by Hallie Ephron
I chose this mystery/thriller only because Hallie Ephron is a member of the Jungle Red Writers, a group of mystery novelists with a blog that I adore. I might have seen a blurb for it on there--they promote their own works as well as other writers', both up-and-coming ones and established ones.Knowing it wasn't my usual cup of tea, I checked the story line carefully. The lead character was a former schoolteacher turned professional organizer, ala Marie Kondo. Between clients, she spent her time making and posting slideshows of her own clean-up process: starting with a shot of her sock drawer, she'd proceed to a photo of the socks on the floor, then each pair one by one on the bed, then the empty space where it was discarded or it living happily (neatly rolled and standing on end) in its new, tidy home.
(I might have changed the details above a tiny bit but you get the idea.)
She's married to a obsessive collector of junk but wouldn't dare to touch any of it--that's one of the rules of tidying up: only your own stuff. Luckily, she doesn't need to--her new client needs help in clearing out her deceased husband's storage shed.
Since I've Kondo'ed my closet myself, I found the idea intriguing. I picked up the book at the library along with a memoir about traveling with a dog, and when the time came to decide which to start I was of course going to choose "dog" over "thriller"...but I decided to make myself read the first chapter of the thriller before making the decision. I did--and I never stopped.
It started off great and stayed that way. Not too violent and not too scary but action-driven all the way. And the heroine shows some serious lady guts at the end.
(I wanted to use the word "balls", but that's silly--why do I have to describe a tough woman as "having balls"? Who wants 'em or needs 'em? "lady guts" was the best I could come up with. What should I call a strong woman? Mark Twain said, "full of sand" but I don't think many people would understand the reference.
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