Carol Ann H. (beadnread) reviewed on 4/4/2008 + 45 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 5

The Cluttered Corpse is the second book in the Charlotte Adams, professional organizer, cozy series. Charlotte is a very likable heroine - she has her faults, but she is very genuine - a person any of us would enjoy knowing. Her friends remind me of very real people living very real lives. Their group dynamic is convincingly authentic - a group of friends who were close in high school but whose lives took them down very different paths and whose relationships have changed along the way. They are now all back in Woodbridge, NY, the small, idyllic town where they grew up. It's just small enough that neighbors know one another (some for all their lives) and aren't afraid to lend a hand, and yet close enough to the big city to be convenient.

Charlotte is hired by Emmy Lou Rheinbeck to organize a collection of stuffed animals that has literally taken over the second floor of her impeccable home. While there, Charlotte notices that Emmy Lou is very nervous and jumpy. She attributes the nervousness to pranks that are being played on Mrs. Rheinbeck by two handicapped adult males, one of whom lives next door. Charlotte wants to call the police, but Emmy Lou basically tells her to mind her own business and then fires her - which only serves to worry Charlotte even more. Emmy Lou later relents and asks Charlotte to meet her again, but this time when Charlotte arrives - late, unfortunately, to their appointment - she encounters an hysterical Emmy Lou in the street and finds a dead man at the bottom of Emmy Lou's stairs. When Emmy Lou is carted away from the scene in handcuffs, Charlotte resolves to do whatever she can to prove that this gentle woman didn't do anything wrong.

There has been a lot of strain in the relationship between Charlotte and her policewoman friend, Pepper, but Charlotte decides to ask for her help anyway. When Pepper tells Charlotte, in no uncertain terms, to butt out, Charlotte enlists the aid of the rest of her group of friends, which unknowingly puts them all in danger. Nothing on Bell Street is as it seems, and the reader will have a dickens of a time trying to figure things out. Chances are, the reader won't have any better luck than Charlotte!

This was a very enjoyable cozy with a very likable female protagonist and a great group of friends. I'll definitely be looking forward to the third book in this series, for the likable characters, the great story, and, of course, the great organizational tips!

C.A.H. 4/4/2008

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