Book Review: Married to the Mop

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Married to the Mop     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Barbara Colley
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Cozy   Amateur Sleuth
Series: Charlotte Larue
Kensington, Jan 2006, $22.00

In New Orleans, Maid for a Day owner Charlotte LaRue agrees to service Emily Rossi’s emergency request for help. Emily is hosting a gala for out-of-town guests attending the Mardi Gras, but her personnel maid left on a family emergency. However, Charlotte has doubts and not just because she is shorthanded as Emily’s husband, Robert is reported to be a cold-blooded crime boss, who will kill anyone in his way including the cops suspect, his father.

Charlotte tries to concentrate on doing her job even when she sees and hears a raging Robert screaming at everyone as some of his Faberge eggs are missing. Still the fee is top dollar though Charlotte does not want to know the source so when Emily asks her to also fill in for a server, she agrees. The masquerade ball proves lethal to the mob king as he is WIPED OUT with Emily holding the murder weapon. The cops assume the spouse did in her husband, but Charlotte thinks the police want to sweep the dirt under the rug with Fat Tuesday about to begin. Reluctantly she investigates the other family members who hated the patriarch as well as his opportunistic rivals and ambitious gang members.

Adhering to her policy that she was not hired as a MAID FOR MURDER, Charlotte vows to stay out of the homicide investigation. However, being who she is when she notices little things that only a forensic expert or a cleaning person would see, she feels she must at least prove that the prime suspect is innocent. Fans will polish off her latest New Orleans adventure though with Katrina and now the controversy over hosting or canceling Mardi Gras the tale has an eerie feel to it. This is an excellent mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner