A charming story about Ellen Carter whose job is helping people to declutter their houses. She has family issues and client issues but through it all she remains relatively upbeat.

This time she is invited to declutter the house of a once famous and now famous in his mind only former tv personality. Just a few days later the tv person is killed. The police rule it a suicide, but Ellen has her doubts.

She sets out to prove her theory, but will justice be done once the killer is found?

A Messy Murder is the fourth book in the decluttering mystery series by Simon Brett. Released 3rd Sept 2024 by Severn House, it's 192 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same publisher in May 2025. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

The author writes entertainingly and well. All the parts (and they are varied and numerous) fit together and do precisely what they're meant to do. The characters are believable and well rendered. The dialogue works and is never clunky or awkward. Although this series isn't fluffy enough to fit firmly into the cozy mold, it's not at all gritty, either. In short, it's a modern British murder mystery with a well plotted story arc, some not-too-graphic crimes, some humour, and an interesting/edgy denouement and resolution.

A fair bit of the book does revolve around mental illness (expectedly since the protagonist is a de-clutterer and works with professional local social services to help clients). The author manages to treat the subjects sensitively, but some readers could conceivably find some of the subject matter and situations triggering.

North American readers should be aware that it's written in British vernacular (wellies, lift, flat, etc), but this shouldn't pose any problems in context.

Four stars. Quite well done. With four books currently extant in the series and such a prolific author, this would make a good choice for a binge/buddy read. Recommended for fans of not-terribly-fluffy modern cozies. Fans of M.C. Beaton, G.M. Malliet, and Anthony Horowitz will likely enjoy these also.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Professional declutterer Ellen Curtis doesn't need to like her clients to help them sort their homes out. Aging TV personality and curmudgeon Humphrey Carter might have a chip on his shoulder the size of England about the decline of his career, but a job's a job. But when Ellen arrives the morning after Humph's eightieth birthday party, primed and ready to tackle his study - no matter his protests - she gets the shock of her life. Humph's dead . . . and all signs point to him having taken his own life. Did the egotistical chat show host really die by suicide? His wife is adamant he's been murdered, and the more Ellen looks, the more dirt on Humph she digs up . . . and the more suspects she uncovers. Can she track down a killer - if there even is one? And, just as importantly, can she keep herself from killing not only her own infuriating mother, but also her two grown-up children, who all seem determined to destroy her peace of mind?

I haven’t read any of the other books and I don’t think I will. This book left me with a headache. I like to read at night and I don’t want to have to use a dictionary for every other word. I would never speak to my mother if she acted like Fleur. It’s so frustrating.

This book is a hard pass.

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I loved this cover; it drew me in. The summary sounded like a perfect cozy mystery.

However, there was more talking to the reader....than showing the reader. There was a lack of scene progression. It came across as too dry and pretentious with it's language. Of times using more words than necessary. It seemed more procedural mystery than cozy - except there is no police officer, so there cannot be an intriguing procedural process to follow.

For example:
"And every time my career made another advance, Humph showed less interest in it. I mean, this show is only a stepping stone. Already I've been booked to make a series of documentaries on, you know, serious issues. And I've been in talks with some industry people about actually fronting a chat show"

Could have been slimmed down to a more concise:
"And every time my career made another advance, Humph showed less interest <s>in it</s>. <s>I mean,</> this show is only a stepping stone. <s>Already</s> I've been booked to make a series of documentaries on<s>, you know, </s>serious issues. And I've been in talks with some industry people <s>about actually fronting</> <b> regarding</b> a chat show"

Doing strong editing like this in every section would have allowed for better scene progression in the ones that were there. It got much stronger in the end. I would have liked more scenes in the beginning - either pulling forward some of Ellen's family drama earlier (like going to her daughters apt) may have helped with the pacing.

This was consistently occurring. I also had a play-by-play of Ellen (our MCs) every thought. And her overthought. Which somewhat drove me crazy...when the mystery itself was good, but lost often in Ellen's overthought making it feel like it was dragging out at some points.

The mystery had potential to shine better and be stronger but there needs to be some strong editing to improve language for relatability to all readers. Not everyone has a high education. This had so much potential to be a strong cozy mystery and have a wider general appeal.

Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for the free ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of the audiobook.

When I requested this book I didn't realize it was part of a series. I didn't feel like I was missing a ton of information by not reading the books that came before it so that was nice. This was a cute cozy mystery, perfect fall read.

After Book 3, which I personally didn't care for, I wasn't really looking forward to this one - thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised and this one was a very good read and I really enjoyed it. In fact, my only issue with this one was the mystery itself as I guessed it very early on, but I loved the very ambiguous ending, if only because I think it happens more than we realize in real life.

Ellen and Co. are in top form [how DOES she keep from strangling her mother?? ERGH!], things have improved between Ellen and Jules and honestly, I really enjoy reading about a character that genuinely cares about her friends, her clients [long after the job is finished], and her family [even her deeply problematic mother] - it is so refreshing and reminds me that it costs nothing to be kind and caring and her attitude about life is what keeps me reading.

Looking forward to Book 5!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon Brett, and Severn House for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are some instances where if you pick up a book midway through the series, you spend too long trying to work out who is doing what to whom. This isn’t one of them. Given the quality of the storyline and the success of the previous books, my firm advice is to read the previous three offerings as they’re a solid treat. But if you decide not to do so, it won’t unduly impede your enjoyment as Brett is very deft at filling in necessary details without holding up the narrative. I would just mention that this book discusses at length a probable suicidal death, which may be triggering.

Poor old Ellen is having all sorts of problems with her family. She has a difficult relationship with her demanding, egotistical mother, Fleur – and it doesn’t get any easier in this book. Her son, Ben, who suffers with mental health issues, has moved to the States where there is more employment and opportunities for him. While Julie, her daughter, has returned to live with Ellen after having been badly trolled online, where she was hoping to become a fashion influencer. At present, she is working alongside Ellen in Ellen’s decluttering company.

I’ve been a huge fan of Ellen since the first book, after having learnt of her tragic backstory. She is compassionate and strong, without being sickeningly good and struggles with family relationships without coming across as inept or a victim. That’s a lot harder to pull off than Brett makes it look and I’m a huge fan of Ellen’s philosophy and approach to life.

As for the main plot – if I have a grumble about this book, it’s that the murder mystery is a little flat. I’d successfully guessed whodunit quite early on – not only that, but it doesn’t feel like the major narrative thread powering the story. If this were a romance, or a contemporary novel about family life in general, that would be fair enough – but it’s a murder mystery. So I’ve knocked off a mark. If the book wasn’t peopled by a cast of strong characters, led by one of my favourite protagonists, I’d have had more of a problem. But I kept turning the pages, always engrossed, so it wasn’t a dealbreaker. The whole series comes very highly recommended for fans of modern murder mysteries that aren’t too gritty or gory – but neither are they particularly cosy. While I obtained an arc of A Messy Murder from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

A Messy Murder is the fourth book in the Decluttering Mysteries series. It was such a fun and cozy read. The plots and the characters were very well-written. I really enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc- this is my honest review.

A fun & cozy murder mystery with Ellen Curtis ( who has a declutterring business, Spacewoman) finding the dead body of one of her clients. Shes solved a murder before so she begins looking into the death.

I enjoyed the story as well as how kind of complicated her family was. It was a fun, short read- I felt like the murder/mystery was pretty easily solved. And somehow in the midst of a murder mystery it was fun & had some feel good moments. Even at the beginning reading Ellen describe or talk about herself had me laughing.

Definitely worth the read- and as the 4th installment in the series definitely bingeable!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc- this is my honest review.

There's something heartbreaking in this series and some funny or lighter one.
I love Ellen and love her complex family and her story. The mysteries are always well done and there's some elements that are thought provoking.
It's not my favorite Brett's series but it's one I always want to read as it deals with serious issues.
This is a good one and there's a cliffhanger that let me wonder.
Well plotted and solid, a good and engrossing read
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In A Messy Murder, professional declutterer Ellen finds another dead body.

