A Disorganised Death by Simon Brett Narrator: Simon Brett
Series: The Decluttering Mysteries #5
Published by Dreamscape Media on April 7, 2026
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 6 hrs
Pages: 192
Format: Audiobook
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Ellen Curtis—professional declutterer, amateur sleuth, and woman of a certain age—hunts for a missing will with a killer bequest in this gripping mystery from the original king of British cozy crime, Simon Brett.
Professional declutterer Ellen Curtis doesn’t do house clearances. So when Tamara Nicklin, owner of a local gastropub, asks Ellen to clear her late father’s house, she’s not interested . . . even when Tamara admits that the real reason she wants to hire Ellen is to find his missing will.
Then Ellen discovers Tamara’s husband has plans for the house. Plans Tamara doesn’t know about. And it’s clear to Ellen that this is the right job for her, after all.
Ellen dives in, and what she finds in the dead man’s house soon makes her wonder if Tamara’s father really fell down the stairs, or if he was pushed. Can she sort through the secrets and lies to find not just the missing will—but the truth?
A Disorganised Death is the fifth book in the of the Decluttering Mysteries, and I haven’t/won’t read any of the others. I actually disliked this one. The set-up is fine. Ellen is a widow who declutters clients’ houses, but doesn’t handle house clearances. Her daughter, Jools, runs the London branch of the company, and in this installment, they’re both dealing with jobs that involve wills, in addition to the decluttering.
I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by the author. And while yes, I do think it’s possible for authors to be great narrators and for men to narrate books told from a woman’s first-person point of view, but neither worked here. Ellen is a 50-something woman who sounded like an 80-year old man. It’s distracting.
Ellen has two adult children. Jools, her daughter, is running her own branch of the decluttering company. She lives with her boyfriend in London. Ellen and Jools don’t seem close, but they get along. Jools boyfriend is red flag central.
Ben, Ellen’s son, has bipolar depression and is currently living with her. I found this whole storyline just too serious for a cozy. Their relationship and Ellen’s worries felt real, it’s just not what I was looking for and there was no hint in the blurb regarding suicide or depression.
There were two deaths, two wills, two locations, and two mysteries, which left it feeling a bit disjointed. And one of the solutions was maybe clever, but mostly just annoying.
About Simon Brett
Simon Anthony Lee Brett OBE FRSL (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for television and radio. As an author, he is notable for several mystery series. His radio credits have included The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue and Just a Minute.
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