I got about ¾ of the way through this book before I had to put it down. Though cozies are not my bread and butter reading material, I do enjoy them occasionally. However, what I thought would be a humorous and quirky mystery turned out to be just bland and boring. I would almost call this a Christian mystery as the main character is very prim and proper, doesn’t tolerate swearing, says grace before eating, and either church or the bible was mentioned several times. It’s not a bad thing if you like your books very clean. For me, it made for a very boring read.I usually give one star for books I cannot finish. I gave this one two stars because I don’t think it is a bad book, just that it isn’t right for me. I think someone who likes a straight forward whodunit type mystery or someone who enjoys Christian fiction might like this one. Dusted to Death is the 8th book in the Maid-for-a-Day series. This time around Charlotte is working with Hollywood-type people who have come to New Orleans to film a new movie. The lead actress's boyfriend is murdered and Charlotte sets out to find the killer.Things end predictably when Charlotte was attacked by the killer and had to physically fight them off, as is the case with just about every title in this series. She's a 60-something woman who constantly prevails over much younger attackers and survives to clean another day. In an unexpected move, the lead detective begins taking Charlotte seriously as a would-be detective. I found this annoying. The police, including Charlotte's niece, constantly tell her not to get involved and yet this time, they're all but literally patting her on the back for meddling. The huge positive in Dusted to Death was that I had no idea who the killer was until they were finally revealed.Barbara Colley writes a very good mystery, which seems to be the only reason I continue reading this series. I have no love for Charlotte. She is forever chiding others for their swearing, bringing up "the Lord" at seemingly random occasions and is strangely clueless about her would-be relationship with her neighbor, Louis. She's an older woman that I could not stand to be around. She grates on me to the point where I kind of wish one of the killers would just do her in already.There were a lot of tiny personal annoyances and many situations that seemed highly unrealistic, but Dusted to Death does contain a compelling mystery. Perhaps the Maid-for-a-Day series would be a better fit for a generation or two older than myself.
What do You think about Dusted To Death (2010)?
Enjoyable easy read. Characters are believable and heart warming.
—vanweb
Good addition to the series of cozy cleaning ladies....
—Chakraborty
Cute, quick murder mystery, fun to read.
—pzakaluk
