"The Cantaloupe Thief" by Deb Richardson-Moore

Title: The Cantaloupe Thief: A Branigan Powers Mystery
Author: Deb Richardson-Moore
Published: June 27, 2016
Genre: Christian Fiction, Mystery

Hello one and all! Thanks for taking a break from enjoying the warm July weather to check out my review of The Cantaloupe Thief, a debut mystery novel from author Deb Richardson-Moore. This book came my way courtesy of Kregel Publications. Please click the link and check out their website!

Ten years after the brutal stabbing of the wealthy Mrs. Alberta Resnick, matriarch of one of Grambling, GA's most influential families, reporter Branigan Powers takes on the investigation that has stumped local police since its occurrence.

Branigan turns to her friend Liam Delaney for help. Liam is the unconventional pastor at Grambling's local homeless mission. He and Branigan both know that the homeless and transient community may possess some untapped information.

But as Branigan starts to dig, secrets get uncovered, and the people she reaches out to end up dead. A killer is out to cover his tracks, putting Branigan and her allies in grave danger. But little does the killer know that someone else is watching him....

I love a good mystery. I'm definitely a gold-level member of the Agatha Christie Fan Club (if there is such a thing)! Needless to say, I set some pretty high standards for The Cantaloupe Thief, and for the most part, they were met.

I liked the character of Branigan Powers. She's smart and plucky enough to do her job and do it well, but she has just enough personal drama and fall backs to keep her from becoming a super hero. She could be a real woman who you could run into on the street, and I like that.

Speaking of Branigan's personal drama, the novel has several arcs that delve a little deeper into her life. When these arcs were introduced at the beginning of the novel, I thought that they were getting in the way of the mystery at hand. Without giving too much away, however, I found that they tie into Branigan's investigation in a delightfully intriguing way.

The novel is told from the perspective of several of the characters both in the present time and a decade ago at the time of Mrs. Resnick's murder. It was a clever way to slowly reveal all of the clues to the reader. Whether or not you can piece the clues together is a whole different story. I thought for sure that I had correctly guessed the murderer only to be completely blindsided by the right answer. Between you and me, I love when that happens! This book kept me guessing!

The main theme of the novel was how sometimes homeless people feel overlooked or invisible. So I want to take the time, my dear readers, to remind you all to be kind to one another, especially those who have fallen on hard time. Don't be so quick to judge others by their circumstances, but instead remember the example of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10.

"Love you neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27

Kaylee says:

"The Whisper Theory" by Amber Albee Swenson

Title: The Whisper Theory
Author: Amber Albee Swenson
Published: December 28, 2011
Genre: Christian Fiction

During first semester this past school year, one of my professors approached me with an idea. He had received several copies of The Whisper Theory from the author and wanted to put a group of ladies together to review it and participate in the accompanying Bible Study. Of course I said yes, and as the resident blogger of the group, I volunteered to post the review and an interview with the author Amber Swenson on my page!

The Whisper Theory follows a young lady named Meghan as she navigates her way through her first year of college. A devout Christian, Meghan has had no trouble standing firm in her faith. Then she moves in with her new roommates Carol and Jeff, who are not believers. It doesn't take Meghan long, under their influence, to start trying things she's never tried before, and soon she's breaking more rules than she's keeping. What's more, she begins to fall for Jeff. When a murder occurs in their apartment building, Meghan has to decide where she stands and what voice she's going to follow. After each chapter, there is a set of Bible study questions that pertain to the topics referenced in the chapter.

I think I speak for the entire group when I say that we thoroughly enjoyed participating in this Bible study. We had lots of meaningful discussions both on our online forum and in person. The topics we covered were all mentioned at some time in the book: underage drinking, sex, dating, and relationships with family and friends (especially with those of opposite faiths). This is definitely a book for Christian, college-aged ladies, and I think they would enjoy the discussions as much as we did.

The novel itself was realistic for the most part. The challenges that Meghan faces are similar to what I think a devout Christian college student would face. Things got a bit muddy when the murder in the apartment building comes in. That particular plot arc just seemed to distract from the rest of the book. That detail aside, we'd recommend this to anyone looking for a Bible study for a teen or college-age group.

Kaylee says: