Lois Meade, as local cleaner in the village of Long Farnden, has a close and intimate knowledge of many of its inhabitants. She doesn’t encourage gossip, but when local spinster, Gloria Hathaway is brutally strangled, it seems that Lois is in the unique position to find out invaluable information about the murder. She begins to investigate the strange goings-on in her clients’ lives and why they were all so closely connected with the dead woman. However, in the process she not only uncovers many hidden secrets within the village, but also within her own family. Danger also lurks close by as Lois becomes embroiled in the deeply hidden passions and emotions smouldering beneath the façade of idyllic village life.

The tenants of Lois Meade's terrace house in Tresham are frustrated by their neighbor's feisty pet cockerel, Satan. His owner, Clem Fitch, refuses to part with his feathery companion-making Lois's tenants fly the coop. Luckily, her son Douglas agrees to rent the house.But when Clem and Satan are found dead, Douglas-who is involved with Clem's daughter-becomes a prime suspect in some foul business.From Publishers WeeklyIn British author Purser's sprightly eighth Lois Meade cozy (after 2007's Sorrow on Sunday), Lois, who operates a cleaning service called New Brooms, looks into the murder of 78-year-old Clement Fitch and his infamously loud rooster, Satan. Lois's son, Douglas, Clem's new neighbor in the town of Tresham, becomes a prime suspect after an anonymous informant claims to have seen Douglas knock the pensioner to the ground. Members of the Meade family, Lois's employees and Douglas's new girlfriend all seek to prove Douglas's innocence. To do so, they must unmask the true identities of Clem's neighbor across the street, Mrs. Imogen Blairgowrie, a supposedly visually impaired New Brooms client, whose slimy son, Alastair, might be involved with organized crime. Purser supplements the sleuthing with spot-on observations of working-class village life and the trials of running a small business, though a rushed resolution leaves some questions unanswered. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistPurser’s Lois Meade series has covered village crime from Monday through Sunday (e.g., Murder on Monday, 2002). Now, she is working through every hour of the day—a new wrinkle in our 24/7 world. Meade, proprietor of the New Brooms cleaning business, makes a handy police consultant, as cleaners know all about their clients’ dirt. This time that involves retiree Clem Fitch, who lives with his pet cockerel in the village of Tresham. The rooster enjoys waking all the neighbors at very early hours of the morning. Those neighbors include Lois’ son, Douglas, and a nearly blind older woman, whose irascible son hires Lois’ firm to  clean her mother’s home. When Clem and his pet are murdered, Lois assists her friend, Detective Inspector Hunter Cowgill, in solving the case. Purser uses dramatic irony effectively, letting the reader know more than her sleuths do and allowing us to watch as they pull the pieces together. This novel’s denouement doesn’t have quite the shock value typical of this series, but the story is thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. --Judy Coon

Lois Meade has done enough buffing and polishing over the years with her cleaning business, New Brooms, to know that all that glitters is not gold. So when a bag of costume jewellery is the main clue in a murder, she has a strong suspicion that appearances may be deceiving... After a woman is discovered in the Mill House Hotel, strangled with a silver necklace beside a bag filled with faux silver, gold and pearls, costume jewelry dealer Donald Black seems like the obvious suspect. But Lois knows Donald's wife, who runs a baker’s shop near the hotel, and can’t believe her husband could be a killer. Plus, Donald has an airtight alibi. Nevertheless, Donald is no angel. It appears he’s running a pyramid scheme, and Lois’s mother is getting sucked in. Could the murder have anything to do with his unscrupulous business practices? As Inspector Cowgill and Lois hope the bling may shine a light on the killer, the discovery of a second body on the old waterwheel in the hotel may be grist for the mill in solving the murder—if they can manage to catch the culprit without getting the runaround.

The reclusive Abraham family live at a disused water mill outside of Long Farnden. Lois Meade is surprised when Enid Abraham applies for a job with Lois's cleaning company. Enid's brother goes missing and the police dismiss it. Then a tragedy strikes…

Feisty Lois, part cleaner, part amateur sleuth, is once more involved in solving murder – and this time, not one but two murders most mysterious. Once more her job is tailor-made for snooping, taking her into the houses and secrets of possible suspects. Lois has now moved to the village of Long Farnden (familiar to readers of Murder on Monday), and is setting up her own cleaning business, New Brooms, with a staff of four and a growing list of clients. Lois’s love/hate relationship with Detective Inspector Hunter Cowgill is renewed when she comes upon a weird demise with theatrical connections. She can hardly refuse to help Cowgill, and is drawn in, not entirely unwillingly. In the end… well, it’s worth waiting for! Suffice to say that there is terror, addiction, perversion and sadness. Just like life, really.