Careful what you wish for A novel

Hallie Ephron

eAudio - 2019

From the New York Times bestselling author of There Was an Old Woman comes a novel about a professional organizer with a deadly problem she may not be able to clean up. Emily Harlow is a professional organizer who helps people declutter their lives; she's married to man who can't drive past a yard sale without stopping. He's filled their basement, attic, and garage with his finds. Like other professionals who make a living decluttering peoples' lives, Emily has devised a set of ironclad rules. When working with couples, she makes clear that the client is only allowed to declutter his or her own stuff. That stipulation has kept Emily's own marriage together these past few years. She'd love nothing better than to... toss out all her husband's crap. He says he's a collector. Emily knows better-he's a hoarder. The larger his "collection" becomes, the deeper the distance grows between Emily and the man she married. Luckily, Emily's got two new clients to distract herself: an elderly widow whose husband left behind a storage unit she didn't know existed, and a young wife whose husband won't allow her stuff into their house. Emily's initial meeting with the young wife takes a detour when, after too much wine, the women end up fantasizing about how much more pleasant life would be without their collecting spouses. But the next day Emily finds herself in a mess that might be too big for her to clean up. Careful what you wish for, the old adage says . . . now Emily might lose her freedom, her marriage . . . and possibly her life.

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Subjects
Published
[United States] : HarperAudio 2019.
Language
English
Corporate Author
hoopla digital
Main Author
Hallie Ephron (author)
Corporate Author
hoopla digital (-)
Other Authors
Amy (Narrator) McFadden (narrator)
Edition
Unabridged
Online Access
Instantly available on hoopla.
Cover image
Physical Description
1 online resource (1 audio file (7hr., 47 min.)) : digital
Format
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
ISBN
9780062933126
Access
AVAILABLE FOR USE ONLY BY IOWA CITY AND RESIDENTS OF THE CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS OF JOHNSON COUNTY, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, HILLS, AND LONE TREE (IA).
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Emily Harlow has changed careers, going from teacher to professional organizer. It's something of an odd choice since her husband, Frank, is a flea-market enthusiast, verging on hoarder. But Emily's fledgling business, which she runs with her best friend, is doing well, and the future looks even brighter, thanks to two new clients: Mrs. Murphy, who needs to clean the storage locker of her deceased husband, and Quinn Newell, a young woman who wants help cleaning her garage. Of course, nothing is as it seems, and, before long, the jobs are suspiciously intertwined by the discovery of Quinn's husband's body in Mrs. Murphy's storage locker. In Emily, veteran writer Ephron has created a likable amateur sleuth, albeit one who figures out various plot elements considerably after the reader does. Still, the story flows smoothly and agreeably around an engaging premise. It's easy to see this as the start of a series; after all, there are plenty of opportunities to find dead bodies when one is cleaning out closets and garages.--Ilene Cooper Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This outstanding standalone from bestseller Ephron (You'll Never Know, Dear) may be the first domestic thriller to weave in Marie Kondo's decluttering theory about discarding things that don't spark joy. Paring down her belongings brings so much joy to Emily Harlow that she and her friend Becca Jain have started a business, Freeze-Frame Clutter Kickers, to help others organize. Emily's husband's obsession with possessions brings her no joy, especially since his "compulsive yard-sale-ing" has overstuffed the basement of their suburban Boston home. But Emily's rule is that she can't discard another's property, even in her own house. Meanwhile, a new client wants Emily and Becca to clear out her late husband's storage unit she didn't know he had, and Emily bonds with another client whose husband is also a hoarder. The discovery of a body in the storage unit raises the stakes. Appealing characters and some suspenseful detective work help elevate this in-depth look at people's emotional attachment to things. After being a finalist five times, Ephron may finally win the Mary Higgins Clark Award for this one. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Best-selling author Ephron (There Was an Old Woman) introduces professional organizer Emily Harlow, owner of Freeze-Frame Clutter Kickers. Emily likes to keep her things in order, but husband Frank loves to hit the yard sales on the weekends and has filled their home with stuff. One would think Emily could fix the issue of clutter at her own house, but she has a rule that you can only organize your own things, so Frank's finds are off-limits. While working, she meets Mrs. Murphy and Quinn Newell. Mrs. Murphy hires Emily to go through the possessions of her recently deceased husband, while Quinn Newell hires her company to declutter her garage. Emily crosses professional boundaries by getting a little tipsy during her initial consultation with Quinn. They both joke about getting rid of their sloppy spouses, and a few days later Emily finds herself in a huge mess. VERDICT With smooth dialog and a title that is a good representation of the story line, Ephron offers a great "murder swap" mystery reminiscent of the 1951 Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Train. Recommended for those who love puzzling, unpredictable mysteries with a little lesson in professional organizing on the side. [See Prepub Alert, 2/11/19.]--Joni Gheen, LadyJ's Bookish Nook, McConnelsville, OH

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

If it doesn't bring you joy...get rid of it before it drags you into a murder investigation.In Ephron's (You'll Never Know Dear, 2017, etc.) latest clever crime novel, professional organizer Emily Harlow has made uneasy peace with her lawyer husband Frank's extreme garage-sale-ing. As their story opens, she's in her bedroom making a promotional video about closet decluttering; he's downstairs unloading more boxes of junk into a basement already stuffed with his collections. The irony is not lost on her. But with fertility issues already putting stress on the childless marriage, both partners immerse themselves in their separate activities rather than face off directly. Conveniently, Emily's business, Freeze-Frame Clutter Kickers, has gotten so busy that she and her business partner, Becca, have had to start working weekends. First they have an elderly client who urgently needs them to clean out the storage unit where her late husband kept his collections. Then a wealthy woman whose controlling husband has never let her move her stuff into his showplace mansion, the walls of which are covered with his priceless collections, offers to pay them double if they can come over right away. Everyone's a collector, right? But this is a little more than the skewed perspective of a Marie Kondo devoteesomething is rotten in the storage unit. But Emily hasn't done anything wrongso why do people keep telling her they've got her back? Ephron's tidy approach to stowing clues, arousing suspicions, keeping the chaos of the climax under control, then tying up loose ends makes her a professional organizer of this type of entertainment.In a wordneat. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.