A Maggie McDonald Mystery

Maggie McDonald has a penchant for order that isn't confined to her clients' closets, kitchens, and sock drawers. As she lays out her plan to transfer her family to the 100-year-old house her husband Max has inherited in the hills above Silicon Valley, she has every expectation for their new life to fall neatly into place. But as the family bounces up the driveway of their new home, she's shocked to discover the house's dilapidated condition. When her husband finds the caretaker face-down in their new basement, it's the detectives who end up moving in.

Maggie McDonald is hoping to raise the profile of her new Orchard View organizing business via her first high-profile client. Professor Lincoln Sinclair may be up for a Nobel Prize, but he's hopeless when it comes to organizing anything other than his thoughts. For an academic, he's also amassed more than his share of enemies. When Sinclair's fiancee is found dead on the floor of his home laboratory - electrocuted in a puddle of water - Maggie takes on the added task of finding the woman's murderer.

Despite a looming deadline, Maggie thinks she has what it takes to help friends Jason and Stephen unclutter their large Victorian in time for its scheduled renovation. But before she can fill a single bin with unused junk, Jason leaves for Texas on an emergency business trip, Stephen's injured mastiff limps home - and Stephen himself lands in jail for murder. Someone killed the owner of a local Chinese restaurant and stuffed him in the freezer. Stephen, caught at the crime scene covered in blood, is the number one suspect.

Professional organizer Maggie McDonald manages to balance a fastidious career with friends, family, and a spunky golden retriever. But add a fiery murder mystery to the mix, and Maggie wonders if she's finally found a mess even she can't tidy up....