Barbara Colley revisits the world of Charlotte LaRue in her sixth release of the series, Scrub-a-Dub Dead. LaRue, who owns her own housekeeping business in New Orleans, enjoys her quiet, average existence. But somehow, she always manages to place herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Scrub-a-Dub Dead is no exception. Charlotte finds herself entangled in the lives of an affluent family with as much controversy as they can stir up. As the brood darts in and out of the historical Garden District hotel where Charlotte is working, she can't help but overhear their heated arguments and family secrets. When a ghost from the past, Mack Sutton, presents himself as a member of the clan, she becomes a bit smitten once again and the two begin getting reacquainted.
When Lisa, the fiance of Mack's ex-son-in-law, is murdered in the hotel, everyone appears to have a motive. Charlotte goes about her business, cleaning rooms, but her mind wanders and she pieces the crime together to find a suspect. The more she investigates, the more shocking the case becomes, and secrets continue to emerge. Is Charlotte safe with her old flame? Or could he be the killer?
Tidbits of previous Charlotte LaRue adventures surface periodically throughout the novel, introducing new readers to the background of the series. On the surface, there appears to be nothing remarkable about Charlotte, but as we become silent observers of the soon-to-be grandmother, we find that even the most ordinary citizen can contribute in extraordinary ways. Charlotte does everything in her power to avoid meddling in the affairs of her clients, but luck brings her time and time again into the middle of their crises.
Colley expertly keeps the reader glued to the pages with strategically placed cliffhangers. She makes a serious crime into a light, fun read. Charlotte LaRue is as easy for the reader to relate to as she is to the characters in the book. One Charlotte LaRue book will be all it takes to get hooked on the series. The storyline being related to current events such as Hurricane Katrina makes it easy to sympathize with the characters. Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy the antics of Ms. Charlotte LaRue.