Payne and Misery, Catherine Leggitt (3 stars)

About Payne and Misery

Christine Sterling has developed a reputation for jumping to wild conclusions. With such an imagination, 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 then Lila and Christine’s beloved dog Molly both disappear the same night.

If no one will help her, she must find Lila and Molly herself. Heedless of possible consequences, Christine dives headfirst into a dark pool swirling with muddy secrets and misery. Her best friend throws her a lifesaver of prayer and soon she begins to sense God at work. But even with God’s help, can Lila and Molly be saved before it’s too late?

Purchase Link: AMAZON

Review

We all have neighbors who could single-handedly be a neighborhood watch committee. Christine Sterling is one of those type neighbors. One day, she notices some strange happenings at a nearby house, and she feels compelled to stop by and check it out. When she does, she meets Lila and notices some strange bruises on her. But things only get more disconcerting when Lila, along with Christine's dog, go missing.

Initially, everyone blows Christine's concerns off. Determined to find out what is going on, she follows her gut and finds clue after clue. Along the way, she discovers the importance of putting your faith in God.

Although there was something very endearing about Christine's character, the mystery of what happened to Lila was a bit too meandering for me. Just as the twists and turns pulled me in, the story would stall for a moment or go off in a different direction. However, Christine is an interesting and well-developed character, and I appreciated her journey and determination.

In the end, it's a light mystery with a charming main character. I especially recommend it to readers looking for a sweet story with Christian values.

Rating: 3 stars

About Catherine Leggitt 

Catherine Leggitt is an author and inspirational speaker. A native Californian born in the Bay Area, she raised two daughters, taught school, and cared for her aging parents in southern California before retiring to the north end of the state. Proud grandmother of six brilliant children, Catherine studies the Bible, reads, serves as a leader in Bible Study Fellowship, and sings in the church choir.

Catherine wrote a trilogy called the Christine Sterling Mysteries, which include PAYNE & MISERY, THE DUNN DEAL, and PARRISH THE THOUGHT. The first book won 2nd place at the Orange County Christian Writers Conference in May, 2010. It was published by Ellechor Publishing in 2011. THE DUNN DEAL and PARRISH THE THOUGHT were published in 2012 by Ellechor Publishing. PARRISH THE THOUGHT made the quarterfinals in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.

In addition, Catherine has completed a fourth novel with different characters called DYING TO BE NOTICED and coauthored a memoir for Sam Contino called STREET SMARTS.

When called upon to share her story, Catherine’s main themes come from Christine’s struggles in her books, which also happen to be some of the things Catherine struggles with. Thus, since PAYNE & MISERY addresses complaining, the first message, titled Always Choose Joy, centers on how to be thankful and choose joy instead of misery. The spiritual theme of THE DUNN DEAL exposes with the nature of truth. Merely having faith is not enough. What we believe matters. Catherine named the second talk, Always Choose Truth. In PARRISH THE THOUGHT, Christine learns to love unlovable people, so Catherine calls the third message, Always Choose Love.

Find out more about the author: WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

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Please visit other stops on the Payne and Misery blog tour page. 

Thanks to Pump Up Your Book for including me on this blog tour.

Note: I received a complimentary copy from Pump Up Your Book for review purposes. No other compensation was received. A positive review was not guaranteed or requested; the views expressed are my own.