My review of Organized Grime by Christy Barritt

About the book:

Gabby St. Claire knows how to clean up scum. She can get blood out of carpet, pick shattered bones from plaster, and clean up other less-than-enticing fluids from nearly any surface. St. Claire also knows how to clean up another kind of scum— the scum of the earth. Crime scene cleaner and wannabe forensic investigator Gabby St. Claire knows her best friend, Sierra, isn’t guilty of killing three people in what appears to be an ecoterrorist attack. But Sierra has disappeared, her only contact a frantic phone call. Crime scene evidence Gabby discovers while cleaning tie seemingly random murders together—and point to Sierra as the guilty party. Just what has her animal-loving friend gotten herself into? If that’s not disturbing enough, who’s the person following Gabby? A federal agent who hopes Gabby will lead him to Sierra? Or someone with more sinister plans? To find Sierra and prove her innocence, Gabby will have to rely on all of her training and abilities, plus the help of a man she loves and the protection of a God she’s only recently begun to believe in.

My review:

I enjoyed Organized Grime. It was as much fun to read as the first two books in the Squeaky Clean Mysteries series, if not moreso. I thought the title was a brilliant one for the story as well, given the nature of the "grime." I missed Gabby St. Claire and her antics, so I was glad to find out she was back on the scene and sleuthing again.

I was also glad to know that Gabby had done some serious thinking about her love life and her spiritual needs in the interim. Those areas of her life were an open door for change at the end of the last book, so I was wondering what she would actually do this time around. Needless to say, I was happy with her ultimate choice regarding her love life, though I have to admit her stubborn attitude and taking so many chances with her safety did grate on my nerves a bit. I understood her reasoning, but I didn't necessarily agree with her. I was with Riley all the way on that principle.

The theme of forgiveness was critical to this book and well done. The author made some great points all around. I also thought it was sweet that Riley cared so much that he was willing to do anything to help her... even an "intervention." The twist about her messed up family and some missing links to the past that were finally resolved was a nice surprise. The romantic elements were delectable as well, and I was yearning for the two of them to get together as much as Gabby was.

Riley was such a great guy and so concerned for her well-being that I couldn't help but love him. The fact that sparks pretty much set off whenever they were near each other was a big bonus. I'm not much of a mystery reader, but for some reason all of books in this series tickled my fancy. Probably because Gabby was such a quirky character and so mixed up when it came to men and what to do with them (as in who to choose,) so the series held my interest.

This is a great read and I totally adore the Organized Grime cover. I feel like it reflects the heroine's personality well... much more than the prior two books in the series did. If you love mysteries with quirky heroines, you'll enjoy this series.

Organized Grime was published by Create Space and released in Dec. 2011.