Maggie McDonald and her family moved to Orchard View after a late aunt left her husband a large home and the money he would need to maintain it. Now, she's starting up her organizing business again in her new town, and she's lucked out by being able to organize the home of Professor Lincoln Sinclair, who will be getting married soon and combining households. But when she arrives with her realtor friend Tess, they find the body of Lincoln's fiancée, Sarah, electrocuted in a puddle of water. At first it looks like a horrible accident, but after the police investigate the crime, it's determined to be a murder.

But the man in charge, Detective Apfel, whom Maggie and everyone around her has nicknamed "Detective Awful," is a horrible detective and rubs everyone the wrong way. He's decided that Linc killed Sarah -- never mind that Linc was nowhere near the crime scene -- and is determined to pin the murder on him. What can Maggie do but help Linc? Even though her husband Max wants her to stay out of it, she knows she can't. Maggie has more than one problem coming her way, and even if she wants to try and just help people, there's someone out there besides the police who doesn't want her help -- the killer...

This is the second book in the series and I must say that I enjoyed it quite much more than the first. In the first, Maggie's husband was working out of town and I was afraid it was going to be another cozy where the protagonist had her husband gone all the time and she solved murders on her own. I was pleasantly surprised that Max made more than an appearance in this book, even if he didn't get involved in the investigation as much, he was supportive of his wife, which goes a long way.

Maggie knows that Linc couldn't commit a murder, so she starts looking as to who might have wanted the woman dead. Or did they? Since it occurred in Linc's house, maybe he was the target after all? Could it have been one of the teenagers who worked next door in the gardens? Or perhaps their supervisor, Boots?

All she knows is that since the detective who would have been on the case, Jason Mueller, is out with a broken leg, and the obnoxious replacement doesn't care about justice, only about closing cases fast. With Maggie under the gun for time, she needs to find a killer before they find her.

When the ending comes, everything is put together nicely, and we were given a clue to the murderer (I am pleased to say that I was right) but you have to watch for it along the way. At the end, there is a nice epilogue which puts it all into perspective, and I will read the next in the series. Recommended. ( )

As a disorganized person struggling to reform, I feel drawn to the Maggie McDonald Mystery series, mostly because the main character is a professional organizer. The idea of a highly organized person as an amateur detective is intriguing. Plus, I figure I might pick up a few organizational tips while reading.

Scheduled to Death is the 2nd book in the series. I haven't read the first book yet, but there is enough background information sprinkled in with the new plot to easily figure out the different characters and enjoy the mystery. Maggie is building her new professional organizing business. She's helping a professor organize his life. Linc wants to get married, but he's got to clean up his act first. Maggie arrives one bright cheerful morning to help him continue his progress, only to find something much worse than a messy desk. Linc's fiance and Maggie's good friend, Sarah, is dead on the floor. Something isn't quite right about the situation. Maggie finds herself teaming up with local police to find out what caused Sarah's death.

Each chapter of the book opens with an organizational tip from Maggie - a nice extra touch. The pace of the story is spot-on, and the subplots (organization, community gardening, etc) don't overwhelm the mystery. In fact, the organizational background of the main character helps to further the plot, rather than getting in the way of it. Romance is not a distraction in this cozy. Maggie is happily married with teenage children. I like all of the side characters. It's interesting to see how Maggie handles being friends with a suspect and the investigating officers. The way they all come together to help each other solve the case is another refreshing change from formula cozies where the police continually warn or even threaten anyone who tries to investigate. Nice change! I can't say there is no "dumb'' or annoying cop....but he is a side character that even the other officers can't stand. While reading, I found myself continually thinking if the main characters were real people they would be enormously enjoyable as friends.

All in all, a great cozy mystery! There are plenty of suspects, interesting clues and plot twists. The idea of community gardening is intriguing. I'm glad that was a subplot intertwined with the mystery. The organization tips were helpful and I'm going to try to implement some of the suggestions.

Scheduled to Death will be released by Kensington on January 17th! Organized or disorganized, cozy mystery lovers will enjoy this one!

A third Maggie McDonald Mystery, Dead Storage, is coming out in July!

**I voluntarily read an Advance Readers Copy of this book provided by Kensington via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.** ( )

In this second encounter with Maggie McDonald, we find her up to her neck in mystery, murder and mayhem. There was a lot going on in this story, but Mary Feliz does a great job of writing this story so you do not get confused. Maggie is hired by Professor Linc Sinclair to help organize his belongings and clean out his house so he can move in with his fiancé, Sarah, a friend of Maggie's. When Sarah is found dead from electrocution in Linc's home, of course she has to get involved. With Jason, her friend the detective laid up with a seriously broken leg, they call in a retired Police Detective named Apfel, but Maggie and her friends quickly nickname him Detective Awful. He does no investigating because he is sure that Linc int he killer. During her investigation of Sarah's death and trying to clear Linc, she meets many people, who could be possible suspects. Of course, Maggie is a very nurturing person, so she moves Linc and his wolfhound Newton into her home while the investigation is going on. Things start getting dangerous when Linc and Newton are hurt in a bicycle accident. There are more accidents and Maggie is right in the middle. The second storyline has to do with some teens who Maggie believes have aged out of the foster care system. With an ex stalking one of them, Maggie has a second mystery on her hands. This was a well written book that flowed well and kept me entertained. There were several surprises at the end of the book, although my suspicion of the murderer was confirmed. I am looking forward to the next one in this series. Cozy mystery lovers will enjoy this book and series. The publisher provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. ( )

This is the second book in the Maggie McDonald Mystery series. Maggie is a professional organizer, wife, and mother to two teenage sons. She also spends a lot of time volunteering in her community of Orchard View. Her newest client, Lincoln "Linc" Sinclair is a scatterbrained, Nobel-nominated scientist who is engaged to the local librarian. Maggie has been hired to help get his house in order before the wedding and unfortunately finds the body of Sarah, his fiance, in the basement, a victim of electrocution. The detective in charge doesn't think it's anything more than an accident, but it doesn't take long for it to become apparent that someone wants Linc gone and will hurt anyone that gets in the way. The question is, who, and why? When the detective won't help, Maggie decides to figure it out herself. The mystery was pretty solid with a complex cast of characters and plenty of suspects. The resolutions came a little too quickly and a little too easily, but if you enjoy a good cozy mystery with likable characters, this is a nice choice.

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. ( )

What a great, fast paced mystery. I really liked Maggie McDonald, and it was heartbreaking when murder touched the lives of her friends Linc and Sarah. Linc embodies the absent-minded professor moniker, so it's no surprise when Maggie tries to help find out what really happened to Sarah in the old Victorian she is helping Linc organize. There is a lot going on in Orchard View, but not so much that it's confusing. The additional storyline about the community garden and the people it helped flowed together with the main mystery. And I liked the organizing tips Maggie shared at the beginning of each chapter. I felt much less unorganized in my own life, as some of them were things I already do! ( )