Who am I to Judge? - A Review

 Review

WHO AM I TO JUDGE? By Emily Hanlon
The First Martha and Marya Mystery 

Martha Collins is very precise. Some might call her persnickety. Things must be done a certain way. Her way being the only correct way. A stalwart worker at St. John of the Cross she's beside herself when she has to deal with Maya Cook, nicknamed the Purple Pest. The old lady is rarely on time, dresses ridiculously, and talks in circles. Martha is eager to take a break with her dog Quincy, but when she finds things out of place at the home she rents out in Cooperstown and then finds the body of a cruel parishioner buried in her yard she immediately decides she knows who killed the horrible woman. Returning to Pequot Bays she learns that Father Jim has confessed to the murder. But she's stunned when Father Seamus tells her she needs to take the Purple Pest on a vacation to Cooperstown. Marya believes that Fr. Jim is innocent and surprisingly Martha begins to believe her. Now this mismatched pair will work together to find out what really happened to Enid. 

WHO AM I TO JUDGE? is the perfect title for the first Martha and Marya Mystery as well as Fr. Seamus' homily at Enid's funeral mass. It was interesting how the various parishioners found different meanings. Not only were most of the characters judgemental I found myself being judgemental as well, not warming up to Martha and criticizing her judgemental attitude! Despite Martha repeatedly saying it didn't matter what people thought of her, it did, why else would she deny friendship with Marya even more times than Peter denied Jesus! 

I admit it took me a while to get into the story as most of the characters were pretty horrible. Between Cyndi calling everyone "hun", she and her husband treating maids like garbage, the obvious cuckolding of same husband, and everyone looking down on Marya, I was unenthused. But once the worst character was killed, things started to get interesting! I loved Marya's unique investigative style and how Martha slowly began to appreciate and work with her.

One of my favorite bits is the way Martha utilizes the manner of death of certain martyrs instead of cursing and counting the number of popes who had been martyred to calm herself when getting frustrated. I also appreciated the various quotes throughout the book and conversations, generally humorous, about their attributions.

With dry wit and unforgettable characters WHO AM I TO JUDGE? is a compelling mystery with a moral.