Hi! I’m Tori Madison, and I hate scrubbing toilets, which is unfortunate because my BFF Hazel and I own Bubbles and Troubles, Blueberry Bay’s premier cleaning service. When Mrs. Livingston asked us to sort through the contents of her attic, however, we thought our toilet-scrubbing days were over. That is…until we found her corpse.
As if finding our client’s body stuffed in a steamer trunk … trunk wasn’t enough of an upset, someone needed to save her cat from being sent to a local high-kill animal shelter. That person, as it turned out, was me. I had no sooner set up the critter’s litter box in my guest bathroom when he revealed another side. A six-foot-four, hunky, Irish side that only I can see.
Before I could come to grips with my new feline friend’s secret, Mrs. Livingston’s relatives, eager to claim their inheritance, asked Hazel and me to solve the murder. And the amount of the reward was many times over what their aunt owed for the job she hired us to do. Soon we had a plan that included Rune, my new housepet-turned-houseguest.
The more I got to know Rune, the more I wanted to confide in Hazel. But was I risking our lives by keeping my cat’s secret as we went through with our crazy plan to catch a killer? Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice.
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This was wicked good!
Tori and Hazel are running a business together: an estate cleaning business. But what they’re finding sure wasn’t what they had bargained for! A squeaky clean skeleton. But there’s more!
A great cozy! Different, in a good way. In an imaginative way! The tone of the book was just right. I loved Rune. Swoon swoon! His story really made this book stand out, I think. It made this book unique and exciting. A well-written book! Engaging. I also loved how all of these books are linked together, for instance the Little Dog Diner.
A great introduction to a new cozy mystery series. Fun and quirky characters from Maine. Looking forward to more books in the series.
The Squeaky Clean Skeleton by R.A. Muth has Bubbles & Troubles (a cleaning service), owned by Tori Madison & Hazel cleaning out Mrs. Christine Livingston’s attic. When they return for their second day of sorting, they find a decomposing body in a steamer trunk. There is also an adorable cat in need of relocation, and it has taken a shine to Tori. Alone at home with her new roommate, the cat changes into a hunky Irishman named Rune. Mrs. Livingstone’s relatives are eager to claim their inheritance, but they cannot until the case is solved. Tori and Hazel are hired to dig into the crime and snag a killer. The Squeaky Clean Skeleton is a cute cozy mystery with a unique cat. Hazel and Tori are friendly main characters. I wish the author had taken more time to establish the characters and develop them. They live in the small town of Blueberry Bay, Maine where everyone seems to know each other. I was not a fan of Gavin, Hazel’s brother, as well as a local police officer. He is a stereotypical cozy mystery cop who comes across as incompetent and a bully. I found his boorish behavior obnoxious. The mystery was straightforward, and the killer can be identified quite easily. I wish the mystery had been more of a challenge. Mrs. Livingston was portrayed as a not nice person, but there was no evidence to support this characterization. There are humorous moments in the story. There is a séance where Tori must don an appropriate costume. I enjoyed Rune and his story. He has a wonderful accent. The Haunted Housekeeping series has potential and I will be reading the next installment in this enchanting series. The Squeaky Clean Skeleton is a fun cozy mystery with cleaning connoisseurs, a stinky skeleton, a captivating cat, treasured trees, an impressive Irishman, a spooky seance and a careless killer.
Tori Madison and her best friend, Hazel, own a cleaning business and believe that their scrubbing days are over when they’re hired to sort through an attic for client, Mrs Livingston. But when they find their client’s corpse in a trunk, things take a turn for the worse. Tori also finds Mrs Livingston’s cat and takes him home only to discover he turns into a man only she can see. As Tori and Hazel look into the murder, things get a little crazy. Will everything turn out as it should?
This was a fun read and a great start to a new series. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the slight paranormal aspects. There were some errors such as missing words throughout and the characters need some more development but, overall, it was a good book with a fun premise. I look forward to seeing where the author goes with the second book.
I have been provided with a copy of The Squeaky Clean Skeleton by Sweet Promise Press for an impartial review. This is the first book in the brand-new Haunted Housekeeping series and it was just a great way to start off a new series. I just had so much fun getting to enter this world and meet these new characters. I just absolutely fell in love with these great characters and I loved getting to go along for the ride. I just couldn’t get enough of this story and I was sad to see it end. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this series.
A new series from Sweet Promise Press is the Haunted Housekeeping series with Squeaky Clean Skeleton and it is a fun story. Tori and her best friend Hazel own Bubbles and Troubles a cleaning company and their newest cleaning job is proving to be a challenging, adventurous and interesting one.
While cleaning out the attic for the client they find some interesting items. Seems the client hadn’t thrown anything away. Tori finds an interesting bottle and rubs it which starts her on an adventure she never expected. The second day of cleaning they found said clients skeleton clean and, in a trunk, squeaking clean. How she got there and who dun it is their mission. Along the way they find a mysterious cat, who just happens to change into a handsome Irish man, a crazy lady and an assortment of odd characters. But why would anyone kill her? She wasn’t very well liked which left a lot of candidates but narrowing them down proved a real challenge.
I really enjoyed The Squeaky Clean Skeleton. It is a fun story. It is a bit different than I was expecting and I still enjoyed it. Once I got into the story I didn’t want to put it down. I like the characters. This was interesting and I look forward to more in the series.
I’m hooked
so looking forward to the series! Great, engaging characters, small town everything-people, know it all’s, local businesses, mystery, and so much more!
I admit I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read a “shifter” book even if it was a cozy mystery. I’m was wrong and my cat is definitely a disappointing slacker. No matter how many hints I give him he remains a gray cat. Oh, well, this was a fun story to read. There was just the right amount of mystery and humor. I think we all know some of these characters in our own towns. Now to sleep and dream of Rune.
This book is a cozy mystery wrapped up in a fairy tale.
Right off, we meet Tori, who owns a cleaning business with her best friend, Hazel, and they are trying to expand their career to include estate cleaning and not just toilet cleaning (hilarious!). Tori and Hazel’s interactions are on par with how you would imagine best friends to be; they are believable, humorous, and entertaining. I would have liked to see more of Hazel and know more of her backstory as they have been friends since high school, but that might get explored in future books. I also enjoy the first-person point of view in this book and getting a peek into Tori’s internal dialogue. It offers the reader an inside look that takes you behind the scenes and makes you feel like you’re witnessing it for yourself instead of being told about it. Finally, we meet Rune, an Irishman trapped in a cat’s body. I’ll let that set in, but we find out that he was cursed and is now bound to Tori, which allows her to see him in his human form, but no one else can. It has a Beauty and the Beast-ish twist, which adds to the drama and entertainment value of this book.
The overall storyline has a multitude of elements to keep the reader engaged. First, there is the murder to be solved. Then the curse and the potential paranormal witchiness that had me wanting more. Finally, the friendship and potential love that ties the book together. Top that off with witty banter, and this book is a fun read. If those things interest you, then you should check out The Squeaky Clean Skeleton.