DEB RICHARDSON-MOORE's
THE CANTALOUPE THIEF
A Brannigan Powers Mystery
"THE WORST THING ABOUT
BEING HOMELESS
IS
BEING LOOKED RIGHT THROUGH"
review
Setting: Grambling, Georgia
10 year old murder, which is still to be solved, brings us to the world of journalist Brannigan Powers. One of the oldest families, Alberta Elliot Grambling Resnick, 80 years old and very wealthy is murdered in her home. Who would do this? Possibly a homeless man or woman, Billy, a mentally ill person residing at Forest Lawn or was he living in Ms. Resnick's little used pool house? But, was that too easy an answer? Billy had been arrested before for trespassing on the Resnick property. He was the obvious suspect. Maybe too obvious?
Ms. Brannigan is investigating the homeless population with the help of her friend, Liam. Liam is now the pastor of a shelter named Jericho House. He used to be a reporter.
Brannigan has a twin brother, Davision, who is now an addict, alcoholic and is homeless. He has been in and out of rehab and always ends up in his old way of life. This book is the usual complicated web of family connections and disconnections.. Every family, in some way or another has their ups, downs and oh, the complexity of it all. Brannigan and Davison were no different. Davison has a son, Chandler, he hasn't seen in years who has been raised by Liam and his wife. Chan knows he is different from Liam and his family but hasn't quite made the connection, that is, until Davison ends up in the homeless community at Grambling. Davison had a promising future 12 years prior until alcohol and drugs took that future away.
As Brannigan investigates the homeless community and the death, 10 years past) of Alberta, she discovers things that aren't easy to accept, her life is put in danger and she discovers so much that has been hidden in the past.What did a piece of artwork found in on a trash pile have to do with the murder? Is it possible that it was a family member who murdered Alberta 10 years ago. I enjoyed this book, taking a look into the homeless and the hardships they encounter. An eye opener. This isn't fiction, it's a FACT. This is everyday life, not only in big cities, but in small towns. The author puts you face to face with the characters and doesn't let you close that book, thinking, oh, well. Everyone should read this book. A touch of reality.
I received this book from the author, Deb Richardson-Moore and Kregel Publications in exchange for my unbiased view of the book.
overview of book
(from AA crime novel set in NE Georgia, USA, and featuring a reporter, Branigan
Powers, who is commissioned to investigate a cold case, an unsolved
murder of a wealthy widow ten years previously. She enlists the help of
Malachi Ezekiel Martin, a homeless man who is both a possible suspect
and a possible sleuth: the idea being that homeless people get
overlooked, and hence see things that are concealed from the rest of the
population. An important twist in the story is that Branigan's own twin
brother is a derelict, his promising career destroyed by drugs. This is
the first in an intended series of novels featuring Branigan, Martin,
and Branigan's friend Liam, who runs a shelter for the homeless.mazon)
- Series: A Branigan Powers Mystery
- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Lion Fiction (June 27, 2016)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1782641920
- ISBN-13: 978-1782641926
author
For 27 years, Deb Richardson-Moore was a reporter for "The Greenville
(SC) News," winning three national writing awards and routine
recognition from the South Carolina Press Association. She was a wife,
mother of three, and that suburban cliche, a minivan-driving soccer mom.
She then took over the religion beat at "The News" and enrolled in a nearby seminary to learn more about it. Her life was never the same. She left the newspaper and earned a master of divinity degree. Because jobs for clergywomen were scarce in her own Baptist denomination, she accepted a job as pastor of the non-denominational Triune Mercy Center, a crumbling, inner-city mission church to the homeless.
"The Weight of Mercy" chronicles her first three turbulent years among her homeless congregants. Here's what novelist Davis Bunn, writer-in-residence at Oxford University, has to say about it:
"This is an amazingly well written work, a genuine testimony of hope in the dark recesses of our times. The words are laid out with an artist's precision, and their smoothness makes this not just a powerful read, but a genuine entry into a world we all need to know better. Perhaps the most important thing I can say about this is, I found Jesus in these pages. Highly recommended."
Deb is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Erskine Theological Seminary. She and her husband, Vince, have three grown children.
(Author's photo by Susan Hood)
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