"The Cluttered Corpse" by Mary Jane Maffini is a delightful mystery filled with quirky characters and clever twists. Protagonist Charlotte Adams, a professional organizer turned amateur sleuth, embarks on a thrilling investigation when a murder takes place in her small town. Maffini's writing is engaging and laced with humor, making the story thoroughly enjoyable. The intricate plot keeps readers guessing until the satisfying conclusion, while the clutter-themed backdrop adds a unique and charming element. With its well-developed characters and clever storytelling, "The Cluttered Corpse" is a captivating cozy mystery that will entertain fans of the genre.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed reading it the plot was interesting and the characters made me want to know more about them. I highly recommend.

This is the second book in the Charlotte Adams Professional Organizer Mystery series and the first I have read.

This was a fun read with organizing tips at the beginning of each chapter. Charlotte doesn’t believe her new client committed the murder she confessed to doing. She did this at the top of lungs in front of multiple police personnel.

The house is immaculate except for thousands of stuffed animals which Charlotte has been hired to help organize & declutter. This appears to be a hoarding issue specific to one category of items.
There were plenty of twist, turns, and laugh out loud moments.

I was given a copy of this book and am not required to leave a positive review.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Mary Jane Maffini’s second book, The Cluttered Corpse, in the Charlotte Adams series is a delightfully engaging addition to the series.

Charlotte Adams is a 5-foot tall professional organizer, in upstate New York. She had returned to her home town of Woodbridge after a bad break up with her now ex-fiancée. Her business is on the rise and she has a new client, Emmy Lou Rheinbeck – a woman with a HUGE collection of stuffed animals. Her husband has requested Charlotte’s expertise in helping his wife get control of her collection. While getting a handle on the job at the client’s place of residence, Charlotte is exposed to a couple of neighbourhood young men pulling some shenanigans outside of Emmy Lou’s home. Subsequently, one of the young men is found dead. To muddy the waters – Emmy Lou confesses to the murder!

Charlotte methodically processes the information she gathers in an attempt to identify the true killer. In true cozy mystery fashion – there are numerous red herrings which add to the suspense and enjoyment of the book (at least for this reader) and of course, places Charlotte in harms way.

Loved the nuggets of wisdom at the beginning of each chapter interesting…. especially the following:

“Don’t bring anything new into your home unless you know you have a place to keep it. Except for books, of course.”

I found the following comment by Charlotte rather interesting and true:

“I am used to neighbors taking an interest in my clients and their projects. Often they want details. Other people’s mess and clutter is almost as interesting as their sex lives, and just as much not anyone else’s business.”

One aspect I found interesting is that I did find some portions of this mystery rather formulaic and thus obvious while at the same time, I was stumped at other parts with no clear indication of “whodunit” until the end. Which, in all honesty, is the way I like my cozy mysteries ☺So, my final analysis is that Mary Jane Maffini has done it again – another fun cozy read which kept me guessing and entertained throughout. And I got LOTS of organizing tips. Can’t wait to read book three – Death Loves a Messy Desk.

Loved reading this book and author. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend her and her books. Happy reading

This is book 2 in the Charlotte Adams series. It's a fun easy read that has Charlotte trying to help Emmy Low decrease the size of her stuffed animal collection. When mysterious accidents start happening and people start dying Charlotte and her crazy fun friends have to scramble. This book was originally published in 2008 and has been updated. There are lots of good tips for organizing and paring down clutter around the house. It can be read as a stand alone and there are now 5 titles in the series. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is such a cute and fun light hearted cozy. The cast of characters are adorable. The story has a great plot with plenty of twists. I recommend this book.

I read this book for the first time almost exactly 10 years ago and definitely appreciated more this time around. Charlotte's group of friends are amazing and I love how they're still there for each other even this long after graduation. The mystery in this one was confusing for all involved and it didn't go the way I expected at all (I don't think I figured it out last time either). This book has also been updated to include her social media accounts, notably Instagram. which wasn't available the first time around. I'm glad these have been re-released and wonder if there will be more than the initial five.

Charlotte Adams who is a professional organizer takes Emmy Lou Rheinbeck as a new client to sort through and organize her huge collection of stuffed animals. Charlotte finds that 2 neighborhood boys have been scaring Emmy Lou. When one of the boys is found murdered, Emmy Lou takes the blame. But who really murdered him and why is Emmy Lou taking the blame?

This is the 2nd in the series and is just as good as the first. It's a fun series and enjoyable to read.

