Book 55, 2023

Decluttered and Dead by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I knocked back an ebook last night. It was Decluttered and Dead by Carolyn Ridder Asperson, and it's the second book in the "Lily Sprayberry" mystery series. The main character is real estate agent, Lily.

Lily and her BFF and co-worker, Belle, are hosting a class on how to declutter and stage a home prior to sale. Attending the class are three other mutual friends, along with a pair of local septaugenarians. However, there is tension between the younger generation of women. All of them (Lily, Belle, Savannah, Heather, and Caroline) went to high school and college together, but Savannah stole Heather's boyfriend out from under her in college and married him, and rumor has it she slept with Caroline's husband before they were married. When Savannah is found murdered, there is no shortage of suspects, including her own husband, whom she was divorcing. Lily knows she shouldn't get involved, but she already feels like she's in it up to her neck. The local sheriff wants her to steer clear, but that's because Dylan wants a second chance with Lily after breaking her heart when they were younger. After another woman in the group of friends is murdered, Lily can't help but wonder if the underlying cause harkens back to their sorority days. With Belle by her side, Lily aims to find out.

This was a fun, lively story. Lily is an engaging character, and I love that she has an unusual job (for a cozy mystery heroine). I could do without the overdone trope of the love interest being in law enforcement, though. Some things I sussed out on my own, but others caught me by surprise.

Favorite lines:
♦ Like my momma always said, "if you can't say something nice, shut your pie hole."
♦ "This cat fight deserves a good bag of microwave popcorn."
♦ "She's about as welcome in this town as an outhouse breeze."
♦ When a southern woman pitched a hissy fit with a tail on it, that meant it was serious.
♦ Sometimes it felt like the world's problems could all be solved if everyone just sat on their kitchen floor and let an oversized puppy shower them with wet kisses.
♦ Adulting was hard work. Why we spent our youth rushing to grow up and wanting it so badly made no sense.
♦ "That girl was so stuck up she'd drown in a rainstorm."

Fast-paced and funny, and I look forward to reading more in the series. Four stars.