Organize Your Corpses is the début in a series by Mary Jane Maffini featuring Charlotte Adams. It was a very entertaining read with stacks of humour and I readily found myself chuckling away.

Professional organiser Charlotte was a marvellous protagonist whom I find to be compassionate and smart. Set in Upstate New York, Charlotte has moved back to her hometown after discovering that her fiancé was cheating. Charlotte's first job is at the home of her former high school teacher, Helen "Hellfire" Henley. Charlotte arrives at the address given by Miss Henley, a three-storey house on North Elm Street, to go through the ex-teachers requirements and prepare the contract for Helen's signature. Back at the home she is talking with her landlord Jack and tucking into a tub of ice cream when her phone rings, and it's Hellfire Henley calling to arrange another meeting, straightaway, but the line goes dead, so Charlotte reckons that Miss Henley hung up on her. The next morning Charlotte rings her but gets no answer so drives to her home in Woodbridge... and finds Miss Henley dead.

The book was well-crafted, swift-paced and thoroughly entertaining. The mystery was very engaging and I was kept guessing until the end of this lively tale. I am already looking forward to catching up with Charlotte, her landlord Jack and all of the rescue animals in the next instalment, 'The Cluttered Corpse'. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Okay so I will confess here I got a bit annoyed about halfway through this book as I thought Charlotte Adams was awfully ridiculous at sleuthing and one of the big twists I found rather obvious. HOWEVER, the whodunit was a doozy and I was quite impressed.

Charlotte Adams is trying to get her organization business off the ground. Her old Catholic school teacher, Miss Henley, nicknamed Hellfire Henley by the majority of her students, enlists her skills and then winds up dead. As the plot unravels and it looks like Charlotte is being set up to take the fall, she must work to clear her name so her clients will return and her life can get back to normal.

There is some swearing in this book, which is atypical for usual cozies. I don't mind it so much but the inconsistencies among the usage were a little annoying since she refers to poop once as "doo-doo" and then uses the other four letter word several other times. If you're going to use it, stick with it.

I also thought the portrayl of the police officer in this book was stupid. The woman is a former friend, now sworn enemy of Charlotte's for a reason that is hinted at but not fully explained. She is the picture perfect ice princess, perfectly quaffed and manicured and clearly hates Charlotte. I just found the abuse of power would never hold up in court.

I know it sounds like I didn't like this book much but I did, I just, as mentioned, found some plot points a bit far fetched, even for a fictitious mystery. However, I would read another book in the series, which says a lot. Plus there are dogs!

What a fantastic cozy debut! Quirky characters, a murder mystery to keep one guessing till the end, two adorable fur babies and a whole lotta suspects. The ending is mind-blowing!
Absolutely loved every bit of this story. Five books of this series is signed for a TV adaptation and I cannot wait to watch it!
If you love quirky cozy mysteries, you must give this book a try. Highly recommended!

Organize Your Corpses by Mary Jane Maffini is the first book in A Charlotte Adams Mystery series. I liked the premise of this series. It has potential for many interesting scenarios. The reality, though, was disappointing. You must suspend all logical thoughts when reading this tale. Some things are farfetched. I ended up not liking any of the characters (not even the dogs). Charlotte Adams is a “professional organizer” whose life is a mess. She is a plucky woman, but I found her too impetuous. Charlotte goes to a client meeting with two unruly dogs (that made no sense whatsoever). I also wondered how she kept getting jobs when she failed to complete any of them. The mystery was interesting. I like solving unique mysteries. Unfortunately, the whodunit was not the focus of the book. Charlotte’s friends seem to do more investigating than Charlotte. For the resolution, you must suspend your disbelief. At the end, we are left with many unanswered questions (what happened between Pepper and Charlotte for example). Avid cozy mystery readers only need to a couple of pieces of information to solve it. I wondered what year this book was set in. It did not seem to be set in the present day (not within the last three years at least). Organize Your Corpses had too much wackiness and cliché elements for my tastes. I did enjoy the organizing tips before each chapter. My favorite tip was, “Keep an interesting book with you in case you find yourself in a boring place with time on your hands.” While Organize Your Corpses was not my cup of tea, I suggest you obtain a sample to see if it suits you. Organize Your Corpses is an offbeat cozy mystery with a disarranged dwelling, a vile victim, a dogged detective, a kindly landlord, a frenzied family, and a perplexing puzzle.

