The Martha and Marya Mysteries

The Martha and Marya Mysteries by @hanlon.emily follow two unlikely sleuths—an eccentric
elder and her sensible younger friend—as they navigate faith, justice, and friendship in a town
where secrets abound.

In WHO AM I TO JUDGE?, Marya Cook refuses to accept a priest’s confession of murder, and
with Martha Collins’ help, exposes the lies buried beneath the wealth of Pequot Bays. A CLOUD
OF WITNESSES tests their convictions when a priest’s radical following threatens to unravel the
community. And in THE WAGERS OF SIN, a luxurious wedding cruise turns into a crime scene,
leading to an investigation steeped in greed and heartbreak. Hanlon’s stories are both warm
and wise—celebrating faith as a force that questions rather than condemns.

Emily Hanlon writes from both head and heart. Her years as a trial lawyer and arbitrator
sharpened her eye for detail, while her faith adds empathy to her storytelling. A convert to
Catholicism and active church volunteer, she writes mysteries that blend intellect, morality, and
humor. 100% of her profits support charitable causes. Learn more at emily-hanlon.com.

TheMarthaAndMaryaMysteries #EmilyHanlon #CozyMystery #FaithAndFiction

WomenSleuths #MysteryBooks #ReadersOfInstagram #Whodunit #Bookstagram

@therealbookgal

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HXiVKW
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33530780.Emily_Hanlon

Q & A (from Cozy Up With Cathy)

In Who Am I to Judge? we meet Mary Cook, a Bible -quoting, lavender-clad octogenarian
known to locals as the Purple Pest, and Martha Collins, a much younger, efficient, ever-
busy church lady. Which of these characters do you see more of yourself in?
I am Martha, other than the age, (I’m older), the hairstyle (she has straight hair, and mine is
curly), and tidiness quotient (she is neat as a pin, I am…not!) We both are impatient, make
long, unrealistic to-do lists, and rather critical (which is a less critical way of saying we are both
judgmental, which is part of the reason for the title, Who Am I To Judge?)

In this first Martha and Marya mystery, a priest confesses to the murder of a parishioner.
Marya, however, believes he’s innocent. Have you ever believed in someone’s innocence
when everyone else felt they were guilty?
Being a lawyer and arbitrator for many years, I learned that things are seldom what they appear
to be at first blush. If one digs deep enough into the details of a situation, as Shakespeare says,
the truth will out.

Religious based mysteries are a popular sub-genre and have been since the Golden Age
of Detective Fiction. Father Brown and Rabbi David Small immediately come to mind.
What do you think is the appeal?
I think people expect religious leaders to have all the answers, to be somehow different,
superior to the rest of us. But my book turns the stereotype on its head, knocks the priest off the
pedestal, and replaces him with a ditzy octogenarian known around town as the Purple Pest.
Unlike the respect that would be shown to a priest or a rabbi, the suspects scoff at poor
dithering Marya as she unveils their murderous secrets.

What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
My first Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express, captured me and never let me go.

Tell us about your series.
In the first book, my two church lady sleuths meet and form their unlikely partnership, and then
try to prove the innocence of a priest who confesses to the murder of a parishioner; in the
second they try to discover who is killing, one by one, the members of a cult-like group led by a
fire-and-brimstone priest; and in the third they set sail on a cruise to the Greek Islands and seek
the murderer of an elderly billionaire businesswoman who drops dead during her wedding to a
much younger golden boy at the very moment of the “I dos”.

Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
My favorite is Marya Cook. She is based on an elderly woman from my church who dressed all
in purple and handed out laminated notecards inscribed with purple penned Bible quotes in her
perfect script. She was the closest thing to a saint that I ever knew.

Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
Quite a few years ago, I read that the two best-selling books of all time were the Bible and
Shakespeare, but Agatha Christie was a close third. And so, I thought, maybe I can combine
the two!

What made you decide to publish your work?
When I sat down to write my first book, I was in my 60’s and had never studied creative writing. I
had no thoughts of publishing it. I had no idea if I would even complete it! But, after you write a
book, what’s the next step? Why publishing! It took some time and a lot of effort, but I was
fortunate to find a publisher.

If you could have a dinner party and invite four authors, living or dead, in any genre, who
would you invite?
Alice McCormick, David Foster Wallace, Ross Douthat, Jimmy Akin.

What are you currently reading?
Finishing Charming Billy by Alice McCormick and starting Believe by Ross Douthat.

Will you share any hobbies or interests with us?
Swimming, tennis.

Name four items you always have in your fridge or pantry:
Mount Hagen instant coffee (my dirty little secret is that I prefer instant coffee to the real thing),
Dave’s Killer Bread raisin cinnamon remix bagels, cream cheese for the bagels, and razz-
cranberry La Croix ( I don’t like to drink plain old water).

Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
Yes. But I haven’t yet decided whether I want to abandon Marya for another sleuth.

What is your favorite thing about being an author?
Writing! I am usually like the Martha character in my book, with a list of 25 things on my to-do
list and impatient to finish one and get on with the next. But when I’m writing, I lose track of time
and place and am shocked when I look down at my watch and one, two, or even three hours
have passed since I sat down in front of my computer to work on one of my books.

Who Am I To Judge

Martha craned her neck to see over the Purple Pest and O’Hara, trying to get a
glimpse of her first set of suspects to no avail. She would have to squeeze by them.
GET OUT OF MY WAY!
As though the old woman could hear Martha’s screamed thoughts, she looked
up. She smiled, exhibiting a missing bottom front tooth, but Martha looked away. The
old woman spoke softly to Martha as she brushed past, but Martha ignored her.
Martha’s eyes narrowed in on her first suspect, Monica Byrnes, who sat praying
earnestly, looking up at the statue of St Joseph. Monica wouldn’t have the nerve to kill
anyone. She’d just worry her own self to death over Matthew, her no-good son. Martha
instead eyed Lance, sitting next to his wife, his handsome features unmarked by
concerns about anything other than himself. She followed his gaze and saw, with a
start, that it was locked on the shapely figure of her third suspect, Cyndi Higginbotham.
Martha looked from Cyndi back to Lance, and then she shook her head. No.
They might want to get rid of their spouses but not Enid.
She turned her glance to Higgy. It couldn’t be him. Higgy’s a jerk, a loudmouth,
and a blowhard, but no one who’s so generous to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal could be
a murderer.
Martha was puzzled for a moment until she recalled there was one more suspect.
She slowly turned toward the front of the church and saw the young man—tall, dark and
handsome—spotlighted by a ray of light from the large rose window so bright that dust
motes danced in its glare. What a shame he became a priest.
Fr. Jim Cartwright , the associate pastor at St John of the Cross, wore a gold
embroidered vestment that rustled majestically as he processed down the center aisle.
She looked him over, from his perfectly coiffed hair to his black leather shoes
shined to a mirror gloss, as she followed his progress toward the back of the church.
It’s him! He’s the murderer.
Martha sat down in a pew and remained in church long after everyone left,
drained of energy, her adrenaline spent. She trudged to the door that, as she opened it,
was a good deal heavier than when she had entered the church. Walking to her car, the
Purple Pest’s comment pushed its way into her consciousness. She stopped short.

Had the old woman really whispered, “It must have been quite a shock for you,
my dear. Discovering the body like that.” No. It couldn’t be. I’m exhausted. It must be my imagination.

A Cloud of Witnesses

He sputtered again. “A follower of his, one of my parishioners, and a lovely and faithful woman
at that, has died, and he’s washing his hands of her.”
“I heard him. Said it was a suicide. Are you going to do the funeral? Is it allowed?”
“Of course it’s allowed. We leave final judgement to God’s mercy, not to that…that…Father
Thaddeus. And yes, I’m doing the funeral in…” He glanced at the grandfather clock by the office
door. “Forty-five minutes. It’s Lisa Ward. Did you know her?”
Oh no. Lisa Ward. How sad. She was young, maybe in her forties, not much older than Martha.
Mousy brown hair, small build, with great big eyes, always looking about, blinking. “No, not
really. I mean, I knew her well enough to say hello. You know, from church.”
Father Seamus locked eyes with Martha. “Martha, I need your help.”
Martha raised an eyebrow. By the gunny sack of Saint Caesarius, the last time Seamus asked for
help, it was to investigate the murder of a parishioner. Could he think that Lisa Ward was
murdered?
Martha had a lot on her plate at the moment, but if Seamus needed her help to solve another
murder, how could she refuse? She felt a thrill of anticipation run down her spine.
“Well, Seamus, she did look her usual self last Sunday in church. Quiet as always, but friendly
enough. And after all, why should she commit suicide? She was married to the best looking guy
at Saint John’s. From my mailings, I know she lived on Pequot Island. So she was rich. But who
could have killed her? And why?” Martha grabbed a notepad from under a pile of papers on the
desk and took a pen from a ceramic pot serving as a pen holder. It had no ink, so she reached
over and took another, then another, until she found one that worked. She made a neat line down
the middle of the paper and wrote Suspects on one side and Motivation on the other. “Let’s start
with suspects.” She looked up at the priest, pen at the ready.
He stared at her, mouth agape. “Suspects? What are you talking about? I’m talking about Father
Thaddeus.”
Martha felt her cheeks redden. “What about Father Thaddeus?”
“I need your help to get rid of him.” He chuckled. “And I don’t mean by murdering him.”