A former friend, a runaway mother, and a dead body threaten to spoil a middle-aged woman’s plan for a low-key family Thanksgiving.Cece Cavanaugh’s latest job recommendation comes from a former friend—a woman who turned her back when Cece needed her friendship most. Cleaning a flooded school is a big job, and Cece needs money for Thanksgiving dinner.But when she finds herself ankle-deep in mud, … dinner.
But when she finds herself ankle-deep in mud, checking the pulse of her friend’s ex-husband, the job takes an unexpected turn and ensures the arrival of hunky Detective Case Alder. With her divorce from her trust-fund husband just days away, Cece is determined to keep her emotions in check. That’s hard when tensions are high, and Alder is determined to keep Cece out of harm’s way.
As Cece cleans the school, she learns more about the suspects, teachers and staff present the day of the murder. As she gathers evidence, the killer closes in on his next target. To compound her problems, Cece’s elderly mother arrives in Wickford—baggage in hand, and still Cece isn’t ready for Thanksgiving dinner.
Despite a threatening note, a series of false leads, and wrangling her runaway mother, Cece narrows down the suspects, but will the killer seal her fate before Cece can solve the case?
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CeeCee Cavanaugh is on clean-up duty again. This time, through the recommendation of a “friend” she is at the High School mopping up a flood. Liz Blevins, a teacher at the school, was a part of the country club set that snubbed CeeCee when she separated from her no-good husband Phillip. While taking a tour of the school to assess the damage, CeeCee and the principle, Ed Jennings, come across the dead body, another teacher, and Liz’s ex-husband. As if that isn’t enough, Nancy, Ceecee’s ditzy employee shows up letting her know that her mother was at the house. Suddenly torn between the job and suspicious as to why her mother has arrived, CeeCee runs home to get some answers. CeeCee has a lot on her plate with a now crime scene, trying to put her mother’s lovelife back together as well as figuring out her own. Add into the mix the Thanksgiving holiday and tension runs high.
CeeCee is one of my favorite heroines! She is resourceful, smart, and very relatable. She is always there for those who need her. I love the spunkiness she has developed over the last couple books, and look forward to watching her weave her way around the daily events in her life. With many laugh-out-loud moments, this has quickly become one of my favorite series. There were lots of twists and turns and several suspects to kept me guessing. Ms. Sanders writes a delightful story about a woman who overcomes obstacles and turning the lemons that life threw at her into lemonade! I received this book as a gift, and I am happily leaving a review.
Great book! CeCe gets a job cleaning the local high school after it floods. When she is there, a teacher is discovered dead in the maintenance closet. Since he was alive earlier, it appears that one of the staff killed him and several of them had disagreements with him. Detective Alder asks CeCe to listen to see if she discovers anything. While cleaning, preparing for the finalization of her divorce, getting ready for Thanksgiving, and investigating, her mother suddenly turns up, having left her most recent husband. This book was very intriguing and I had a hard time figuring out the killer. I love the characters in this series! I am looking forward to seeing what’s next for CeCe and seeing a relationship finally develop between her and Detective Alder now that her divorce is final!!
Multiple Suspects
Pensions, Tensions and Homicide is the third addition to Tricia Sanders’ series Grime Pays.
Cece Cavanaugh receives an emergency phone call from Ed Jennings, the principal of Wickford High School. There had been a storm that left the lower level of the school a muddy mess. When arriving at the school, Cece encounters her former tennis partner, Liz Blevins, who recommended her for the cleaning job. When Cece separated from her two-timing husband Phillip, the country club set shunned her, which included Liz.
While the principal is showing Cece, along with Liz, what needs to be cleaned, they encounter a body – a dead body. Oh no, Cece, here we go again! 911 is called, & Principal Ed instructs faculty & staff to convene in the in the cafeteria. Case Adler (the hottie detective) gets the call to investigate the situation. He & Cece have kind of have a love-hate relationship. Due to Cece’s previous “experience” with murder scenes, Adler advises her to keep her ears open but nothing else. Fat chance that will happen! Besides, Liz is asking Cece for help too.
Through the twists & turns with multiple suspects with many motives, this book keeps your interest. You get invested in the characters. All this along with the unexpected visit from Cece’s mom, it makes for a kooky, suspenseful whodunit. And of course, there is another surprise ending. Tricia, hurry up with Book 4!
I loved it! This is a wonderful and well written series! It gives me great joy to spend time in Cece’s world. Cece warms my heart, and I will always cheer her on. The characters have become like family and friends to me. These mysteries are well developed and cozy. I highly recommend this book and series!
CeCe Cavanaugh is at it again. Instead of whistling while she works, CeCe finds dead bodies. This time it’s in a high school and the victim is a teacher who happens to be the ex-husband of the friend who recommended her for the cleaning job. The murder brings her back in touch with Case Alder, the homicide detective she met in Ms. Sanders’s first book in the Grime Pays mysteries. CeCe has been avoiding Alder because the morals clause in her pre-nup can cause her to lose any financial settlement her cheating rat of husband will owe when their divorce is final. His mother is watching her like a hawk. Then her own mother shows up. It’s another fun read in the series. I had the privilege of receiving an advance reader copy. One thing I’ve noticed is that CeCe is growing as a person. When her ex-monster-in-law told her the children (CeCe’s) would spend Thanksgiving with her (the Witch), CeCe let her know they were adults and they would decide where to spend Thanksgiving. The old CeCe would have canceled her plans to prepare her own family dinner. This is a great series!
Another wonderfully enjoyable read by Tricia Sanders…. Cece just keeps getting herself in trouble and I was worried she might not make it out this time!! A murder mystery with humor and just the right amount of romance . Love the diverse cast of characters that blend to make for a great read and plot! THANKS for another WONDERFUL book!!!! One more I could not put down!!! I had an ARC.
She captured my attention and my heart all over again in this third book! Tricia Sanders has created a character – Cece – who is loveable as she stumbles just a bit through solving another mystery! Cece is that perfect mix of BFF who makes you crazy because of the predicaments she gets herself into. This is the kind of book you can curl up with for a few hours, sipping your favorite wine or cocoa, and enjoy.
Mopping Up Murder, Again.
This is the third book in the Grime Doesn’t Pay cozy mystery series. This is a fun book (and series). There is plenty of humor as our heroine continues to make the adjustment from wealthy country club wife to the nearly broke and divorced owner of a cleaning service. The mystery plot is very good and I couldn’t guess the culprit before the big reveal. There are lots of sub-stories at the same time. My favorite is the culture clash between the current country clubbers and the cleaning woman who used to be one of them. I have loved this entire series. While the books can stand alone, they are best when read in order. I received this book for free from the author and this is my honest opinion.