Professional Organizer Maggie McDonald is shocked to discover her best friend Stephen is a suspect in the murder of a local business owner. Stephen is a witness to the killing but is arrested for impeding the investigation. The local DA also wants to press murder charges because Stephen was found at the crime scene covered in blood. Maggie knows Stephen is innocent, but she soon discovers he is withholding information to protect another witness. Maggie must race the clock to discover the killer and help prevent a key witness from being deported before Stephen is charged with first degree murder. Can she solve the case in time to prevent Stephen from being sent to prison?

I enjoy the Maggie McDonald Mystery series. The plots are always well-written. The characters are likable, well-developed, and diverse. Dead Storage is the third book in the series, and I enjoyed this book just as much as the two prior novels! The mystery was paced perfectly, drawing out the suspense until the last two chapters. It kept me guessing until the end! I liked the fact that Maggie was not only investigating the murder, but also trying to find and assist the witness that Stephen was protecting. I had a bit of a hard time with the fact that Stephen made Maggie promise not to tell his partner Jason that he had been arrested. Jason is in law enforcement and is out of town when Stephen is arrested. Realistically speaking, I feel if his partner is facing a pending murder charge, someone would have contacted him to let him know what was going on. I don't believe it would have remained a secret for as long as it did. And Jason was only really mad at Maggie for two pages. Hiding the fact that his partner is in jail and possibly facing a murder charge would warrant being pissed for more than two pages. I would have remained angry for at least an entire chapter, if it had been me. :)

All in all, another great Maggie McDonald cozy! I can't wait for the next book! :)

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**
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Maggie McDonald is a professional organizer. She helps her customers put order into the unorganized. Each chapter begins with a helpful hint about keeping organized. This is the third book in the series, but can be read as a standalone. In this book, Maggie is planning to meet with her friend, Stephen and his mastiff, Munchkin to organize his house prior to beginning renovations. When Maggie and her golden retriever, Bella arrive at the house, Stephen is not there and Munchkin shows up injured and covered in something. Munchkin is Stephen's therapy dog as he suffers from PTSD. Maggie is immediately worried and after taking Munchkin to the vet, begins making calls to see if anyone knows what has happened to Stephen. Unfortunately, Stephen;s partner, Jason, is off to Texas helping with the flooding situation there. When Maggie finds out that Stephen has been arrested for murder, she immediately tries to help him. The big problem is that Stephen won't tell the police what really happened. Who is he protecting?

This is a well written and developed story. There are so many issues in this one, such as immigration, homelessness, gambling, small business issues, bullying and threats in schools, cost of education, therapy dogs, PTSD and natural disasters. The story deals with trust and friendship as well as the solving of a rather intricate and detailed mystery. There were many twists and turns in this story with a lot of red herrings. The characters are strong in this series. I enjoy Maggie and her family. With everything going on, she still makes sure she is there for her boys. Stephen is stubborn yet proud, and everything he does has a reason, even though some people do not understand what that reason could be. The suspense in this story builds gradually until coming to a satisfying conclusion, one that I did not expect. This was a great story that kept me hooked to the last sentence. I listened to the audio version of this book via hoopla and enjoyed the narration very much. I definitely recommend this book and series to cozy mystery lovers. ( )

Dead Storage by Mary Feliz is the third installment in A Maggie McDonald Mystery series. Maggie McDonald lives in Orchard View, California with her husband and two sons. She owns Simplicity Itself Organizing Services. Maggie is ready to start her new job decluttering Stephen Laird and Jason Mueller’s beautiful Victorian home before they embark on their remodel project. Jason has been deployed to Texas on an important assignment, but he wants Stephen and Maggie to proceed as planned. The next morning Maggie arrives and Stephen is not at home. She notices Stephen’s dog, Munchkin limping towards home without his owner (and they are always together). While at the vet with Munchkin, Maggie receives a call from Paolo Bianchi, Jason’s partner on the force. Stephen is in jail and will only speak with Maggie. After promising to not tell Jason, Stephen tells Maggie the story. Stephen stumbled upon a murder at the Golden Dragon, and he is considered the prime suspect in the death of Mr. Xiang, the owner. He has a good reason, though, for not talking to the police. Stephen needs Maggie to find the culprit before the local prison becomes his permanent home.

Dead Storage is nicely written, has a good pace and easy to read. I like the author’s writing style. While it is the third book in the series, it can be read alone. The details on Maggie’s background and family are in Dead Storage. Maggie is a good character with an understanding family. I particularly enjoyed Maggie’s tips at the beginning of each chapter (on storage, organizing, decluttering—i.e. taking care of your junk). My rating for Dead Storage is 3 out of 5 stars. The mystery was straightforward (some readers will be surprised). Avid mystery readers should be able to solve the whodunit before they hit the halfway mark (at the latest). The ending is a little anticlimactic (disappointing). It was wrapped up a little too neatly and easily. While the cozy element is enjoyable, I wanted a more complicated mystery. It would be nice if it was hard to solve and, maybe, had a good twist (has more meat to it). The author addressed some serious issues in Dead Storage (PTSD among veterans and the plight of the homeless). Dead Storage is a good “escape from reality” book. The type to cozy up with on a wet afternoon. ( )

Mary Feliz has created a good strong mystery that will keep readers guessing as to what is really going on in that area of small businesses where the murder occurred. She also addresses such issues as homeless people, immigration status, and PTSD with sense and sensitivity.

But what she's done that I appreciate the most can all be found in the character of Maggie, and of her family, too. She and her family honestly try to do good for their friends, their neighbors, and their community. Maggie, her husband Max, and their two boys are also intelligent and filled with common sense. When one of the boys is threatened at school, it's handled swiftly and appropriately. Maggie is not the type of amateur sleuth who takes chances with her family's lives. She's also not the type of person who takes ill treatment like a doormat. Her response to an obnoxious lawyer had me laughing and cheering.

Maggie also does what so many other amateur sleuths don't-- she keeps in close contact with local police, and any time she finds something pertinent to an investigation, she shares it with them immediately. This means that the dangerous parts of the case are handled by the professionals... and that the reveal is not done onstage with the heroine narrowly escaping with her life. We learn what's happened by sitting down with Maggie, her friends, and family at her kitchen table and talking it all over. This is something that not all cozy mystery fans are going to appreciate, but I certainly do. Intelligence and common sense go a long, long way with me, and this means that I'm looking forward to visiting with Maggie again soon. ( )

There was less focus on organizing in the third book in this series. Maggie and her dog Belle really sleuth the old fashioned way as they hit the streets of Orchard View (and Mountain View) in hopes of finding information to help their good friend Stephen, who may be charged unnecessarily in the death of a Chinese restaurant owner. With the automatic entrée into the homeless society in town because of the presence of a well known mastiff, what I thought would be impossible became possible for her. She moves facilely from her family life to investigating, her boys and husband Max always offering good sounding board opportunities. Besides helping a young man named Rafi, I really didn't have a lot of guesses to what happened to Mr. Xiang and enjoyed the whole path to the end. ( )