With compassion, wit, and a sharp eye for human contradiction, Emily Hanlon’s The Martha and Marya Mysteries explore the unlikely partnership between two women who use faith, intellect, and intuition to uncover truth in the face of moral ambiguity.
In Who Am I to Judge?, the quiet parish of Saint John of the Cross is rocked when a beloved priest confesses to the murder of a parishioner. Marya Cook, an eccentric octogenarian known for her purple wardrobe and Bible quotes, refuses to believe he’s guilty. Her search for justice draws in Martha Collins, a younger, efficient church volunteer who would rather stay far from gossip—or the strange old woman leading it. Yet together, they peel back layers of deceit in Pequot Bays’ affluent social circles, revealing envy, corruption, and hypocrisy in unexpected corners. A Cloud of Witnesses opens as the town tries to recover from scandal, only to find itself torn apart by a new priest and his cultlike following, Dies Irae. When tragedy strikes again, Marya’s peculiar reasoning and Martha’s practicality clash and converge as they unearth motives rooted in ambition and fear. In The Wagers of Sin, the duo travels beyond Pequot Bays aboard a luxury cruise to the Greek Isles, where an elderly heiress drops dead mid-vow at her own wedding. Surrounded by opportunists, heirs, and hidden resentments, Marya and Martha race to expose the truth before another life is lost. Through these interlocking mysteries, Hanlon examines faith as both compass and test—and friendship as its most steadfast form of grace.
Enjoy an Excerpt from 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.
About the Author: 
Emily Hanlon is a lifelong storyteller whose journey from the courtroom to fiction has given her writing both precision and heart. Raised in Texas and educated in Boston, she spent years as a personal injury litigator and later as an arbitrator, sifting through contradictory stories to uncover what’s real—a skill that translates seamlessly to her mysteries. A late-life convert to Catholicism inspired by her husband and sons, she now serves as a eucharistic minister and volunteer for the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Her novels reflect her belief that truth and compassion can coexist—and that justice begins with understanding. All profits from her books support charitable causes. Learn more on her website or follow her on Instagram and Facebook
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