Deb Richardson-Moore

Deb Richardson-Moore is a former newspaper journalist who writes in the cozy noir mystery genre.

Her first three novels make up the Branigan Powers mysteries: The Cantaloupe Thief, The Cover Story and Death of a Jester. Branigan is a reporter in Georgia and is aided in her investigations by a homeless man who glides unseen through their small town. Disregarded by the townspeople, he sees and hears things that others do not — especially when it comes to mysterious deaths.

Deb’s first book was the 2012 memoir The Weight of Mercy, which tells about her post-newspaper career as pastor of the non-denominational Triune Mercy Center, a church that includes homeless parishioners in Greenville, South Carolina. Published by Lion Hudson of Oxford, England, the memoir has been used at Harvard and Duke Divinity Schools and was named to the Reading List for United Methodist Women worldwide.

Deb and her husband Vince are the parents of three children. They live in South Carolina.

The Last Beach Town

Sloane Cheney has no intention of ever returning to the South Carolina island town where she grew up. She enjoys her life in the big city and teaching at the college there. The thought of revisiting the place where her mother deserted her family is too painful.

But when Aunt Millicent, town matriarch and owner of the family’s beachfront property, is murdered, Sloane must go back to sign off on the sale of the grand family home to developers. She soon finds that old friendships have shifted, as townspeople disagree over the development that would reshape their sleepy village. Sloane is directly in the line of fire, under suspicion by the police chief because of her inheritance and by her former neighbors who question her long absence.

With family members and old friends swirling treacherously around her, Sloane doesn’t know who to trust, especially after a nearly fatal accident in the beach house. She digs into her family’s history, uncovering new information about her mother’s disappearance. What she discovers raises questions: Was her aunt’s murder a simple case of greed? Or was it related to her mother’s long-ago vanishing?

Praise for The Last Beach Town

A riveting page-turner from a masterful writer that will keep the reader guessing until the end. -- Anna Simon, author of Kimberly's Flight

Well, I thought I had it figured out, but I never saw that one coming! -- BookBub reviewer Toni Masters

The Last Beach Town delivers more than just suspense - it digs into themes of loyalty, family, and the ways secrets shape our lives. It’s a smart, emotionally charged read that genuinely surprised me at the end—but all the clues were there along the way, which made the conclusion even more satisfying. -- Book Bub reviewer Samantha Moore

5-STAR FOR SURE! I love South Carolina coastal books, and The Last Beach Town checked every box! I read it in two days. -- Susan Tompkins

She does a fine job of keeping the reader off balance with new revelations and curve-ball plot developments until the final page. -- Amazon reviewer

Her choice of words brings a real sense of tactile knowledge to the reader. One can smell the salt air and feel a relationship to the people. This book is hard to put down. -- Amazon reviewer Bigi Ritter

The Last Beach Town

Praise for The Last Beach Town

Other Books by Deb

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