Books for Christian Girls: "Over Maya Dead Body" by Sandra Orchard

About this book:

“FBI Special Agent Serena Jones arrives on Martha's Vineyard with her family, ready for a little bit of R&R and a whole lot of reminiscing as they celebrate the engagement of an old family friend. But crime doesn't take a vacation, and she's soon entangled in an investigation of a suspicious death tied to an antiquities smuggling ring.
When her investigation propels her into danger, Serena must stay the course and solve this case before anyone else dies. But just how is she supposed to do that when the two men in her life arrive on the scene, bringing with them plenty of romantic complications--and even a secret or two?”

Series: Book #3 in the “Serena Jones Mystery” series. Review of Book #1 Here! and #2 Here!

Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of talks about God & witnessing; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, clergymen, & religious artifacts; A few mentions of a time when Serena & God weren’t on speaking terms (an uncle noticed and talked to her about it); A few mentions of faiths; A couple mentions of a hymn; A mention of a youth group; A mention of Precious Moments figurines;

*Note: A few mentions of statues of Maya gods; A couple mentions of luck (which Serena really doesn’t believe in); A mention of a fertility-goddess pendant.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dimwit’, a ‘shoot’, two ‘idiot’s, three forms of ‘dumb’, and four ‘stupid’s; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling & a bit of sarcasm; Being tasered, being kidnapped/stuffed in a trunk, being choked, fighting, gunfire, pain, & passing out (semi-detailed); Gunfire, screaming, pain, blood/bleeding, & injuries (up to semi-detailed); A fire, smoke, flames, bombs, & gunfire (up to semi-detailed); Cut brakes & a car crash (up to semi-detailed); Guns are aimed; Tackling someone; Throwing up; All about mentions of antiquities smugglers, looters, a smuggling ring, stolen antiquities, thieves/criminals, & crimes; Many mentions of murders, deaths, dead bodies, how they happened, & the killers/attackers (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of drugs, dealers, smuggling, a drug lord, & drug rings; Mentions of a car hitting someone, a hit-and-run, gunfire, injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, bloodstains, needles, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of being attacked/hit, injuries, a fire, bombs, gunfire, shooters, bullets, & nearly being shot (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the mafia, mobsters, mobs, & ties to a mob; Mentions of foul play, enemies, bruises/marks, blackmail, & threats; Mentions of a plane that was shot down & pain; Mentions of terrorists; Mentions of robberies & break-ins; Mentions of jail & arrests; Mentions of dirty cops; Mentions of bars/pubs, drinking, & drunks; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of a fire that took a set of parent’s lives; A few mentions of possible kidnappings; A few mentions of setups & stings; A few mentions of a car hitting a deer; A couple mentions of a car accident & deaths; A couple mentions of World War II; A couple mentions of being hit (Book #2); A couple mentions of carbon monoxide poisoning; A mention of children dying from malnutrition; A mention of poison; A mention of poker; A mention of bird pooing on someone’s head;

*Notes: Mentions of singers, songs, actors, actresses, characters, movies, & TV shows; Mentions of a brand name (Land Rover).

Sexual Content- three hand/wrist kisses, two finger-to-lips touches, a hair kiss, an almost kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and an semi-detailed kiss; A few talks about kissing, a kiss, & staring at lips (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Warmth, & Butterflies/Shivers (up to semi-detailed); Some Noticing & Smelling; a ‘hot’; Many mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends, girlfriends, fiancés, exes, lovers, & being interested in someone; Mentions of remembering a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of staring at another’s lips; Mentions of kissing & kisses; Mentions of public displays of affection; Mentions of honeymoons; Mentions of winks & flirting; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of other couples kissing; A couple mentions of having a type; A mention of hooking up with someone; A mention of an illicit rendezvous (that didn’t happen); Thinking about love, falling/being in love, & romance; Some love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;

*Note: A mention of hormones; A mention of testosterone; A mention of a man noticing a woman’s tight pants; A mention of someone trying to cover their butt (not with clothes, but with an alibi).

-Serena Jones, age 29
1^st person P.O.V. of Serena
349 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I’m an emotional mess right now. I really don’t want to say much for spoilers—if you’ve read this book, feel free to message me—but I did really, really enjoy this trilogy. I’m also having a hard time being very vague in these final thoughts were nobody can guess (based my reactions) to who Serena picked. I don’t want to spoiler that for anyone.

There were many parts I loved and parts I was so excited about being right on prior guesses. The action and plot kept me guessing on who did the crime and why. I so enjoyed this novel along with the previous two in the series and plan on reading whatever this talented author puts out next. :)

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!