Charlotte Adams, professional organizer, has gone to the home of Emmy Lou Rheinbeck to determine if there is away to help her with her stuffed animal collection. While there Emmy Lou is harrassed by two men (possibly mentally deficient?) but Emmy Lou, though frightened, refuses to doing anything to the men. When Charlotte comes back for a meeting the next day she is thrust into a scene of chaos where one of the men is at the bottom the stairs DEAD and Emmy Lou is saying that it's her fault. Even though Charlotte doesn't know any of these people she takes it upon herself to find out why Emmy Lou would do this or even if she did.

I really didn't like this scenario at all. Why would you put yourself in danger for people you didn't know, especially when they kept tell you to go away? This whole plot seemed ridiculous.

Second in the series is as good as the first. This time Charlotte is helping a woman who has and over abundance of plush toys. They have taken over her house and her life! I understand exactly how Emmy Lou Rheinbeck feels as I also adore plush animals.

Charlotte will work to help her find ways to properly display her collection and perhaps cull some of the extra animals. Emmy gives Charlotte a pair of wedding mice at their first meeting. Poor Charlotte who is a minimalist doesn't quite know what to do with them and fears that a time will come when Emmy Lou wants them back. Of course, she has to keep them from her two dogs who tend to destroy everything they believe to be a toy.

When a neighboring child is found dead in Emmy Lou's home, Emmy Lou is the immediate suspect, especially when she confesses. Charlotte is not so sure and turns to her old high school friends at times in ab attempt prove Emmy Lou's innocence.

I love the interaction between the characters. I also love that Charlotte can eat almost anything she wants and not seem to gain an once or an inch.

While the reader can develop suspicions regarding part of the mystery, the end is amazing. I don't know how Ms Maffini can keep all the threads in the story straight and tie them all in a neat bow at the end.

I am moving right along to "Death Loves a Messy Desk" and to those of you reading this, you should, too!

Cute, entertaining mystery! Unique characters and great plot line! The ending was complete surprise! Definitely will read more even though the main character is a terrible busybody.

I read this series a while ago, and I enjoyed it just as much this time.
I really like this style of cozy mystery and the characters are quirky and charming.

This series is becoming a favorite and I found this book entertaining and engrossing.
A solid mystery that kept me guessing, relatable and fleshed out characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Charlotte is a woman after my own heart--an organizer and an analyzer--thought with a better wardrobe. I really liked that in this cozy, Charlotte's friends actually call her out on her unrealistic efforts to solve the crime. They say things like, "this sounds totally ridiculous" and "What's wrong with you? Ask yourself why you are overly involved with this client." That adds a slight dose of reality to a cozy, which by its nature is totally unrealistic :>)

I liked the roundup of characters, and the plot works out decently. The lack of explanation of why the killer hid the important thingy where they did is a giant hole in the plot, though. (Unless I just missed something in my reading?)

I didn't read book 1 in this series, and I think this would've been a smoother read if I had. The animosity between Charlotte and Pepper feels...too made up. It feels illogical, and Charlotte's nothing if not logical. But maybe book 1 would've made that clearer. I also felt like the writing from scene to scene is a bit disjointed. I wanted to know Charlotte a little better, but the point of view feels just a tad robotic. That's not the right word, but I can't think of a better one. I guess I feel like Charlotte tells us all the important things that happen, but I'd like a bit more insight into how they affect her or how she feels about them. Everything is just stated categorically.

Overall, I give it 3.5 stars, and I'm going to give the next book a try.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maffini delivers yet another fun mystery with a shocking twist ending that will leave you wide-eyed. I love the ragtag band of misfits cast of characters.

If you’re after a fast-paced cozy mystery series, I’m really enjoying this one!

I love finding new cozy mystery series so this series was just right for me. The author has all the correct elements for a great cozy series. the 2nd in series and can be read as a stand alone that you don’t need to start at beginning .

Charlotte is a personal organizer and has a new people that have a large collection of stuffed toys. The individual is getting grief from her spouse for their collection and is has anxiety due to tricks being played on her by local mean kids. When a murder occurs her customer confesses although Charlotte believes they are innocent. Charlotte is determined to save her clientele and find the true suspect.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Cluttered Corpse was a fun, engaging book. I laughed out loud and found the characters engaging. It's a good quick read.

This was the second Charlotte Adams mystery I've read, and I really enjoyed it. The plot was good, and the characters were beliveable. It was fast paced and filled with suspense. I highly recommend this book to other cozy mystery readers.