Books for Christian Girls: "A Fool and His Monet" by Sandra Orchard

{{This is an updated review. Originally posted March 14^th, 2016, it was updated on July 1^st, 2017 to the Official Rating System.}}

About this book:

“Serena Jones has a passion for recovering lost and stolen art--one that's surpassed only by her zeal to uncover the truth about the art thief who murdered her grandfather. She's joined the FBI Art Crime Team with the secret hope that one of her cases will lead to his killer. Now, despite her mother's pleas to do something safer--like get married--Serena's learning how to go undercover to catch thieves and black market traders.

When a local museum discovers an irreplaceable Monet missing, Serena leaps into action—and a whole lot of trouble.”

Series: Book #1 in the “Serena Jones Mystery” series. Review of Book #2 Here!

Spiritual Content- Prayers; A Scripture is quoted and mentioned; Mentions of prayers, praying, bargaining with God, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of church, church going, & church members; A few mentions of God; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A couple mentions of worship bands; A few mentions of nuns; A mention of a church’s youth group; A mention of divine judgement; A mention of Mother Teresa;

*Note: the phase “guilty as sin” is said once.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blast’, a ‘deep doo-doo’, a ‘kick-butt’, a ‘moron’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘what a crock’, a ‘wuss’, two ‘crud’s, four ‘stupid’s, eight forms of ‘idiot’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); A mention of a rude gesture; Some eye rolling; Fighting, Pain & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed): Guns are aimed & fists are thrown (up to semi-detailed);
All about mentions of felonies, stolen art, stealing, thieves & burglaries; Many mentions of murders, attempted murders, killing a partner, dead bodies, shooting, deaths, criminals, kidnapping, blood, knives & threats (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of pain, blood, injuries, & stitches; Mentions of hit-and-runs & setups; Mentions of fighting, fights, hitting, abuse, & bullies; Mentions of (what looks like) suicides, overdosing, & carbon monoxide poisoning; Mentions of drugs, dealers, & users (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the Mafia, mobsters, mob hits, & loan sharks (and one that is rumored to have killed those who owe him); Mentions of people selling & buying organs illegally (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a black market adoption agency; Mentions of being run off the road; Mentions of break-ins & stealing; Mentions of blackmail & threats; Mentions of prisons; Mentions of debts & gambling; Mentions of bars/pubs, bottles of alcohol, drinking, drinkers, & parties; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of divorces; Mentions of gossip; Mentions of rotting meat, blood & a butcher (some of it is from a nightmare); Mentions of cat catching mice (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of gangs; A couple mentions of passing out; A couple mentions of tattoos; A couple mentions of piercings; A couple mentions of smokers & smoking; A couple mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of a knitting needle in someone’s eye; A mention of horror movies;

*Note: Mentions of actors, actresses, singers, & movies; Mentions of brands (Gucci, Prada, Armani, Boglioli, ); A mention of Sears; A mention of the Boy Scouts.

Sexual Content- Remembering a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Touches & Embraces (up to semi-detailed); Noticing & Nearness; Blushes, Flutters, & Winks; Serena says, of course, to getting married first, then having kids; Many mentions of dating, dates, exes, girlfriends, boyfriends, wannabe-boyfriends, & being interested in someone; Mentions of unmarried couples living together; Mentions of winks, flirting, touches, & blushes; Mentions of crush & a Casanova; A few mentions of gold diggers; A few mentions of young girls getting giddy over the thought of holding hands with a crush; A couple mentions of smelling someone; A mention of a hint that a man had company part of the night; A mention of a (single) pastor running off with his (married) secretary; A mention of women getting off on guys with accents;

*Note: A couple mentions of shirtless men; A mention of testosterone; A mention of a man zipping his pants after using the bathroom; A mention of a dead naked body (no details); A mention of a man paying attention to a woman’s curvy body; A mention of a “friendly” woman in a skimpy outfit; A mention of a long-legged woman.

-Serena Jones, age 28
1^st person P.O.V. of Serena
323 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Okay, that was fun. Can I say that about a murder mystery? Hang on, let me explain: the back cover makes it sound like her grandfather’s murder is a large part of this book. While it shaped Serena’s career choice and is mentioned a handful of times, I wouldn’t say it was the main part of this story. Truly, the murder parts and such were really light and pretty clean...more about the art thieves & paintings. It was really interesting with neat tidbits thrown in. I really enjoyed the first person POV and humor. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the series! Also, #TeamNate all the way! Hahaha! ;)

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!