Customer Reviews

Married to the Mop (Charlotte LaRue Mystery Series, Book 5)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Married To The Mop is the fifth installment in the Charlotte LaRue mystery series. For those who have not had the pleasure of meeting Charlotte LaRue, she is the owner of Maid-for-a-Day and also works as a part time maid. Her clients live in the prestigious Garden District of New Orleans. Charlotte is always finding herself deeply involved in murders of her rich clients and has become a super sleuthing amateur homicide detective while she goes about her business of running Maid-for-a-Day.

In this installment, Charlotte finds herself cleaning house for the top Mafia don in the country who is subsequently murdered during a Mardi Gras party at his home. Before his murder, he had been fuming mad when he discovered several Faberge eggs in his prized collection missing and the eggs continue to disappear even after his murder.

As is usual in the Charlotte LaRue mystery series, the potential murderers are numerous but Charlotte eventually solves the mystery as she slowly discovers clues while she goes through her daily work activities. When the murderer was eventually discovered through Charlotte's super sleuthing efforts, I was completely surprised. I didn't see it coming.

Married To The Mop is a cozy mystery that kept me entertained from the beginning of the story to the very last page. Each page is filled with suspense and Barbara Colley has once again created interesting characters that you can't help but love and others that you can't help but hate. I also enjoyed reading about the famous New Orleans landmarks she always sprinkles throughout her stories.

When I finished reading Married To The Mop, I felt good. I felt good about Barbara Colley, good about Charlotte LaRue, good about the Garden District, and good about New Orleans. I highly recommend Married To The Mop.

I have read all of Charlotte's adventures and this latest one was no disappointment. Charlotte is a very professional business owner who may appear stiff and cold on the outside but she has a very warm heart on the inside. She somehow always manages to end up finding a body and is determined not to interfere in the investigation but just can't help herself. A must read series if you like fun an adventure.

Barbara Colley takes her readers into one of the loveliest areas of New Orleans, its historic Garden District, for a story full of twists and turns. Married to the Mop is an exciting read filled with characters who are brought to life. As we root for Charlotte LaRue to solve a mystery connected to a ruthless crime boss, we really care about her as a person. And the author's talent makes us empathize with Charlotte concerning her evolving relationship with Louis Thibodeaux. This book is sure to make all of its readers feel good.

In New Orleans, Maid for a Day owner Charlotte LaRue agrees to service Emily Rossi's emergency request for help. Emily is hosting a gala for out-of-town guests attending the Mardi Gras, but her personnel maid left on a family emergency. However, Charlotte has doubts and not just because she is shorthanded as Emily's husband, Robert is reported to be a cold-blooded crime boss, who will kill anyone in his way including the cops suspect, his father.

Charlotte tries to concentrate on doing her job even when she sees and hears a raging Robert screaming at everyone as some of his Faberge eggs are missing. Still the fee is top dollar though Charlotte does not want to know the source so when Emily asks her to also fill in for a server, she agrees. The masquerade ball proves lethal to the mob king as he is WIPED OUT with Emily holding the murder weapon. The cops assume the spouse did in her husband, but Charlotte thinks the police want to sweep the dirt under the rug with Fat Tuesday about to begin. Reluctantly she investigates the other family members who hated the patriarch as well as his opportunistic rivals and ambitious gang members.

Adhering to her policy that she was not hired as a MAID FOR MURDER, Charlotte vows to stay out of the homicide investigation. However, being who she is when she notices little things that only a forensic expert or a cleaning person would see, she feels she must at least prove that the prime suspect is innocent. Fans will polish off her latest New Orleans adventure though with Katrina and now the controversy over hosting or canceling Mardi Gras the tale has an eerie feel to it. This is an excellent mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Charlotte never expected to be cleaning house for the mafia. But, that's exactly what she's doing in this book.

Emily Rossi called and asked her to help out in an emergency. Her maid had been called out of town on a family emergency, and they had a big Mardi Gras party that week. Charlotte agrees to clean for a few days as the money is very good. When she realizes Emily's husband, Robert, is a top Mafia boss, she considers backing out. She doesn't. Then Robert ends up stabbed to death in his study during the party.

Charlotte agrees to continue to clean the house to help out the family. Mostly because she promised Bitsy, another of her clients, that she would help clear Emily. Emily is currently in jail for her husband's murder. Charlotte does not believe she killed him. But then, who did?

Charlotte is able to do some snooping while cleaning. She is able to overhear some things and talk to people. With knowledge the police haven't gotten, she pushes harder and harder to find the truth. But, will the truth put her in danger?

I love this series. Charlotte is such a fun character. She has a good life and a wonderful family. Even though she is investigating a murder, it is an enjoyable read. It always makes me want to go to New Orleans in reading her books. I wonder what the next one will be like after Katrina has hit.

I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

[...]

I've enjoyed this series up until now, but I was very disappointed in this installment.

I found everything to be way too obvious. The author did not do a good job with red herrings or disguising her clues as part of the storyline. As soon as someone appeared or something happened, you knew immediately that it would tie into the resolution, and how it would tie in. The suspense was non-existent.

I also hated the way it was written. Throughout the book, all Charlotte does is shiver, shudder, sigh, wince and frown. She stomps, tromps, trudges and marches everywhere she goes. Poor poor Charlotte. We get it already.

She knowingly and willingly becomes an accessory to murder, but doesn't get arrested because her niece is a cop. Then when she recklessly puts lives in danger trying to save herself, not only is she not even questioned because her niece is a cop, but she disobeys the orders of the police to stay where she is, and wanders off to confront the murderer, who's only all too willing to spill her guts to this total stranger. It's nice to know that you're above the law if you have a family member in law enforcement.

All in all, a very disappointing effort. I hope the next installment is better.

Cleaning lady Charlotte LaRue doesn't want to take on more business but when a woman calls desperate for help and offers $200 per day, Charlotte can't turn her down. She wishes she had, though, when she learns that the family she'll be cleaning for is in the mob. Worse, Robert, the mob leader, beats his wife and is generally an unpleasant sort of guy. Although her family and friends urge her to back out, Charlotte stays firm--a deal is a deal. The deal gets worse, though, when the caterer's crew comes down sick and Charlotte, along with a group of mob bodyguards, is drafted into wait-staff for a Mardi Gras party.

The party is winding down when Charlotte discovers the husband dead--and his wife covered with blood. To the police, it looks like murder--and well justified. But Charlotte believes Emily's story about trying to save Robert--and decides she needs to get at the truth.

Author Barbara Colley always manages clever titles and writes convincingly of the life of the manager/worker in a cleaning service and of New Orleans. Colley's love for this city comes through clearly. Her writing is straightforward (maybe too straightforward) and even people who don't read many mysteries will have no problems identifying the clues.

For me, this mystery is marred by the unsympathetic protagonist. Charlotte claims to be a Christian, but manages to justify whatever behavior she wishes to engage in with no sense of guilt. Where she engages in charitable behavior (like taking care of the ex-wife of Charlotte's hapless love interest, Louis), she practically seethes with anger and hoards her sense of entitlement.

We love Charlotte and her housecleaning escapades. There's plenty of mystery and it's a hoot!