The Spring Cleaning Murders [Hardcover]

Dorothy Cannell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1999

If there's anybody funnier than Dorothy Cannell, says Nancy Pickard, I don't want to meet her until my sides stop aching. For thirteen years, the award-winning author of The Thin Woman, The Widows' Club, and Down the Garden Path has enchanted readers who relish Nancy Atherton, Carolyn Hart, and Diane Mott Davidson. Now she brings us her inimitable Ellie Haskell--heroine of the weight-loss wars--with her handsome husband, Bentley, and other beloved characters, like the caustic home helper Mrs. Malloy and truculent gardener Jonas Phipps, in a new mystery already selected, sight unseen, by the Mystery Guild. Spring-cleaning fever almost has Ellie scrubbing the Merlin's Court chandeliers with a toothbrush. But when yet another member of the Chitterton Fells Charwomen's Association is found dead, with a duster still clutched in her hand, Ellie must drop everything to discover what secrets the victims had swept under the carpet. Fizzing with deadly wit, an outrageous plot, and a wonderfully dotty cast, The Spring Cleaning Murders is Cannell at her best.

* A Mystery Guild Main Selection
* Penguin will reissue Down the Garden Path in May 1998

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ellie Haskell dons an apron for cover in her latest adventure (following How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams, 1996). Ellie's stalwart helper, Mrs. Malloy, now a relative since her son married Ellie's cousin, gives notice before she leaves the village of Chitterton Fells for London to look after her granddaughter. As a replacement, Ellie enlists Mrs. Large, a fellow member of C.F.C.W.A. (Chitterton Fells Charwomen's Association), who appears distracted and upset on her first day. The following week, Ellie and a neighbor find the charwoman dead from a fall in the neighbor's library. Ellie lines up the help of another C.F.C.W.A. member, but then this woman and, later, another member of the group are found murdered. Mrs. Malloy, now back from London, and Ellie have to do some sleuthing to stop the rampage. Going undercover as a charwoman, Ellie discovers some secrets among the dust bunnies while searching for clues in their neighbors' homes. The house of Haskell, usually at sixes and sevens with each member skittering off on her own agenda, pulls together so that the team of intrepid amateur detectives, led by the redoubtable Mrs. Malloy, can solve the case. Cannell's lively wit and acute insights into marriage, motherhood and murderous inclinations will delight fans as well as readers new to her high-spirited tales. Mystery Guild main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Ellie Haskell and husband Ben live in Chitterton Fells, where he runs a restaurant and she keeps house, tends their three-year-old twins, and occasionally investigates local murder (see, e.g., How To Murder the Man of Your Dreams, LJ 9/1/95). While attending a club meeting, Ellie discovers the fallen body of her new chairwoman, immediately suspects murder, and begins some insistent interrogating. Ben, meanwhile, suffers from picketers at the restaurant. Domestic chit-chat, nifty British surrounds, and a plausible if somewhat hyped-up plot make this a safe bet.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Thomas T Beeler (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574901621
• ISBN-13: 978-1574901627
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,032,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner in the Ellie Haskell series, August 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Spring Cleaning Murders (Ellie Haskell Mystery) (Hardcover)

The opening of this entry is as funny as the opening to *The Thin Woman* [first in the series], which I recently reread. The rest of the book is delightful. One of the things that I like about this series is that Ellie is among the handful of female mystery solvers who is permitted to be happily married. I'm so glad that Ms. Cannell hasn't broken up said marriage or bumped off Ben. The end of the book made me wonder if Mrs. Cannell was thinking of Louisa May Alcott when she wrote it. The atmosphere reminded me of *Little Women*, the book that taught me that book friends are never lost. (You just turn the pages back to the beginning and your friend is alive again.) Then again, perhaps I felt that way because Vanessa's daughter, Rose, made me think of Ms. Alcott's Rose in *Eight Cousins* and *Rose in Bloom*. I look forward to my next stay at Merlin's Court. Ann E. Nichols

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mom Needs a Break, December 24, 1999

By 

agoodread "franhildy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spring Cleaning Murders: An Ellie Haskell Mystery (Ellie Haskell Mysteries) (Paperback)

Maybe Ellie needs a break from the twins. This book plods rather than waltzes. Cannell's usual sparkle is missing, and Ellie's character is somewhat anemic, showing little of her usual goofy charm. The ending is Victorian mush, which may appeal to some, but seemed overdone to me. Spring tonic? Vacation in Mazatlan? Let's hope that the next Cannell outing shows more spunk. In this one, Roxie rules.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply terrific, April 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Spring Cleaning Murders (Ellie Haskell Mystery) (Hardcover)

It is Spring and Ellie Haskell's nesting instincts are in full bloom. She cannot wait to get started, along with the help of her trusted cleaning woman Mrs. Malloy, to whip Merlin's Court into tip top shape. There is only one problem with her plan. Mrs. Malloy is leaving her to become a full time nanny to her newborn grandchild. However, she has arranged for Mrs. Large to replace her as the cleaning woman on the staff.

Ellie feels that her new employee will work out until she is found dead, a victim of an accident, in the home of the Miller sisters. When her next helper is also found dead in her own home and a third corpse is found inside her missing car, Ellie finds herself working another murder mystery. She intends to solve the case so she can keep her help a little bit longer.

Dorothy Cannell, author of the classic THE THIN WOMAN is in fine form with another extraordinary Ellie Haskell mystery. The cast of eccentric characters that readers have loved for years are all present in THE SPRING CLEANING MURDERS, which is one of Ms. Cannell's most humorous novels to date. Anyone who needs an uplifting experience should try this series that hopefully will have another entry soon.

Harriet Klausner