cover image Polished Off

Polished Off

Barbara C. Colley. Kensington Publishing Corporation, $22 (245pp) ISBN 978-1-57566-877-2

Fans disappointed by Barbara Colley's previous Charlotte LaRue cozy, Death Tidies Up (2003), take heart: Polished Off, the third entry in the series featuring the cleaning-service owner/amateur sleuth, lives up to the promise of her debut, Maid for Murder (2002). The accidental discovery of an urn filled with human bones in a stately Garden District home leads Charlotte into dusting out hidden secrets lurking behind the closed doors of New Orleans's rich and famous. Full of warm Southern charm, this one's a good way to fight the winter doldrums.