Closet Confidential

Table of Contents

 

 

Death Loves a Messy Desk

“Fast and breezy,
Death Loves a Messy Desk
is a pleasant mystery . . . Organizing tips at the head of each chapter offer little reminders on how to make our lives more organized to have more time to read mysteries.”

“A carefully crafted mystery with enough red herrings to be truly satisfying and enough cliché poking to be wickedly humorous as well.”

—
ReviewingTheEvidence.com

“This is a fun book . . . [A] pleasant way to spend a lazy afternoon.”

 

 

The Cluttered Corpse

“Talented author Mary Jane Maffini has crafted a clever and fun tale . . . Red herrings and surprises await the reader [and] complexities of the plot make for a worthwhile read.”

“Charlotte is feisty, funny, and determined to help people, whether it’s organizing their mud room or clearing them of a murder charge . . . Delightful.”

“Amusing . . . enjoyable.”

“We all should have a Charlotte Adams in our lives.”

—
ReviewingTheEvidence.com

 

 

Organize Your Corpses

“A comedic, murderous romp . . . Maffini is a relaxed, accomplished, and wickedly funny writer.”

—
The Montreal Gazette

“Maffini provides a first- rate, well-organized whodunit . . . A new series that is fun to read.”

 

ORGANIZE YOUR CORPSES
THE CLUTTERED CORPSE
DEATH LOVES A MESSY DESK
CLOSET CONFIDENTIAL

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

 

CLOSET CONFIDENTIAL

 

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

 

PRINTING HISTORY

Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / July 2010

Copyright © 2010 by Mary Jane Maffini.

 

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

 

eISBN : 978-1-101-18859-0

 

BERKLEY
^®
PRIME CRIME
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY
^®
PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group
(USA) Inc.

 

 

 

I owe thanks to the capable and generous community of organizers—a truly helping profession for our cluttered era and one which has led me to choose that as a career for Charlotte Adams, the lucky girl. As always, I am very grateful to Mary MacKay-Smith, Linda Wiken, and Victoria Maffini who made time to offer valuable insights on the manuscript for
Closet Confidential
. I must also thank my sons-in-law, Barry Findlay and Stephan Dirnburger, for knowing the most amazing things and not being afraid to share them. No one else can bring much-needed humor to the darkest moment the way my husband, Giulio, can. My friend Chris Myers was very helpful as usual, and I would be lost without his time and expertise.

Once again, Tom Colgan, Niti Bagchi, and Megan Swartz of Berkley Prime Crime and my agent, Kim Lionetti, did a terrific job of smoothing the process and soothing the author. Closer to home, I’m also indebted to Ottawa Therapy Dogs for allowing my spoiled princess dachshunds to bring joy to others. Let’s hope they can inspire Truffle and Sweet Marie.

Last but not least, hats off to the legions of cozy fans and authors who make this such an entertaining genre to write and to read.

Lorelei Beauchamp would not react well to the suggestion that anything in her beautiful life and her spectacular home was less than perfect. I took care not to let the phrase “closet makeover” slip past my Dior lipstick.

Lorelei issued a languid, silvery laugh. “Charlotte dear, you are most certainly not your mother’s daughter.”

Whatever that meant, it would be the first of many digs. Lorelei and my mother went all the way back to high school when the competition for homecoming queen transformed their friendship. The passage of nearly forty years hadn’t changed their status as fabulous frenemies. Their air kisses on the rare occasions they met had all the genuine warmth of dry ice.