The Cantaloupe Thief (Branigan Powers Mystery) (A Branigan Powers Mystery)

A crime novel set in NE Georgia, USA, and featuring a reporter, Branigan Powers, who is commissioned to investigate a cold case, an unsolved murder of a wealthy widow ten years previously. She enlists the help of Malachi Ezekiel Martin, a homeless man who is both a possible suspect and a possible sleuth: the idea being that homeless people get overlooked, and hence see things that are concealed from the rest of the population. An important twist in the story is that Branigan's own twin brother is a derelict, his promising career destroyed by drugs. This is the first in an intended series of novels featuring Branigan, Martin, and Branigan's friend Liam, who runs a shelter for the homeless.