Barbara Colley - Maid for Murder
Publishers Weekly summary: Fifty-nine-year-old Charlotte runs a successful maid-for-a-day business, and many of her clients reside in the exclusive, historic Garden District of New Orleans. Single mother to a successful, handsome young doctor, and with a parakeet named Sweety Boy to keep her company, Charlotte has a straightforward, simple life. That is, until she hears that the dead body of one of her employers, Jackson Dubuisson, has been found in his study. Charlotte has worked for the family for many years. Though she has done her best to keep a professional distance, she can't help feeling sympathy for the widow, Jeanne, left to deal with an invalid mother and a stricken daughter. With Jeanne behaving in an increasingly guilty manner, and finding herself privy to numerous family secrets she'd rather not know, Charlotte realizes that for once she may not be able to mind her own business.
Since I read this after Hurricane Katrina, the standout feature in this book was the description of New Orleans. Not that it was overly evocative, because it wasn't. But as I read, every time the author mentioned a street or a district or a place, I thought, it may never be the same.
On the technical front, the characters weren't particularly deep, but neither were they simple stereotypes. Colley has a slight tendency to tell rather than show, but not as much as some others I've read. The plot showed signs of being interesting, but finally gave up and slid into inexplicable revelations.
Overall, it wasn't a complete waste of time, but I certainly wouldn't buy it or any of the sequels.
Since I read this after Hurricane Katrina, the standout feature in this book was the description of New Orleans. Not that it was overly evocative, because it wasn't. But as I read, every time the author mentioned a street or a district or a place, I thought, it may never be the same.
On the technical front, the characters weren't particularly deep, but neither were they simple stereotypes. Colley has a slight tendency to tell rather than show, but not as much as some others I've read. The plot showed signs of being interesting, but finally gave up and slid into inexplicable revelations.
Overall, it wasn't a complete waste of time, but I certainly wouldn't buy it or any of the sequels.