The Clutter Corpse

De: Simon Brett

Narrado por: Simon Brett

Ellen Curtis runs her own business helping people who are running out of space. As a declutterer, she is used to encountering all sorts of weird and wonderful objects in the course of her work. What she has never before encountered is a dead body.

When Ellen stumbles across the body of a young woman in an over-cluttered flat, suspicion immediately falls on the deceased homeowner's son, who has recently absconded from prison. No doubt Nate Ogden is guilty of many things - but is he really the killer? Discovering a link between the victim and her own past, Ellen sets out to uncover the truth. But where has her best friend disappeared to? And is Ellen really prepared for the shocking revelations to follow?

©2020 Simon Brett (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Nicely interweaves many types of mental illness

I thought this would be a light-hearted story about clutter that I’d listen to while tidying up the house. Turns out I was wrong. The book explored the normalcy of mental illness and how it shows up in different ways. I listened to the entire book in a single day.

Problem Solver or Enabler

I enjoyed the author’s narration but am not sure what the point of the book is. It’s not a happy book, with too many people having too many problems. The main character, Ellen, is supposed to help people with hoarding issues but she often seems to be an enabler in many cases which doesn’t help anyone change their circumstances. I find that take on things pretty odd.

Mouth sounds overwhelmed

I really like the story - not sure I’ll be able to finish though! About 2/3 way through , the swallowing and sniffing and smacking sounds are just getting to be too much. I fast forward to escape those sounds - but then go back because I don’t want to miss what’s happening -

The other thing that keeps interfering with it is the Ellen voice sounds so much like a man it’s jarring !

May have to return it and read the hard copy- unfortunately

Not for me

I thought the concept sounded good. The characters were ok. Just the overall murder scheme was not exciting. Plot could have been excellent but it fell way short.

Great start to a new series.

I really liked the situation/setup of the book and the main character, Ellen. I disliked Ellen's mother but actually became irritated that Ellen was prepared to tolerate her mother's constant put-downs. I felt this had led to the equally judgmental, disrespectful attitude of Ellen's daughter. I did begin to wonder what possible function in the series they served, except to show Ellen as a weak, emotionally downtrodden person when she is in their presence.