Death of a Maid by M.C. Beaton

Policeman Hamish Macbeth wins the services of cleaning lady Mrs Gillespie in a church raffle. He knows she's a tremendous gossip, so he's a bit uneasy about having her clean his house. Soon, however, he finds her dead outside another client's home. Macbeth figures that many near the small town of Lochdubh wanted her dead, since it seems that Mrs Gillespie was blackmailing her customers--their houses are dirty yet they insist she did a wonderful job. Hamish starts to question the townspeople against his bosses' wishes and also has to deal with a returning ex-girlfriend, Elspeth Grant. Death of a Maid is a solid entry to this long running cozy series. Rhys Bowen's Evan Evans series set in Wales is very similar to Macbeth.