Ellen Curtis is about to have her own life thrown into chaos in this third light-hearted decluttering mystery! "Brett layers the old-fashioned puzzle with deep psychological insights . . . Not to be missed" Booklist Starred Review Declutterer Ellen Curtis has been working to bring order into the life of Cedric Waites, a recluse in his eighties who hasn’t left his house or let anyone inside it since his wife died. On one of her regular visits, Ellen finds the old man dead. Sad but, given his age, perhaps not unexpected. Nothing to get worked up about . . . until the police raise the suspicion that Cedric might have been poisoned! The cause seems be something he ate, and as Ellen cleared away the old man’s food containers, she is under suspicion. As is Dodge, who works for Ellen and has unhelpfully done a runner . . . Meanwhile, a rival declutterer is out to sabotage Ellen’s reputable business, her two grown-up children are back home and in crisis, and she has a potential love interest. Ellen’s life has taken on a chaotic turn of its own! Can she uncover the killer and bring order back to her own life?

サイモン・ブレットの筆致が冴え渡る本作は、単なる日常ミステリの枠を超え、人生という広大な「ガラクタ」をどう整理すべきかという深遠な問いを投げかけます。片付けのプロである主人公エレンが、死と疑惑によって自らの生活まで混沌に飲み込まれていく皮肉な構図は、秩序と混乱の危うい境界線を見事に描き出しています。 著者は「整理」という行為を、過去の執着や孤独を浄化する心理的プロセスとして昇華させました。物理的な不用品は捨てられても、心に溜まった「生の無駄」をどう処理するのか。ユーモアの中に鋭い心理描写が光る本作は、読み進めるほどに読者自身の生き方を見つめ直させる、魂のデトックスとも言える傑作です。