In Take It to the Limit by Linda Opdyke, the main characters, Ethan and Mickey, in this fast-moving, intriguing, and gruesome murder mystery, are drawn into a web of murder and redemption. They discover that two homeless camps are linked to these murders. The characters lead the reader through the maze of obstacles that keep getting thrown up every step of the way to solving the murder of Peter Hudson, whose uncle, Greg Hudson, is desperate to find his nephew. The circumstances in which the victims are discovered are not great; mostly, they have been starved. That’s when they discover that the murderer is using welfare organizations to get access to the most vulnerable inhabitants of the tent towns of the homeless.

Author Linda Opdyke has written a murder mystery that explores a most unusual and unexpected subject. When one sees a homeless people’s camp, you don’t think that someone would take advantage of them, misuse them, and even commit murder, thinking that they would get away with it because these are just homeless people and nobody will miss them. Take It to the Limit brings to light how many young children and adolescents are in these homeless camps due to no fault of their own, but the cards that life has dealt them. But the dedicated team of private investigators and detectives treat them as human beings and not throwaway people. It is a fast-moving story and holds the reader’s attention right until the end, which will surprise them, for it is not the ending that they will be expecting. It is a book that is well worth more than one read. I enjoyed it and found a whole new world in the tent towns that have erupted all over society. Looking forward to reading another book by this talented author.

Faith, Hope, and Murder by Linda Opdyke is the third book in the Take It to the Limit series. In book one, P.I. Michele Jenks searches for a missing girl while her P.I. husband, Ethan, investigates a sex trafficking ring. Their cases overlap, leading to deadly consequences and a race to stop a human auction. Book two sees Ethan investigating a staged robbery at a Nashville gala, uncovering a race for five million dollars, drugging, and murders. He and Michele trace the violence to his Kentucky hometown, until Michele’s kidnapping reveals a quest for revenge. Now, Michele investigates a missing teen in Trestle’s homeless camp and discovers he is dead. After an attack forces her to relocate, Ethan takes over. Together, they uncover a network of recruiters and a killer with twisted motives, leading to farms and underground tunnels.

Linda Opdyke’s Take It to the Limit: Faith, Hope, and Murder features strong, clear writing that immediately draws readers into Ethan and Michele/Mickey's marriage and the gritty world to which they transition. This is part of a series, but reads comfortably as a standalone, although skipping the other two books means readers are missing out on excellent mysteries. Opdyke provides multiple perspectives, mainly from Michele and Ethan, but others that home in on the drivers and personalities of both the environment and their characters’ decisions. Opdyke’s descriptions of homeless encampments and shelters create a stark, realistic atmosphere where risks are huge, biting harder through the use of symbolism, ie, objects like a chair, Bible, and candle, to include religious undertones and a new avenue of ritualistic questions. Overall, Opdyke really does take the story to the limit, and readers who enjoy novels like Hearn Hill's I Wish You Missed Me will absolutely love this. Very highly recommended.