Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Payne & Misery by: Catherine Leggitt

Title: Payne & Misery
Author: Catherine Leggitt
Publisher: WestBow Press
Pages: 313
Series: A Christine Sterling Mystery #1
Format: Paperback
Source: Pump Up Your Book Promotions

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?

My Thoughts: 

This book starts out with Christine Sterling spying on her neighbors. She is convinced something isn't right even though her husband Jesse reminds her how they moved into a low crime neighborhood.   That doesn't stop Christine's wandering eyes or her imagination.

When Christine starts to investigate her neighbors the Payne's that act really weird Lila Payne never goes anywhere just hides in her house and Will Payne who seems sketchy at best always taking off everyday to who knows where.  Christine brings a basket of food to Lila Payne hoping to find out what is going on in the Payne house.  Lila Payne a scared and deathly sick looking woman, who won't eat anything red, and acts like an abused person.  Which fuels Christine's curiosity into what is really going on.

One night Christine and Jesse's dog Molly goes missing which cause's the Sterling's to search high and low for their beloved pooch.  They find the dog's tags in the Payne's garage and nothing else.  Some time passes and Christina and her friend Zora Jane find out Lila Payne is missing.  That along with Molly missing really puts Christine in over drive to find out what is going on.

What they learn leads them to more questions one involving a crime from a long time ago.  It takes hiring a private investigator and prior police officer to get to the bottom of what is going on with the Payne family.  Where is Lila Payne and where did Molly go?

This book was incredible a great story for all cozy lovers.  Had lots of twists and turns I was just drawn so deeply into the story and loved meeting all these characters and seeing what they offered.  A definitely great story.  I can't wait to read her next book.

Next in this series:


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