Humph was a D List celebrity with a chat show cancelled long ago. A copy of an article published by him explaining why humans should stop taking up resources when they turn 80 years old is found near his body. Humph had just celebrated his eightieth birthday the night before. The police quickly ascertain that his cause of death was prescription sleeping pills ground up in his liquor bottle. They assume it is a simple case of suicide.

But is it really suicide or could it be murder? Humph’s wife thinks Humph was murdered. Because of Ellen’s previous publicity about solving another murder, she asks Ellen to investigate. Ellen’s investigation will bring up family secrets left long buried.

While the mystery was good, it was relatively easy to solve—though some of the motives of the suspects were fairly convoluted. Because of this simplicity, the book fills up two thirds of its pages with Ellen’s relationships with her two adult children and elderly mother. There is also a side story about a man she knows who believes wood is being stolen from his house. Both of these asides serve only to clutter up the book. They add nothing at all to the main mystery. For that reason, I dropped my rating to 3 stars. A Messy Murder is a good, but not great, cozy mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for providing me with an advanced review copy.

Ellen works as a declutter and when assisting the Carters in downsizing, she finds Humphrey dead in his study the day after his 80th birthday. Looking like a suicide, his wife insists he was murdered. Since Ellen previously has solved a murder, she looks into it. This book was promising but I was hoping for more solving and less family drama which there is a lot of. To me the side problems distracted from the main and made it clunky. The twist at the end was shocking and also heartbreaking.

I’m not sure why I haven’t read this series before, but this book is so good it makes me want to go back and check out the first three installments. Main character Ellen Curtis is a “professional declutterer,” a job that sounds very silly but really isn’t. As the story begins she’s working for a husband and wife looking to downsize, with the wife being all for it and the husband, a fading former TV host, not so enthusiastic. Ellen is a widow, having lost her husband to suicide, and when the husband, “Humph” to his friends, dies, apparently a suicide as well, Ellen’s skills and familiarity with grief come to the fore.

My sister is always informing me that hoarding is all about grief, and indeed, it seems to be an emotion that Ellen deals with on a daily basis. The hoarders she is helping to declutter have deeper issues that extend well beyond simply saving magazines. In the case of Humph’s widow, Theresa, the two bond over their similar traumatic experience, and Ellen agrees not only to continue the decluttering, but to go ahead and investigate Humph’s apparent suicide, which Theresa is sure is murder. She may just be right – this is, after all, a murder mystery.

This book is both cozy and traditional – Ellen’s job is certainly a typical cozy element, but veteran writer Brett deals with some more serious issues as well. Along with being a widow, Ellen is saddled with a needy mother, the demanding and egotistical Fleur, a semi-retired actress. She also has two children – Jools, who now works with her, and Ben, who is presently in California dating an up-and-coming movie star. (Fleur is delighted by this development.) This is background, but it’s not only interesting, but well developed and even deep, giving Ellen’s relationships with her children real resonance.

In the foreground, of course, is the investigation into Humph’s death, which finds Ellen interviewing members of his not extremely bereaved family. Brett has the golden age skill of sketching a character quickly and indelibly in a very few strokes. Characters then stay with you as you read on, gaining real life as more details are added. He’s also funny, adding another underrated golden age ingredient, humor, into his classic mix.
Ellen also deals with a few other clients, along with a mystery about her daughter’s former neighbor. Her compassionate skills are such that you may feel like looking up declutterers in your area as the book makes it sound like the perfect thing for loneliness and grief. An added bonus is that the junk is often reused or recycled rather than simply being discarded.

The clever central mystery has a satisfying wrap up which demonstrates another golden age skill – you’re left guessing the identity of the killer until practically the very last moment. I found this to be one of the best written and enjoyable mysteries I’ve read all year. Simon Brett has produced almost 80 books to this point, and he remains a great gift to all of us who love the genre.