Sarah Adams has decided to come home. She is an Organizer and hopes to create a business helping others become organized. One of her first clients is a former teacher that was know my the moniker "Hellfire". She made everyone's lives a living you know what.

When Hellfire is found dead, Sarah becomes the only suspect. The detective is a former friend who know hates her. We aren't told why. So Sarah decides she must figure out what happened before she is sent up the river.

The story was a nice cozy. There are plenty of quirky characters, Sarah, her friends, a girl with purple hair and an elderly woman who loves to bake. Some of the people are likeable, others not so much. Sarah and her friends did not have ideal childhoods and some people in the town won't let Sarah forget. The mystery was engaging and the twist at the end completely surprised me.

An amazing story. I didn't work out who did it, so it was a surprise for me. Nice humour and fun characters too. Very satisfying read.

Really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Cute cozy mystery with organizing and dachshunds!

Charlotte Adams is in for a wild ride when a former teacher hires her to locate important historical documents in a house full of junk (that is also falling apart) Of course because it is a cozy, there’s a corpse involved quickly! So many twists, turns, surprises, and red herrings.

I loved all the characters, and the upstate New York setting. An organizing business is a really interesting idea ( Marie Kondo) for a cozy mystery- Charlotte has odd hours, and can be in many interesting settings. I loved the dachshunds, Sweet Marie and Truffle ( I have a dachshund myself!). I hope that we see a lot of them in future installments, which I will be picking up!

small-business, small-town, cozy-mystery, murder-investigation, amateur-sleuth, situational-humor, verbal-humor, friendship, law-enforcement, dachshunds*****
The interactions among the majority of the characters is classic Returns To Small Town Where One Grew Up. Been there, done that. But it seems a lot funnier in fiction! Charlotte went from a high powered job in NYC and a scum fiance to her own business and former friends in the hometown. One of her first jobs as a professional organizer is for the teacher voted most hated by all her students, but Charlotte and her beautiful dachshunds are the ones who find her body. Then Charlotte discovers a new aspect of herself in an obsession to find who Don The Deed. Lots of laughs, and the sleuthing isn't bad. I really enjoyed the read! I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. Thanks!

Professional organizer Charlotte Adams takes a job helping her old not like by anyone teacher, Miss Henley, organize the family home after her brothers death. Charlotte then finds the body of Miss Henley and is the main suspect in her death. With the help of her friends Jack, Sally, Rose and Lilith, Charlotte works to find the killer and clear her name.

I enjoyed this book and will be reading more books in this series. I loved the characters. They were a joy to get to know. As well as the pups Truffle and Sweet Marie.

A good start for a new cozy series. Liked the characters, the setting and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, engrossing and entertaining.
Can't wait to read another story in this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Organize Your Corpses by Mary Jane Maffini is the first in the A Charlotte Adams Professional Organizer Mystery. Charlotte was hired by a former teacher to organize a house she recently inderited. Before Charlotte can get the contract signed, she finds Ms Henley murdered in the old house. She has made the majority of her past students miserable so plenty of suspects but Charlotte is at the top of the list. She needs to clear her name before she is the next victim or she finds her self in jail.
This easy to read Cozy has likeable characters, humor, and plenty of twists and turns that had me guessing to the end.
I was given an ARC by Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley for an honest review.

This is the first in the Charlotte Adams mystery series. Charlotte Adams is a professional organizer and she is back in her hometown of Woodbridge New York after ending an engagement (not much is mentioned on this) and she is looking to start her organizing business. She gets a call from a former teacher Miss Helen Henley who was referred to as “Hellfire”. Miss Henley has inherited the Henley Mansion after her cousin Randolph has died and the entire mansion is filled with clutter. Miss Henley indicates that she needs to find some paperwork in this mess and wants Charlotte to find the papers in the next two weeks and start immediately. Charlotte’s best friends Sally and Jack advise her not to take the job as Miss Henley was mean and nothing good could come out of it. Charlotte is convinced the job will put her name on the map in town and she accepts the retainer. Miss Henley is found dead the next day when she arrives at the job and Charlotte becomes the top suspect when the police detective is a former high school friend turned enemy. Charlotte has to sort this out and find out who killed their old teacher and perhaps unravel some other business regarding the Henley family. This was a good mystery and I did like Charlotte and liked how the story unfolded. I was a little surprised about the lack of cell phones and computer searching as opposed to messages on land lines etc.. Still did not take away from the mystery and Charlotte and her friends.

