The Martha and Marya Mysteries Blog Tour

Emily Hanlon’s The Martha and Marya Mysteries follow two women—one impulsive and eccentric, the other practical and reserved—as they navigate friendship, faith, and murder in the coastal town of Pequot Bays, New York.

In Who Am I to Judge?, Marya Cook, a lavender-clad octogenarian nicknamed the “Purple Pest,” becomes obsessed with clearing a priest accused of murder. With reluctant help from church volunteer Martha Collins, she uncovers jealousy, corruption, and buried secrets among the town’s privileged residents. A Cloud of Witnesses explores the fallout of that case when a charismatic priest arrives with a radical agenda, stirring unrest and suspicion. And in The Wagers of Sin, Hanlon’s heroines find themselves drawn into an unexpected mystery at sea when a wealthy bride dies during her wedding vows—sending them from the Greek Isles back home to Pequot Bays in pursuit of justice. Together, the stories reveal how truth and faith intertwine, and how even the most ordinary people can challenge the powerful.

A former attorney, Emily Hanlon channels her years in litigation and arbitration into compelling stories about motive and morality. Her transition from courtroom advocate to novelist reflects her lifelong fascination with how people justify their choices. Now living in New York, she serves her church as a eucharistic minister and volunteer and donates all proceeds from her writing to charity. Visit her website or follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33530780.Emily_Hanlon

 

Author Q&A

 

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.

 

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.

 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HXiVKW

 

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