Waste of a Life - (The Decluttering Mysteries) by Simon Brett

About the Book

Declutterer Ellen Curtis has been working to bring order to the life of elderly recluse Cedric Waites when on one of her regular visits, Ellen finds the old man dead. Sad, but unsurprising, until the police reveal he was poisoned! The cause seems be something he ate, and as Ellen cleared away the old man's food containers, she is under suspicion!

Book Synopsis

Ellen Curtis is about to have her own life thrown into chaos in this third light-hearted decluttering mystery!

"Brett layers the old-fashioned puzzle with deep psychological insights . . . Not to be missed" Booklist Starred Review

Declutterer Ellen Curtis has been working to bring order into the life of Cedric Waites, a recluse in his eighties who hasn't left his house or let anyone inside it since his wife died. On one of her regular visits, Ellen finds the old man dead.

Sad but, given his age, perhaps not unexpected. Nothing to get worked up about . . . until the police raise the suspicion that Cedric might have been poisoned! The cause seems be something he ate, and as Ellen cleared away the old man's food containers, she is under suspicion. As is Dodge, who works for Ellen and has unhelpfully done a runner . . .

Meanwhile, a rival declutterer is out to sabotage Ellen's reputable business, her two grown-up children are back home and in crisis, and she has a potential love interest. Ellen's life has taken on a chaotic turn of its own! Can she uncover the killer and bring order back to her own life?

Review Quotes

Witty and amusing
feelgood fiction-- "The Times"

Brett layers the old-fashioned puzzle with deep psychological insights . . . Not to be missed-- "Booklist Starred Review"

This book is pure pleasure-- "Publishers Weekly"

Brett's brisk descriptions, pacing, and juggling of subplots temper the sadness of the victim's recovered biography-- "Kirkus Reviews"

As usual, Brett is brilliant at creating settings that reflect character

-- "Booklist Starred Review of An Untidy Death "

A prolific and sharp-eyed observer of the British middle class's crimes and misdemeanours-- " Kirkus Reviews on The Clutter Corpse "

An edgy cozy, filled with dry wit and deft plot twists-- "Booklist on Death and the Decorator "

Brett is brilliant at showing how throwaway comments and casual snubs intensify cruelty to outsiders. This is an especially incisive Fethering adventure, with a shocker of an ending-- " Booklist Starred Review of Guilt at the Garage "

Peppered with wry wit, the story unfurls smoothly and swiftly-- " Publishers Weekly on The Killer in the Choir "

The manner of murder is as satisfyingly bizarre and complicated as any Golden Age puzzler . This may just be the best Brett novel yet-- "Booklist Starred Review of The Liar in the Library "

About the Author

Simon Brett worked as a producer in radio and television before taking up writing full-time. He is the author of more than 100 books, including the much-loved Fethering mysteries, the Mrs Pargeter novels and the Charles Paris detective series, as well as the brand-new Decluttering mysteries.In 2014, he was awarded the Crime Writers' Association's prestigious Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence and contribution to crime writing, and in the 2016 New Year's Honours he was awarded an OBE 'for services to literature'.

Married with three grown-up children, six grandchildren and a ginger cat called Douglas, he lives in an Agatha Christie-style village on the South Downs.