Carpet Diem (A Tallie Graver Mystery #4) by Misty Simon

Carpet Diem

(A Tallie Graver Mystery #4)

by Misty Simon

Paperback, 304 pages

Published September 24th 2019 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

Goodreads synopsis:

Live and let dust . . .

Now that Tallie Graver’s cleaning business is starting to shine, she’s ready to go squeegee to squeegee against Audra McNeal for a major contract at the Astercromb mansion. Tallie’s not afraid of a little friendly competition from the new cleaner in town. In fact, Tallie likes Audra, though she wonders how her glamorous rival manages to clean house and maintain her fancy manicure. Tallie has her rubber-gloves full staying one step ahead of her nemesis. Until she finds a well-polished hand poking out of a rolled-up carpet, rendering her competition . . . dead.

Though it lands Tallie the big job, there’s nothing tidy about Audra’s death. So

between polishing and scrubbing, Tallie’s determined to find the killer. Hopefully the police chief doesn’t mind her cluttering up his investigation with the filthy dealings she discovers. Turns out Audra was not as squeaky clean as she appeared. And confronting her killer could bring Tallie to a very foul end indeed . . .

***

4 Stars

This is the fourth book in the Tallie Graver mystery series by Misty Simon. This is my first foray into this cleaner mystery series and I am sure it will not be my last. I am continually amazed at how many avenues there are in the cozy mystery genre. Your character can have any job and you can make it all seem so plausible and wonderful.

I felt bad for Tallie when she was vying for the cleaning job of a big mansion but it seemed everyone was against her and even sabotaged her efforts. Later when she marched back to the large estate to gather her tools and precious vacuum cleaner she discovers the dead body of none other than the cleaning lady who had won the contract.

This book really kept me on my toes and I related to the main character as she went through all her troubles. So related in fact I found it gave me a bit of stress reading it. I was glad when everything was resolved at the end. The back and forth between Tallie and her romantic interest was nice but I can see how it can come off as formulaic and boring. Since I am a new reader it all seemed pretty fresh and inspiring to me. I definitely look forward to checking out more of the books in this series.

If you love a good cozy mystery, pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.