Dusted to Death: A Charlotte LaRue Mystery

In Colley's featherweight eighth mystery to feature New Orleans maid Charlotte LaRue (after 2008's Wash and Die ), Charlotte must keep tidy a Garden District mansion being used as a set for a movie starring legendary actor Hunter Lansky and hot rising actress Angel Martinique. Filming's barely underway when Charlotte discovers Angel's two-timing boyfriend stabbed to death with a letter opener, which turns out to be covered with Angel's fingerprints. Angel's chauffeur asks Charlotte to investigate, and the two head to Oakdale, Miss., to learn what they can about Angel's early life. Charlotte's PI boyfriend, Louis Thibodeaux, can't help because he's out of town, but Charlotte, a housecleaner's answer to Jessica Fletcher, has learned that cheese graters, bleach and buckets can come in handy in her sleuthing work. Charlotte is a sweetie, but this conventional cozy series could use some extra-strength twists to give it more heft. (Jan.)