I loved everything about the quirky group of people who make up Mary Jane Maffini's world in 'Organize Your Corpses'. The story is full of delightful characters, humor and a shocking mystery. I was completely floored by the ending. Although this story was resolved there are many unanswered questions that I have. I look forward to the release of the rest of the series to have them answered.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in the review are entirely my own.

Welcome to the wonderful world of cozy mysteries. Mary Jane Maffini knows how to set a scene, create a character, make you feel like you’re right there next to them solving crime. Settle in for the day or night and read this fantastic page turner.

It is never a good sign when the nickname of a potential client is Hellfire and she was definitely trouble. Charlotte Adams, professional organizer, should have listened to her friends when Helen "Hellfire" Henley wanted to hire her and Charlotte's friends said do not even consider the job. Now she finds herself in more trouble than she could have ever imagined.

This story has some interesting characters and a nice touch of humor. I also liked the helpful hints at the beginning of each chapter. Especially the one involving music and chocolate. The best thing was the surprise ending. Thanks to Beyond the Page Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Charlotte Adams is hired by her former school teacher, who was mean to the students, and she feels like her business is ready to off. When she goes to meet the woman the next day to sign the contract, she finds the woman’s body under some junk. Charlotte had expected her business to grow, not become a suspect on the woman’s murder.

Something seems off about the woman’s murder and Charlotte grows concerned for the one remaining relative living a upscale nursing home. Though Charlotte is the prime suspect, she won’t stop until she finds the real murderer and saves the eccentric heiress.

A good read and solid whodunit. I found Charlotte to be a little needy and Jack a little clingy, but overall like the characters.

Charlotte Adams has returned to her hometown and started a business to help others with their organizational problems. When she gets a call from a former teacher (that everyone in town hates) her friend Sally warns her not to take the job. But Charlotte is brave and heads over to Henley House to meet with Helen Henley about the job. Charlotte accepts her check and plans to meet her to start working on the following day but in the evening she receives a call from HH demanding her to come right away. Charlotte tells her that she will meet her in the morning as arranged and when she arrives she finds HH dead.

Enter Pepper Monahan, Charlotte's former best friend, who is the police detective and who finds great joy in making Charlotte uncomfortable and has her as the chief suspect. Charlotte has t find the killer before Pepper gets sufficient evidence to put her ex-friend under arrest.

The characters in this new series are fun and entertaining, the situations are humorous, and the surprise ending has the reader saying wow! I didn't see that coming. Loads of fun, a definite cozy to read!

Clever cozy mystery. It kept me guessing to the end. I am so glad to see it is the start of a series. Charming and delightful characters that will be fun getting to know better. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I was instantly drawn to the main character, Charlotte Adams. She has just moved back to her hometown to start an organizing business. An old teacher that no one liked hires her to help organize the family home. Two of her friends from high school try to talk her out of it. When the retired teacher is murdered and Charlotte is the main suspect, she decides that she must find the killer before her ex-friend arrests her for the murder. The story grabbed my attention and held it all the way. There were several side characters that kept me guessing as to what role they played in the mystery. This is the first book by Mary Jane Maffini that I have read and I will definitely be reading more. This is the first book in the series. I can't wait to read the others to find out more about this group of friends and see what kind of mischief they get into.

I originally read this series when it published in 2007. I enjoyed reading this book again, Charlotte Adams is a fantastic character, and her devotion to organization is amazing.
Charlotte needs to expand her organization business, so when a potential client reaches out, Charlotte is ready to get to work.
Unfortunately, her new client is none other than a retired teacher, one who enjoyed being a bully towards everyone that crossed her path.
A gruesome murder then sets the stage for a whirlwind investigation, which exposes secrets someone wants ti keep quiet.

I forgot how much I loved this series, and I'm looking forward to reading the other books.
#OrganizeYourCorpses #NetGalley

This is a fully revised edition of a book originally published in 2007.
I am so glad this book found a new publisher. I somehow missed reading it previously, and it was a treat.
Great characters and a whodunit that kept me guessing and had some great twists!
I will definitely read further books in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of ORGANIZE YOUR CORPSES (Book 1 of the Charlotte Adams Professional Organizer Mysteries) by Mary Jane Maffini in exchange for an honest review. Charlotte Adams moves back to her hometown to start anew. In order to start her organization business, she accepts a big job sifting through, storing, and eventually discarding the hoard recently inherited by the town meanie. However, before Charlotte can start the job, the woman is found dead and buried in the clutter. Since the town sheriff bears a longtime grudge against Charlotte, Charlotte finds herself publicly accused of the murder. Even though Charlotte’s worried about the damage the bad publicity is doing her fledgling business, she’s even more worried about going to jail for the murder. As time goes by, Charlotte realizes that the murderer is doing their best to frame her, that law enforcement is eager to accept the frame at face-value, and that Charlotte will have to be the one to bring the real killer to justice. If Charlotte isn’t careful, she may find herself framed for her own death.

I liked this book and thought it was a good start to a new series. I recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries featuring murder, new beginnings, homecoming, mean teachers, judgmental townspeople, law officers with grudges, biased reporting, dogs, and true friends.

#OrganizeYourCorpses #NetGalley

Nothing pleases Charlotte Adams more than having a perfectly organised life. She is so good at achieving this that she has returned to her home town and set up her own business, Organised for Success. Worryingly her first client is Helen 'Hellfire' Henley, the hated and hateful high school teacher from her childhood. Determined to be the better person, and against the advice of best friends Jack and Sally, Charlotte swallows her doubts and takes on Helen's organising nightmare looking for legal documents in the home of her late hording cousin, Randolph. Unfortunately her first discovery isn't documentation but the body of her client.

One of the problems of returning home is the realisation that some old arguments still continue to fester. In Charlotte's case her ex best friend Pepper definitely still holds a grudge and as a local police detective has no hesitation in setting her sights on finding the evidence to charge Charlotte with murder.

This is the first book in a series which is being re-released as a television series is to follow. I enjoyed the storyline although Charlotte's friend Sally grated from the start. The investigation however was original and well written and I will give the rest of the series a chance because of that.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. This is an enjoyable and easy read.

First book in this series

Charlotte Adam’s is a professional organize by profession , but her own life is in a mess, so she moves back home to Woodbridge NY after dumping her cheating ex-fiancé. She didn’t know that she would have to add solving murders to her resume.

Her new job is to go through years of junk to find valuable documents. What she finds is her client the meanest teacher in town buried in piles of debris. There is no shortage of suspects including Charlotte herself.

She will have to get organized to find the killer or she might be filed away for good.


This was a great read and I can’t wait for the next book in this series.