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WIPED OUT
by Barbara Colley
Kensington, January 2005
259 pages
$22.00
ISBN: 075820762X


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Charlotte LaRue owns her own cleaning service, Maid-for-a-Day, and cleans for some of New Orleans' wealthiest citizens. She limits her clients to the gorgeous Garden District, which is near her home, and one of her clients has just moved, so when Mimi Adams calls to ask Charlotte to work for her, Charlotte's happy to oblige.

Mimi turns out to be a 40-something society wife with a passion for gardening and more than a few enemies. When Charlotte meets Mimi for the first time, she finds her in her beautifully landscaped backyard, supervising the planting of noxious jimson weed. Mimi tells Charlotte that Sally Lawson, her next door neighbor, killed one of Mimi's trees, and so Mimi is seeking revenge by planting stinky weeds that will rob her neighbor of the pleasure of her garden.

When Mimi hosts the Horticultural Heritage Society meeting, she expects to be re-elected president by acclamation, but a rebel member runs against her. Luckily, Mimi's friend June insists on counting the ballots in secret and destroys a ballot that had been cast for Mimi's rival, sealing Mimi's victory. Shortly after the meeting, Mimi complains of a splitting headache, takes to her bed and dies of poisoning.

This is the fourth in this charming southern series, after 2004's POLISHED OFF. Books don't get much cozier than this one. Charlotte solves this murder through close observation and commonsense, capitalizing on the invisibility of domestic help to overhear conversations and watch interactions.

There isn't much of a mystery here; most readers will guess the culprit early on in the story. There isn't much about gardening or horticulture, either, but this book is a fast, enjoyable read and Charlotte is a strong, believable sleuth. There's even a housework hint at the end of the story for those readers who aren't already exhausted by the descriptions of dusting, vacuuming and laundry.

Reviewed by Carroll Johnson, July 2005

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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