Chrism Press is pleased to announce its latest acquisition: the Martha and Marya mystery series by Emily Hanlon.
About the first book, Who Am I to Judge?
Martha, efficient and ever busy, loves everything about volunteering at her parish—except for the annoying presence of the elderly, Bible-quoting, lavender-clad Marya, known to the locals as The Purple Pest.
When a priest in the parish confesses to the murder of a parishioner, it seems that Marya is the only person who doesn’t believe in his guilt. Martha is not amused when Marya seeks her help to prove his innocence.
Although embarrassed to be associated with the odd, old woman as she accuses wealthy and influential suspects of murder, Martha is reluctantly drawn in. She realizes that this ditzy septuagenarian isn’t so ditzy after all. Together they dodge corrupt cops, untangle the truth of conflicting confessions, and save the priest who didn’t want to be saved.
About the Author
Emily Hanlon was raised in Texas, educated in Boston, and now lives in New York. She worked as a personal injury litigator for many years, first as a plaintiff’s attorney presenting the stories of injured clients, then changing sides and telling the stories of clients accused of causing those injuries. Finally ending up as an arbitrator, she publishes over fifty decisions a year that seek to unravel the truth behind those always contradictory versions. A life of listening to witnesses and sifting through facts has prepared her well for creating the complex entanglements of murder mysteries.
Having converted late in life after watching the joy that faith brought to her husband and three sons, she, like her sleuths in the Martha and Marya mysteries, now goes to daily Mass, is a eucharistic minister, and is active in the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Through her books, Emily shares her love of the church and of a good “whodunit.”
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