Clean Slate by Brianna Labuskes ~ a Review

by MK French

Olive Hunt is a crime scene cleaner who discovered a link between two back-to-back suicides. This makes them staged murders, but police don't see it that way. The serial killer then sends her flowers with a note saying Thank you, and it's clear that he wants her to clean up his crime scenes and follow where he leads. No matter how terrifying that trail is, Olive is going to follow.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2026; Thomas & Mercer; 978-1662533150
audio, ebook, print (315 pages); thriller

Having grown up with a mother that has severe contamination OCD, Olive knows how to clean. It's what she's good at; even if it's not glamorous, it provides a vital service. Her OCD adherence means she looks in places the average cleaner doesn't, and she has built up a reputation for doing a good job. This puts her in the position to find little plastic baggies with something inside them. She takes it upon herself to look into why her beloved community center is mentioned in the article found with the first victim, and she's going further to find a link between them than the police do at first. She's the one who gets ordinary people to open up to her. At the same time, we have a story thread beginning in the past, showing us the older generation that shaped Olive and her same-age peers who needed the center.

I like the fact that Olive is a regular person acknowledging the danger in poking at the story when a serial killer is out there. She's drawn to the investigation because she's being used to clean up afterwards, and because the story involves injustice to people like her that the rich swept under the rug. She recognizes that she has the impulse to let the killer continue, and that justice should be served. It's a response most of us would have once we discover what links the deaths, and her investigation is the kind an ordinary person would do: follow the gossip and let people talk about it. This relatability keeps me following her and cheering her on as the book continues. As with any murder mystery, we think we know what's going on as the book progresses. The red herrings are convincing, and we think we know the answer; the finale was riveting and not exactly what I expected. This kept me up late at night to finish and was well worth it.

Buy Clean Slate at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever. 

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