Thea Gallas Always Gets Her Man

Remember that one book that makes you block everything else out, and you feel a kind of intense connection with? You never really want it to end. Thea Always Gets Her Man written by Kristen Panzer is a story told by Thea — the main character. Thea narrates her encounters with nursing mothers in her area who are in dire need of her services as an amateur lactation consultant. Although each case is different, somehow, Thea develops a natural talent for deciphering the code for successful and satisfying breastfeeding experiences. She also has her own little family drama, posing as a pregnant mother of two. But most of these life events have something else really substantial in the mix. Ms. Thea Gallas crowns herself as the neighborhood private detective. She was determined to solve the mystery of her neighbor, Mr. Groody, who reached out to Thea, hoping to be rescued from the debilitating grasp of his wife. But where was Mr. Groody? Did he finally leave his wife? The neighbors and the authorities doubted Thea due to her unending, and seemingly unhealthy fixation, on her next-door neighbor, Mr. Groody, and his fate. Even I began to feel Thea was over-reacting, over-reaching, and definitely pitching a far fetched story about Mr. Groody’s demise by the hands of his wife.

Thea Gallas Always Gets Her Man is a unique work because it completely relies on the main character as the storyteller, with a poignant, yet warm, voice. It is also unique because very few books that I have read have a dual plot, synchronized to create the perfect melody. Kristen Panzer makes the reader participate in Thea’s life — her sometimes questionable parenting skills, her intuitiveness, and her amateur escapades — in her quest for certification as a lactation consultant. In this dual plot creation, a feat as simple as Thea picking her child up from school or getting her kids ready for a small excursion outside the home is a precious moment. Those moments that were shared are just as riveting as the suspense of the gruesome mystery that was ultimately solved — quite a messy one — by far. How the author keeps the main character bobbing, as both the dedicated mother and wife drama and the persistent detective while skillfully merging both character sketches into one, was phenomenal. This book I highly recommend for readers looking for something a little bit different and a road less traveled approach to storytelling.