Death Loves A Messy Desk
By Mary Jane Maffini
Berkley, $6.99
ISBN: 9780425228098

Charlotte Adams is a control freak, a busybody, and a compulsive organizer who likes to neaten up everything she can get her hands on. While these qualities may make her somewhat irritating to her friends, they also make her a stellar professional organizer and de-clutterer. They also get her in over her head when she is hired by the office manager of Quovadicon to clean up the desk of an employee whose messiness is leading the rest of the office into chaos. Charlotte discovers is that Barb Douglas’s messy desk is the least of the company’s problems though, as a flaky receptionist, a viperous instigator, and an asocial son of the boss all run rampant under the ineffectual leadership of Fredelle Newhouse. When Charlotte is nearly run off the road and Barb disappears Charlotte is unable to prevent herself from investigating despite the many warnings of her friends and her own post-traumatic stress from previous incidents. Not helping matters is that Charlotte finds herself isolated from her fellow childhood misfits who are all involved in their own relationships, including her best friend Jack who ignores her and whose new girlfriend sends a spike into Charlotte’s heart. Between unsuccessfully training her miniature wiener dogs to become therapy dogs, juggling her other organizing jobs, and avoiding getting arrested (again) by the police, Charlotte barely has time to discover why Barb has mysteriously disappeared and what connection she may have had with a murdered man.

Mary Jane Maffini continues to entertain readers in her third mystery featuring Charlotte Adams. This is a mystery full of quirky, humorous, and engaging characters, many of whom are as frustrated with Charlotte’s investigative compulsion as she is with it herself. Charlotte is quite aware that she often acts rashly and unwisely, but her need to tidy up loose ends and retain control override all saner impulses. The close circle of friends that Charlotte has reunited with in the small Woodbridge town of 25,000 is what makes her so likable, and at times, vulnerable. This is a fun read for anyone who has ever been trapped in an office with crazy coworkers or who simply enjoys light-hearted, character-driven mysteries.

Review by CINDY CHOW

©2009 Lorie Ham. All rights reserved.