Clean Slate (Olive Hunt 1) by Brianna Labuskes-review
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 4, 2026
Death pays well for Olive Hunt, a crime scene cleaner who channels her childhood traumas into erasing the suffering of others. After nearly ten years, she’s seen it all. Nothing rattles her anymore.
Until now.
Two back-to-back suicides. A seedy motel. An upscale Atlanta hotel. No connection—except that Olive discovers the same strange item at each scene. Then a third body drops. Olive knows what the police refuse to see: These aren’t suicides. They’re murders staged to perfection.
Then the roses arrive. A vase of bloodred blooms on her doorstep. An anonymous note: Thank you.
She’s found him. A serial killer who’s been leaving breadcrumbs only she can see. A killer who’s been cleaning up his work—knowing she’ll clean up after him. A killer who wants her to follow.
And follow she must. No matter how terrifying the trail becomes.
••••
REVIEW:CLEAN SLATE is the first instalment in Brianna Labuskes’ contemporary, adult OLIVE HUNT psychological suspense series focusing on crime scene cleaner Olive Hunt.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from first person (Olive) and several omniscient third person perspectives, using present day and events from the past, CLEAN SLATE follows crime scene cleaner Olive Hunt, owner of the cleaning business Clean Slate, as she navigates a series of possible homicides, all made to look like the victim took their own life, but as she begins her clean up at the crime scenes, she discovers hidden notes left behind, notes that feel directed at our story line heroine. Beginning an investigation of her own, Olive Hunt sees a possible pattern connected to the past, a pattern she is about to reveal to the police but with each crime scene cleaning, a bouquet of roses arrives at her door with a thank you note from a possible serial killer.
The world building focuses on one woman’s need to search for the truth. As the police are quick to close out their investigations, Olive has the time and cleaning experience to search for the clues others have left behind.
There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, questionable and potentially guilty secondary and diverse supporting characters but I suggest a speadsheet to keep track of connections and interactions! We are introduced to Police detectives Donovan Mitchell, and Cormac Sullivan, wealthy couple Cutter and Naomi Sutton, and their son Porter; Kyle and Darla Rutherford; Olive’s best friend Leah, and her father Anthony Last.
CLEAN SLATE is a twisted story of secrets and lies, death and vengeance, money and power, friendships and dysfunctional family values. The premise is thought-provoking, dramatic and edgy, leaving a slight echo of The Cleaning Lady ™ television series. The characters are desperate, determined, and flawed.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
Excerpt provided by Thomas & Mercer / Over the River PR
“Olive Hunt,” Donovan murmured, breaking my trance. “Right.”
“I’m a crime scene cleaner,” I explained to Cormac. I fiddled with my
necklace—a cross my mother had given me on a good day that I liked to
remember. “I mean, there doesn’t have to be a crime for me to be called. Mostly
the requirement is bodily fluids, but ‘bodily fluids cleaner’ sounds pretty terrible.
Accurate, but terrible.”
I pressed my lips, desperate to stop the babble of words that had both detectives
looking like they were seriously considering leaving me to give my statement to
a lowly beat cop. Attractive men didn’t tend to fluster me—I’d met too many
snakes who wore pretty skin for that. But being pinned beneath their dual steady
gazes had me acting foolish.
“Look, I was cleaning Thaddeus Abernathy’s hotel room after it was released and found this.” I pushed the
business card—still in its Ziploc “evidence bag”—over to them. Then I proceeded to fill the pair of them in on
everything, starting with Isaac Drysdale’s death. I told them about turning the article over to Detective Sarah
Barzetti, then finding this business card three days later. I even mentioned Jessie Hayes, the girl Leah had
remembered from the PTCC, just in case it was relevant.
When I finished, I sat back in my seat, relieved. Now, whatever happened, it was no longer on me.
Both men stared at me with neutral expressions.
“Uh,” I said. “And to be clear, I’m not the serial killer.”
