Payne & Misery by Catherine Leggitt

 Increasing & Perpetual Suspense!

Book Description

All that sparks is not gold for Christine Sterling. The luster of her shiny "Golden Years" dream fades when Christine's newly retired husband, Jesse, succumbs to an exciting new hobby requiring long weekends away. Add to this dilemma Christine's dubious "gift" of observation, a super-sized helping of free time, and a double dose of imagination. Sprinkle with peculiar circumstances lurking in the neighborhood and what do you get? Not the glittering paradise of togetherness Jesse promised. You get trouble. Big trouble. Christine has already developed a bad reputation for conjuring wild tales to explain ordinary occurrences. Who is likely to take her seriously when she discovers a bruised and neglected neighbor named Lila Payne? Try as she might, she cannot interest anyone in Lila's dire need for immediate rescue. Something about crying wolf once too often.  But when Lila and Christine's beloved Border collie Molly both disappear the same night, Christine dives headfirst into a dark pool swirling with muddy secrets and misery. Her best friend throws her a lifesaver of prayer and she begins to sense God at work in the situation. But even with God's help, can they save Lila and Molly before it's too late?

Biography

Catherine Leggitt is author of the cozy mystery series, Christine Sterling Mysteries. She is also an inspirational speaker presently residing in northern California. During her first career--after raising children and before caring for her aging parents--Catherine worked as an elementary school teacher, where she developed her flair for playacting and storytelling. Struggling with retirement, Catherine needed a distraction and found it at her keyboard.

Catherine is mother of three and grandmother of six. When she isn't writing or playing with the grandchildren, she sings in the church choir, attends Bible Study Fellowship, and prepares for her next move. After surviving nine moves in twenty five years, it's only a matter of time before her husband, Bob (who must be part gypsy) gets the urge to pack up and relocate one more time. Catherine limps along with these moves, grateful for the opportunities to keep from accumulating more stuff than Bob will want to move.

Payne & Misery, the first in the Christine Sterling Mystery series, won second place at the Orange County Christian Writer's Conference in 2010. In 2012, Ellechor Publishing House published the series. In Payne & Misery, Christine learns that pain is inevitable but misery is a choice while unofficially investigating the disappearance of her neglected and abused neighbor, Lila Payne. The second book, The Dunn Deal, finds Christine dealing with the nature of Truth as she investigates the murder of Deputy Baxter Dunn. In the third book, Parrish the Thought, Christine comes to terms with her own prejudiced heart while trying to rescue a teenager accused of murdering Nevada City matron, Bessie Parrish. Parrish the Thought placed in the quarter finals of the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.

My Review ~

Christine Sterling has a nose for trouble, and before giving trouble much thought she's in the thick of it. She can concoct a mystery from watching a handbag being filled with leftover food.  Her husband, Jesse, finds her insatiable curiosity tiresome, and takes off on long weekends to horsemanship events. A bit too observant in her spare time Christine conjures up scenarios that Jesse discounts as an overactive imagination until events lead to the mysterious disappearance of their dog.

Ed and Zora Jane Callahan are friends as well as neighbors. Much to Christine's annoyance Zora Jane has a penchant for prayer, which Christine perceives as a lack of seriousness regarding serious circumstances. Christine's imagination ruminates visions of suspicious activities in a neighboring house, and she persuades Zora Jane to accompany her to investigate. After discovering an anorexic appearing, unkempt woman at the house the suspense develops. One bizarre event leads to more serious consequences, and Christine increases the tempo in her quest for answers to bewildering questions.

"Payne & Misery" runs the gamut regarding relationship issues coinciding with an increasing perpetual suspense! Jesse and Christine are participating in their own activities with little quality time spent together. As the story develops, and Jesse becomes involved with Christine's concerns in the suspicious activities in the neighborhood, he and Christine rekindle a closer relationship, learning to pray together, and lean on one another, building a stronger marriage and faith. Ed and Zora Jane become more actively involved in the bizarre activities at the neighboring house, and as concerns turn into possible criminal activity the couples become a support system for one another. Zora Jane's propensity to pray impacts Christine's life, bringing her to discern the power of prayer and the positive effects that are produced. 

Catherine Leggitt is a masterful suspense author. This book was a complete surprise to me! Having won it in a contest some time ago, I virtually knew nothing about the book before I opened it up and began to read. "Payne & Misery" is not a book that you can put down to go for a walk or clean the house! This book is filled with suspense, just the right amount of humor, descriptive qualities that paint crisp distinct images, and a developing Christian theme that culminates in reconciliation. I highly recommend this fast-paced, suspense-filled, touching story of restored relationships, lessons in discernment, and resolution.