The Cantaloupe Thief

May 9, 2016
Richardson-Moore's (The Weight of Mercy) weighty novel of redemption, the first in a series, introduces readers to Grambling, Ga., and Branigan Powers. Branigan, a reporter for the Grambling Rambler, has been assigned to explore why the murder of Alberta Resnick, a member of the town's founding family, has gone unsolved for 10 years. Branigan uses a personal and professional contact, Pastor Liam Delaney, to explore the possibility that the murderer was a transient, someone who would have been largely overlooked at the time of the murder. Liam proves to be a very atypical pastor who served the town's homeless first as a reporter before joining the church. This is what attracts the homeless to Branigan's mission and shelter, Jericho Road; he can share the message of God's love and hope over a slice of pizza or cold beer. As Branigan investigates, the reader is given an up-close look into the lives of the town's homeless population as they deal with alcoholism, drug addiction, and the other difficult circumstances that landed them on the streets. Richardson-Moore uses her experience as an investigative journalist and real-life work with the homeless to make a compelling story, and to breathe life into her complicated, multifaceted characters.

June 1, 2016

It is the tenth anniversary of the only unsolved murder in Grambling, GA. Reporter Branigan Powers pitches the idea of reopening the cold case of Alberta Resnick to her editor and is promptly appointed investigator. She visits Liam Delaney, the pastor of a homeless mission center, whose clients were around when the Resnick murder took place. Powers hopes that one of them may remember something useful. The closer she comes to identifying the killer, the more danger she is in. Making her fiction debut, Richardson-Moore, an ordained Baptist minister and author (The Weight of Mercy: A Novice Pastor on the City Streets) has written a light mystery that profiles the plight of the homeless without becoming mired in the politics. The character development is well done, particularly with Pastor Delaney, whose actions reflect those of Jesus, loving the unlovable. VERDICT A pleasant read-alike for admirers of Fiona Veitch Smith's "Poppy Denby" series and Carola Dunn's "Daisy Dalrymple" mysteries.

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