Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Waste of a Life – Book 3 of the Decluttering Mysteries by Simon Brett – release date – 6th December 2022
#contemporary murder mystery #feisty heroine #family relationships #humour
BLURB: 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?
This is a favourite series of mine – see my reviews of The Clutter Corpse and An Untidy Death. I love gutsy Ellen, who has had to recover from a terrible blow and is a study in resilience. She also has a delightfully dry humour, so I’m really looking forward to spending more time with her, as she tries to uncover the story behind another dodgy death.
Brainfluff 
This sounds so good! I love a mystery that features a feisty heroine. I’ll have to check out this series. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thank you, Ashley – I hope you manage to get this one:).
I like the bookish cover. I hope you enjoy this one when you get a chance to read it.
Thank you, Cindy – I’m looking forward to tucking into it:)).
I love the sound of this, and the cover tells me it’s going to be lots of fun to read. I hope you enjoy it!
I’m really looking forward to it:)).
This one’s new to me, but can’t deny I’m intrigued by the description!
It’s a great series by a very experienced author, Mogsy so I’m really looking forward to tucking into it:)).
This sounds like such a fun read. Just the mention of a rival declutterer cracked me up!
Yes – there is often a strong strand of humour in Brett’s books, along with the poignancy of a death.
I read the first book in the series and was kind of meh about it. This one sounds really good though so I’m thinking I should give the series another try!
I did enjoy the first book – but I won’t deny that the pacing was somewhat leisurely, especially in the beginning as the character and situation was being established.