)willing to help her figure it out, and has a job she loves and which puts her in a perfect position to be able to find bodies.

This time it's the body of another cleaner vying for a very big job in town. Audra was on her way to becoming both a friend and rival in Tallie's house cleaning world. Who would want to kill a lady like Audra? It turns out she was not what Tallie believed her to be, and there were more than a handful of people who would have been more than happy to see her 'done and dusted'.

A light, fun series with good mysteries and plotting, excellent characters and two terrific pets (Mr Fleefers, the cat - probably one of the best cat names ever - and Peanut, the St Bernard).

I love this series. This entry was a great addition. I would recommend this series to others. It’s a quick light read.

Carpet Diem by Misty Simon is the fourth book in the cozy A Tallie Graver Mystery series. Each book in the series features it’s own mystery to be solved so they can be read and understood as a standalone if choosing to do so or in any order. Of course though there are details to the story and characters that carry over book to book so it’s always best to enjoy the series from the beginning.

Tallulah Graver never wanted to go into the family business of running the Graver Funeral Home. Instead Tallie choose to marry a wealthy man and was living rather well until her marriage fell apart. Picking herself up after the divorce Tallie moved in the apartment above the funeral home and found in order to avoid working full time in the family business and still pay her bills she started a business cleaning the homes of the same wealthy people that she once called friends.

Now that Tallie’s cleaning business is really taking off and she’s added some employees Tallie wants nothing more than to gain some bigger clients. Chasing those new contracts is how Tallie ended up in a competition cleaning the Astercromb mansion against her biggest business rival, Audra McNeal. Tallie didn’t mind the competition until it seemed it was rigged in favor of Audra but after losing Tallie returns to pick up her supplies only to find Audra’s body.

A Tallie Graver Mystery series is one I’ve followed from the beginning and continue to enjoy with each installment. This series is always good for a few laughs and a solid mystery while Tallie has a unique way of getting close to get answers to her questions not only by being behind the scenes at the funeral but also cleaning her clients homes. With Tallie again digging up suspects and suspicion the story was another fun one to follow and I’ll definitely look forward to book five of the series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Carpet Diem
Author: Misty Simon
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
4 Stars

Tallie Graver’s cleaning business has grown to the point that she now has a cleaning crew working for her. This has allowed her to take on more and bigger jobs. When a large job becomes available, Tallie knows that her and her crew are up to the task. This job involves cleaning a mansion for Mrs. Petrovski, a very rich but condescending member of the elite community. Tallie will not just be given this job though. She has to compete for it against the new girl in town, Audra. Tallie has her work cut out for her because it turns out that the mansion job is even bigger than she imagined, and she is butting heads with Mrs. Petrovski’s nephew, who doesn’t seem to want her to win the contract. Thanks in part to his sabotaging, Tallie loses the contract. She returns later that night to get some of her cleaning supplies she has left behind. What she finds when she gets there though is Audra’s body in the dumpster. Tallie decides she must find out who killed Audra because she was just starting to call Audra a friend. Tallie’s determination is clear when she says, “I’m in full amateur-sleuth mode at the moment. Perpetrators, watch out!”

Each book in this series gets better and better. I believe that one of the reasons for this is the excellent character development. Throughout the series, Tallie grows personally and professionally. Personally, I feel like she comes into her own in this installment. She no longer feels like just Waldo’s ex-wife, and a fallen from the upper echelon victim. She is comfortable with who she and where she is at. She even begins to realize she has gained some respect in the community. Her relationship with Burton really changes in this story. Tallie becomes aware that she was stepping on Burton’s toes, and while she really wants to help, she doesn’t want to do that anymore. Burton in turn comes to realize that Tallie is able to bring helpful information to the table. Tallie’s relationship with Max also changes, but I’ll let you read the novel to see what’s in store with these two.

The mystery itself is well crafted. The author is very skillful in that nothing seems to be exactly how it first appears. With the pieces seeming to constantly change shape, Tallie is kept on her toes while trying to piece this puzzle together. While clues are sprinkled throughout the novel, they are cleverly murky and leave the reader just as puzzled as Tallie. The mystery keeps you guessing all the way until the end. The ending is very gratifying.

This is a fun, page-turning mystery that cozy mystery readers will love. While the book could be read as a stand alone novel, I think reading the previous books will give you a better take on the characters. I’m hoping there will be another book in this series.

Thanks to Net Galley and Kensington Book for an ARC of this book. #NetGalley #CarpetDiem

Carpet Diem
(A Tallie Graver Mystery #4)
by Misty Simon

Paperback, 304 pages
Published September 24th 2019 by Kensington Publishing Corporation




Goodreads synopsis:
Live and let dust . . .

Now that Tallie Graver’s cleaning business is starting to shine, she’s ready to go squeegee to squeegee against Audra McNeal for a major contract at the Astercromb mansion. Tallie’s not afraid of a little friendly competition from the new cleaner in town. In fact, Tallie likes Audra, though she wonders how her glamorous rival manages to clean house and maintain her fancy manicure. Tallie has her rubber-gloves full staying one step ahead of her nemesis. Until she finds a well-polished hand poking out of a rolled-up carpet, rendering her competition . . . dead.

Though it lands Tallie the big job, there’s nothing tidy about Audra’s death. So
between polishing and scrubbing, Tallie’s determined to find the killer. Hopefully the police chief doesn’t mind her cluttering up his investigation with the filthy dealings she discovers. Turns out Audra was not as squeaky clean as she appeared. And confronting her killer could bring Tallie to a very foul end indeed . . .



***

4 Stars

This is the fourth book in the Tallie Graver mystery series by Misty Simon. This is my first foray into this cleaner mystery series and I am sure it will not be my last. I am continually amazed at how many avenues there are in the cozy mystery genre. Your character can have any job and you can make it all seem so plausible and wonderful.

I felt bad for Tallie when she was vying for the cleaning job of a big mansion but it seemed everyone was against her and even sabotaged her efforts. Later when she marched back to the large estate to gather her tools and precious vacuum cleaner she discovers the dead body of none other than the cleaning lady who had won the contract.

This book really kept me on my toes and I related to the main character as she went through all her troubles. So related in fact I found it gave me a bit of stress reading it. I was glad when everything was resolved at the end. The back and forth between Tallie and her romantic interest was nice but I can see how it can come off as formulaic and boring. Since I am a new reader it all seemed pretty fresh and inspiring to me. I definitely look forward to checking out more of the books in this series.

If you love a good cozy mystery, pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Carpet Diem is an entertaining and fun cosy mystery. Tallie has a bit of spunk, which I enjoyed (in addition to a couple of cute fourlegged friends). The plot has a nice pace with a few twists, turns and red herrings to make it more interesting.