Charlotte Adams moves back to her hometown in Upstate New York to make a fresh start as a professional organizer.
It’s off to a bumpy start when her first client is found murdered. Charlotte now is a prime suspect and needs to clear her name before her business is a bust.
#OrganizeYourCorpses #NetGalley

This was an awesome read. I did NOT see the end coming. Very creative twist at the end. It's not often that I'm totally surprised at the reveal but this one shocked me. Very cool!

I really wanted to love this, but I just couldn’t get over how entitled the protagonist seemed even though she kept saying she was so polite. And get bestie Sally wasn’t great either. I felt like the book wanted her cast of sidekicks to be a bit like Meg’s crew in the Meg Langslow series, but it didn’t quite work.

Thank you to Beyond the Page for reissuing this fun cozy series. I read it when it first came out and a second visit was just as much fun. Charlotte is a great character and I wish I could hire her. I think we would get along very well...even if there are some dead bodies around.
Charlotte should have listened to her friends and said no thank you to Miss Henley, known to students as Hellfire. She was their nightmare back in school, a real bully. No reason to think that time has mellowed her but Charlotte sees is as a chance to grow her business so she says yes and makes arrangements to me Miss. Henley at the big old and messy house to do the needed paperwork. Instead of a client ready to sign for her services she finds a dead Miss Henley. Accident? Nope, the police declare it homicide and look at Charlotte as the possible killer. Time for some amateur sleuthing to keep herself out of jail.
There are five books in this series and they have aged well. I hope all of them will be reissued as they are the kind of cozies that really fit the definition of the genre. The puzzles are well crafted and the characters are well developed, all coming together to give the reader a great escape.
My thanks to the publisher Beyond the Page and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I dislike being a downer but this story is akin to a dumpster fire. It has flash but the substance is missing.
Charlotte Adams is supposed to be a professional organizer but you wouldn't know it by how she acts in Organize Your Corpses.
She has a sort of savior complex, she is obsessed with Miss Henley's death, and she makes so many dumb decisions that the initial portrayal of her as smart and organized is completely wiped out during the progression of the book.
I was very much on my way to giving this 2 stars when the murderer reveal ended up being a clever twist.
The ending of the action felt abrupt. Charlotte was suspected of murder by the police. The book doesn't address how things went down after the real culprit was caught. And really, the twist can't be that Charlotte was the murderer because she is the main character and sleuth. It just wouldn't do in a cozy mystery setting.
I think you will have to judge for yourself. For me Charlotte is not likely to be a favorite cozy mystery character. Several things about her grate on my nerves.
However, I am happy to have a chance to review pre-release copies of books. Thanks to Netgalley and Beyond the Page books.

4.5 stars

This is the 1st book in the Charlotte Adams series by Mary Jane Maffini.

I thought this was pretty good. I enjoyed the whole organization aspect and wished there had been more of that. I totally need help in that area.

The mystery was fun to follow even though some of the plot devices were pretty obvious. But that didn’t keep me from enjoying this book. Man, there is this big plot twist at the end that you definitely won’t see coming. I know I was mind blown. Don’t stop reading before the end because you will really miss the crazy big reveal.

I enjoyed getting to know the people in this community. I wonder how many will navigate to book two. Just so many possibilities with this series. I am excited for the author. Now that book one is under her belt, book two will be slam bam amazing, I am sure!

Highly recommended. If you love a good cozy mystery, definitely check this one out!

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. Opinions are completely my own.

I enjoyed reading this. The mystery kept me guessing and I liked the characters. I enjoyed the organizational tips at the beginning of the chapters (I agree - chocolate is a must to always have on hand). I look forward to more of the series being republished.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Declutter Causes Chaos....
The first in the Charlotte Adams Professional Organizer mystery series finds our protagonist Charlotte decluttering her life of her cheating fiancé amongst other things and making a move along with a career change. Chaos ensues, however, when her first client is found dead and Charlotte herself becomes the prime suspect. Enjoyable cosy mystery with well drawn characters and a fun storyline. A promising start to a series.