Buried under Clutter

Entertaining, suspenseful and lots of red herrings.

Buried Under Clutter by Jan Christensen is a page-turning suspenseful mystery.  The action starts on the first page and doesn’t stop until the end of the book.

Tina Shaw is a professional organizer who has moved back home to live with her mother and uncle.  As she steps outside one day, she hears screaming coming from a neighbor’s house and someone running out of the house.  The screaming is from her neighbor’s niece, who informs Tina that her aunt is dead.  Mrs. Blackwell, the dead neighbor, is not the favorite person on the street, but she did not deserve to be murdered.  When Tina’s mother is arrested for the murder, Tina knows she has to figure out who the real killer is.  

There is no shortage of suspects in the murder.  There’s Mrs. Blackwell’s nieces, her nephew, her sister and brother, and two con artists that had befriended her.  After the reading of the will, there are millions of motives becauses Mrs. Blackwell was very rich and left a lot of money to each suspect.  She was also a extreme hoarder and Tina is left five millions dollars that is hers after she declutters the mess in Mrs. Blackwell’s house.  This gives Tina the chance to look in the house for clues as to the killer’s identity.

The characters are well developed, well round and three dimensional.  Each suspect has their own quirky personalities and secrets, which makes eliminating them as the killer a difficult job.  Tina is strong-willed and spunky but she has a softer side when it comes to her family and boyfriend, Hank.  Tina’s mother is a bit controlling and has a tendency to tell Tina what she should and should not do, which creates conflict.  Tina’s uncle is deaf and likes to use uncommon cliches whenever he can.  Even the murder victim, Mrs. Blackwell has a strange personality that comes through in the writing, style, even though we never really meet her, since she’s dead.  I learned things about hoarders that I never knew, and I really like that.

The writing style flows easily and this is an easy read.  The suspense and mystery kept pulling me along, and I found myself having to read “just a few” more pages until, before I knew it, I was done.  I did not figure out who the murderer was until it was revealed at the end of the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery.  I have read other books by Jan Christensen and I have enjoyed every one.  She has a few different series and they are all equally good.  This is the second book in this series and I will now have to pick up the first one so I can read more about Tina and her family.  I feel this was a stand alone book, though, because I was not lost and feel that I was able to know the characters very well.  I hope Jan Christensen just keeps the great books coming.

This cozy romance mystery will intrigued you from the cover to the surprising end. The attributes of characters are well established and they are friends already.
 The protagonist Tina has personal problems that she is working through. Her boyfriend Hank's occupation is a secret. He is not a cop or CIA yet he has a law enforcement badge. Uncle Bob and his service dog, Princess informs the problems of the hearing impaired. Laura has secrets in her background. The police  Lisbeth and John both have personalities.  Scream rock the night and Tina investigates she find a woman screaming she is DEAD. Jenny a niece is visiting her Aunt Oliva and finds her DEAD. Aunt Oliva is wealthy and is a HOADER. Her will leaves a number of suspects a lot of money. Olivia leaves Tina 5 million dollars to clean out the mess. As it is a crime scene Detective Lisbeth insists Tina works with Officer Mickey. Olivia leaves clues throughout the mess for Tina. Will Tina find the answer before is convicted.

Buried Under Clutter by Jan Christensen 

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley for an honest review. Buried Under Clutter by Jan Christensen is a page-turning suspenseful cozy mystery. This book is second in the Tina Tales series. I enjoyed this one so much I will have to go back and read the first one! The action starts on the first page and continues until the end of the book. It captivated me from the very beginning and kept me guessing to the very end.

Tina Shaw is a professional organizer who moved back home to live with her mother and uncle and his service dog, Princess who aids him with his hearing impairment.  As she goes outside, she hears screaming coming from a next door neighbor’s house and someone running out of the house. The screaming is coming from her neighbor’s niece, who tells Tina that her aunt, Mrs. Olivia Blackwell is dead. While she was not the most favorite person on the street; she did not deserve to be murdered.. After her mother is arrested, Tina begins investigating in earnest with the help of her boyfriend, Hank. Will she find out who the killer is before her own life is put in danger?

The suspect list is long: Mrs. Blackwell’s nieces, her nephew, her sister and brother and two con artists who had befriended her. With the reading of the will, there are millions of motives because Mrs. Blackwell was very rich and left a lot of money to each suspect. She was also an extreme hoarder and left Tina five million dollars that is hers after she declutters the mess in Mrs. Blackwell’s house. This will give Tina the chance to look in the house for clues as to the killer’s identity.

 With Tina’s psychological background she begins to understand how the clutter began, Mrs. Blackwell had suffered a fall and had a head injury. Olivia left hidden clues to try to help Tina solve the crime. I also learned things about hoarders that I never knew, and I really liked that.
This was a fast suspenseful cozy mystery with a touch of romance that kept me guessing to the very end who the killer was. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a cozy mystery. I have never read any other books by Jan Christensen but it will definitely add her to my favorite authors. Please keep more of her books coming!

This was a cozy mystery that kept me engaged from the very beginning.
I could relate to the characters and situations. I enjoyed the story and could not wait to see what clues would turn up next.   Hank was very much a mystery to me. I do not know if he was explained at all in the first book, but I am glad we learned more about him as this book went on.  I am sure there is more to be learned about Laura.

The story starts with a scream and screams will be heard throughout the story.
The reader gets caught up immediately on the first page and the action continues until the end. A murdered woman is discovered in her hoarder packed house.
There seem to be new suspects added daily. Motives ranged from money to secrets to possibly just a deranged killer.

If you are a cozy mystery fan you will be pleased to read this series.
The characters are interesting and the plotline feels as if it could actually happen.   It is a hard book to set down. As each chapter ends you'll tell yourself you have to read the next.

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