Good, Clean Fun: a Meh-rathon

From Tomorrow’s Murders, Today (Ms. Theroux mysteries, #2):

“It’s all rather impressive, Doctor Hanfield,” Ms. Theroux said, after the tour of his laboratory. “I dare say, though, with all your automated cleaning devices, you seem to want to put the likes of maids like me out of business.”

“I seek only to order disorder, Ms. Theroux,” Doctor Hanfield said. “Take my advanced shower mechanisms, for example. I doubt you bathe your clients, do you? But yes, if my devices cause humans such as yourself to lose their jobs, then it is an unfortunate side effect of necessary innovation. Besides, people often lose jobs for themselves. I am on the verge of firing my own assistant, as a matter of fact. He hasn’t been in these past two days.”

“Well, that’s actually what I came to discuss with you,” Ms. Theroux said. “James was found dead last night, a single rose petal over each eye.”

“What? James? Dead?”

“Yes,” said Ms. Theroux. “His body was discovered in the balcony of a dilapidated opera house of ill repute, whose company performs crass and erotic Puccini parodies. Why would someone as upstanding as he be somewhere such as that? Do you know?”

But Doctor Hanfield could not answer her question. “The boy was like a son to me.”

“Perhaps you could replace him,” Ms. Theroux said, coldly, “with one of your robots.”

What better day for a spring-cleaning-themed Meh-ration than March 12th, the birthday of author Alicia Prescott? Creator of the character Ms. Theroux, the mystery-solving maid who appears in over 40 novels, Prescott has come to be known as “the queen of clean” in literary circles. So, stick around all day as we share excerpts from Prescott’s work, as well as tidbits from her letters, interviews, reviews, and more. Oh, and there will be deals too. On cleaning products. And also non-cleaning products.