Somewhere between Luke Jenings’ Codename Villanelle and The Cleaner by Greg Davies, Make Me Clean is a character study in which the best of British comedy is underlined by sadness and grit. It depicts a tale of a young girl led astray, no-one taking proper care of her. Maria, the young girl employed in the cleaning business, has done bad things and continues to, but Tina Baker’s pen never really sketches her as bad… she is kind and loving.

Regarding those bad things, well, they’re murders… perhaps best described as ‘accidentally on purpose’. Maria isn’t a killer, but she kills. She’s a complex character who’s never had the opportunity to find out who she really is, but understands completely what she’s capable of. Her killing isn’t out of anger or revenge, but redemption or protection. She isn’t just scrubbing away the consequences of her actions, but her guilt, fears, burdens and the regrets of her past.

Make Me Clean is told from Maria’s POV, including an excursion back to her younger days when she meets the love of her life. Character-wise, Maria’s clients are well-rounded: her favourite, Elsie, a welcome contradiction of humour and pain, she struggles with dementia and a rotten husband. As early as the novel’s opening pages, it’s evident something terrible has happened before it arrives, yet the story is slowly drip fed to you, leaving you guessing, wondering, and needing to know more.