A Messy Murder

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC.
This is my favorite Simon Brett series, I love Ellen and her decluttering business. Her daughter is working with her now and she will hopefully stay.
Her son Ben is in Hollywood, a success, and dating a well-known actress. But unfortunately, her relationship with both children is still difficult. I wish they'd appreciate her more!
This time one of her declutter clients is a has-been television star and writer, who's arrogance hasn't abated a bit. He seems to have committed suicide on his 80th birthday, but Ellen is suspicious and decides to take a closer look at the death.
Another highly enjoyable read and, as usual, I can't wait for the next installment!

Decluttering usually doesn't involve bodies
Ellen Curtis runs a decluttering business with the help of her daughter and occasionally a few friends A new client and a body draw her in and she is asked to help find out if it is murder. A few twists and turns and some family drama make this an engaging read,
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC and offer my opinion in the same.

A messy Murder is a great example of the cosy crime genre. Whilst murder should be shocking and devastating this left me with cosy warm vibes.

The book tells the story of Ellen Curtis a professional de- clutterer amateur sleuth and woman of a certain age. When she starts working for a celebrity's wife she has no idea that she will end up investigating his puzzling death.

If you like murder mysteries without all the gore and twisty turns of a thriller this is the perfect book for you.

I am definately going to keeping my eye for more books by this author.

While this is not my favorite of Simon Brett's series, it is starting to grow on me. The main character, Ellen, working as a declutterer is rather timely, though I always wish there was more actual decluttering worked into these novels. She is a mother of adult children, and her whole family is connected in some way to the entertainment industry, which is fun. Her kids deal with mental health issues that she is trying to deal with, and her husband committed suicide after dealing with mental illness for years, so this series does a nice job of incorporating mental health awareness into each story. Ellen is a bit annoying, always trying to maintain more of an active role in her kids' lives, often violating their privacy without anticipating that this might make her kids less likely to ever want to tell her more than the bare minimum about their lives. But, I know enough real people like this that it at least works. I still have yet to really like any of the characters in this series, which is probably why I like it so much less than the Fethering, Mrs. Pargeter and Charles Paris books.. Still, for a fast fun read, this is a good book.

Wry Humour..
A new Simon Brett, in any of the series that the author has penned, is always a joy. This is the fourth outing in the Decluttering series of mysteries and, this time, Ellen is tasked with helping a somewhat unlikeable and past his prime television personality. Unfortunately for Ellen, when she arrives at his home she finds the client very dead indeed. With everything pointing to a suicide and the wife proclaiming murder, Ellen begins to dig. Another enjoyable instalment to the series with a well drawn cast of eclectic characters, a narrative laced with wry humour and a solid mystery at its heart.

"A Messy Murder" by Simon Brett is the fourth book in "The Decluttering Mysteries" series. It follows Ellen Curtis, a professional declutterer who works on solving the murder of Humphrey Carter, an aging TV personality. Initially this death was deemed a suicide, however it is then investigated as a murder. Ellen begins to uncover secrets and suspects, including a local boutique-owner, an old classmate, and a bitter ex-boyfriend. This novel combines wit, psychological insight, and engaging storytelling, making it a delightful read for fans of cozy mysteries​.

A Messy Murder is the fourth book in the Decluttering Mysteries series by British author, Simon Brett. Having met Theresa Carter and found her to be practical and easy to get on with, decluttering expert, Ellen Curtis is looking forward to getting started at Staddles, even though the husband, former journalist, TV presenter and chat show host, Humphrey Carter seems less enthusiastic.

She arrives on the Monday after Humph’s eightieth birthday lunch to find the man quite dead in his study, a bottle of Famous Grouse at his elbow. On the desk, an article he wrote years earlier espousing voluntary euthanasia at age eighty, which the police interpret as a suicide note. One thing that seems strange is that he overdosed on pills that were crushed and put into his favourite tipple.

But many people Ellen speaks to express disbelief at the idea that egotistical Humph would kill himself. A bit later, Theresa asks Ellen to watch the recording of the speech that he made during his celebratory lunch, in which he comprehensively insulted, patronised and denigrated every member of his family, and his closest friend and former producer. Does that represent a motive for at least five people?

Ellen is pleased to have her daughter Jools working with her in Spacewoman, bringing in and handling new clients, and taking the business in a new, innovative direction. But distracting her from this intriguing case are her mother’s concerned calls about her partner’s possibly failing health, social media reports of her son Ben’s liaison with a high-maintenance Hollywood blonde who doesn’t look at all his type, and worries over her daughter’s unresolved financial issues.

Regards the latter, Ellen makes a major faux pas that takes some redeeming. For Ben, she worries about the impending crash likely to come after his current high. She is also surprised by a request from her friend Dodge that involves laying a trap…

Ellen does some excellent deductive work to identify the killer, although the denouement takes several turns before the truth is revealed. There’s a promise of some romance for at least one of the characters, and more of this cast will be most welcome. Another enjoyable cosy mystery.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Canongate Books/Severn House

Ellen didn’t plan on sorting through clues to a potential murder when she took on a new job. But when she finds her client dead, and his wife insist he was murdered, she can’t help but start sorting through the plans death.

Was Humphrey murdered? If not, Ellen is wasting her time. If so, Ellen could be putting a big target right on her self. Can Ellen figure out what happened to Humphrey and help his wife put the matter to rest?

I enjoy having protagonists that are mature, and Ellen certainly fits the bill. This is a well written book with a solid mystery with red herrings that will keep you going back and forth until the end.

This is the first of the decluttering series that I've read, but pleasingly it didnt seem to matter as enough back story is blended in to help understand the characters. Simon Brett does seem to have the ability to write easy to read books with well drawn characters that make the reader happily continue to find out what happens to them all. It's certainly an impressive talent to have and I'm looking forward both to his next book, and the chance to read some of his back catalogue.
Thank you to netgalley and Severn house for an advance copy of this book.