I can't think of anything by Simon Brett that I haven't enjoyed.
This was the first of the Decluttering Mystery series that I have read. The story is told from the first person perspective of Ellen, who runs a decluttering agency called Spacewoman. She has also become something of an amateur detective, due to the fact that she has previously helped solve murders that she has come across during her work. This, the fourth book in the series, centres on the death of an author and celebrity (more in his own head than in reality!) on the occasion of his 80th birthday, and the suspects are his family and friends. Alongside this, Ellen has family problems of her own. Her husband committed suicide and her son and daughter are also showing signs of mental fraility, so she worries a lot about them.
I found the characters interesting and relateable, and it was fun to try and work out the murderer and their motive. I also liked the way that Ellen's family problems allow the issues of mental health and family relationships to be discussed and the fact that there were no easy answers given, because life is messy and more grey than black and white. However, these two threads didn't really come together for me, and I very much felt as if I was getting a (too short) snapshot of Ellen's life. The murder seemed almost secondary and the whole thing was wrapped up a bit too neatly at the end.
Overall, I did enjoy the book, but I was left wanting more.

I usually enjoy these books, but this one felt like it ended abruptly. It was incredibly short—a mere 180 pages on my NetGalley app—, and could have been padded out a bit more. I have also started to wonder why Ellen’s relationships are so strangely strained with her children. It will be interesting to explore Ellen through Jool’s eyes, now that she’s part of SpaceWoman. Also, can we have less of Fleur in these books? She serves no purpose other than to irritate Ellen and, by transference, us the readers. 2.5/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for letting me read an ARC of this book.

Ellen is a professional 'declutterer'. No, I didn't know that was a thing either. She helps clear houses of clutter, such as people downsizing. It is whilst on such a job that she discovers a dead body. An apparent suicide using sleeping pills.
Ellen, having solved crimes before, presumably from the previous three books in the series, is invited by the widow to investigate the death.
What follows is some very willing suspects who seem very forthcoming. Intertwined with her investigations is her personal life regarding her secretive daughter, and her eccentric actress and self-proclaimed star of a mother.
I found the book at its best when dealing with Ellen's personal life and declutterring business instead of the actual investigation. I wanted to know what secrets her daughter was keeping, hiw was she paying her rent, what has caused her breakdown. Instead, we have a murder where everything seemed a little too convenient for her. I felt the plot was not interesting enough. The police were completely absent in this book. Only mentioned in passing and never making an appearance.
I didn't feel any need to find out who did it.
It sounded like this story would be right up my street but I found it lacking substance. Perhaps because it's only around 200pages long

My thanks to the publishers and netgalley for this review copy. All opinions are my own.

This is the first of the decluttering series that I've read, but pleasingly it didnt seem to matter as enough back story is blended in to help understand the characters. Simon Brett does seem to have the ability to write easy to read books with well drawn characters that make the reader happily continue to find out what happens to them all. It's certainly an impressive talent to have and I'm looking forward both to his next book, and the chance to read some of his back catalogue.
Thank you to netgalley and Severn house for an advance copy of this book.

I'm admittedly a fan of this series which sees Ellen solve crimes even as she helps clients "declutter" but know that each one is fine as a standalone. This time out, she's shocked to find her client Humph dead in his study and takes on the case when his widow declares he must have been murdered. Turns out Humph gave a speech at his birthday party that insulted a lot- a lot- of people. That's classic cozy but what's especially interesting in these novels is Ellen's relationship with her family, which is often bumpy, and the sensitive approach to mental health issues. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read.

Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for the ARC.

I've been a long time fan of Simon Brett and his various mysteries series. Brett is an odd mystery writer for me in that I'm never that drawn in by the actual mysteries but I adore how he writes his characters and their various observations of the world. Brett is a master at capturing a character's entire personality in just a few sentences which is always satisfying and a treat to read. The latest Ellen Curtis installment is no different. The mystery itself feels relatively straightforward and average, but it's really reading Brett's construction of characters in a perfect amount of economical words which sets him apart in the mystery realm.

Ellen didn’t plan on sorting through clues to a potential murder when she took on a new job. But when she finds her client dead, and his wife insist he was murdered, she can’t help but start sorting through the plans death.

Was Humphrey murdered? If not, Ellen is wasting her time. If so, Ellen could be putting a big target right on her self. Can Ellen figure out what happened to Humphrey and help his wife put the matter to rest?

I enjoy having protagonists that are mature, and Ellen certainly fits the bill. This is a well written book with a solid mystery with red herrings that will keep you going back and forth until the end.