Review of A Messy Murder by Simon Brett

Although A Messy Murder is the fourth book in Simon Brett’s Decluttering Mysteries series, it’s the first book I’ve read in this series.  In fact, it’s the first book I’ve ever read by this author, but it won’t be the last.

A Messy Murder takes place in and around Chichester, which is an easy train ride away from London. Ellen Curtis is a widow in her fifties with two adult children, Juliet (Jools) and Ben.  Ellen runs a decluttering business.  Ben is off in America, and Jools is now working with Ellen helping others declutter their homes.  Ellen’s mother, Fleur, is self-centered and an emotional blackmailer.  Ellen’s friend Dodge makes furniture from salvaged material.

Rounding out the cast of characters in A Messy Murder is the Carter Family and their close friend, Niall.  Theresa and Humphrey Carter have two adult daughters, Chloe and Kirsty.  Kirsty is married with two children.  Chloe is in the news-entertainment business just like her dad used to be.

On to the mystery.  Theresa has hired Ellen to declutter her home so she and Humphrey can downsize to a smaller home.  However, before Ellen can really dig into the decluttering, Humphrey commits suicide.  Because Humphrey was always so mean to everyone, Theresa thinks he may have been murdered.  She asks Ellen to investigate, and like any good amateur detective, Ellen eventually discovers the truth.

But Humphrey’s death isn’t the only mystery in A Messy Murder.  Ellen also helps Dodge discover who has been stealing the wood in his storage building.  And she investigates the identity of the man who is paying the mortgage on Jools’ London flat.  All of this occurs in a shorter than normal page count for a novel.

I really enjoyed this compact cozy mystery.  The author packed a lot into this short novel, which I appreciated.  A Messy Murder lacked unnecessary explanations and details that, in my opinion, always bog down a story.  I might be in the minority, but more words just for the sake of the word count has always annoyed me.  In no way did A Messy Murder annoy me, and I look forward to reading the first three books in this series as well as any future books.