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.

Have a Little Faith

With Christmas just a few days away, I thought I'd take a look at the Religious subgenre of cozy mysteries. Some cozies have characters of faith, but I don't consider them Religious Cozies. The Reverend Herb Jones is a supporting character (as are his cats Elocution, Cazenovia, and Lucy Fur) in the Mrs. Murphy series by Rita Mae Brown. For me, a Religious Cozy may not necessarily revolve around religion, but the protagonist is a member of faith.

Nuns seem to get involved in murder a lot! Two of my favorite series have nuns in the leading role. Sr. Mary Helen is an elderly, but very spry, nun who always carries around a mystery novel to read. What gives the Sr. Mary Helen Mysteries such verisimilitude, at least as it relates to the life of a religious, is that the author, Carol Anne O'Marie was herself, a nun. Both she and Sr. Helen belonged to the Sisters of St. Joseph, a Roman Catholic order. The series starts with A Novena for Murder and ended with the 11th book, Murder at the Monk's Table.

While the Sisters of St. Joseph work closely with people, some nuns are still cloistered, even nuns who face mysteries. Our Lady of Hope Monastery is a cloistered convent in New Mexico in the series by Aimee and David Thurlo. Sister Agatha serves as an extern sister, one who deals with the outside world. A former investigative reporter, Sister Agatha rides a motorcycle and has the help of a former police dog named Pax, who now lives at the convent.

If you want to go back in time, be sure to read the Sister Frevisse mysteries by Margaret Frazier. These books give a great look at the Medieval times, from a nun's perspective. They also give a jolly good mystery! The first in this series is The Novice's Tale.

Another of my favorite series sheds light on a whole religion, the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, also known as the Shakers. Deborah Woodworth takes us back to the 1930's and introduces us to Sister Rose Callahan in her series.

Nuns aren't the only clergy to be featured in mysteries, priests get involved as well. G.K. Chesterton wrote the Father Brown Mysteries in the first half of the twentieth century. Ralph M. McInerny wrote the Father Dowling Mysteries; remember the TV series with Tom Bosley? Ralph McInerny starred a nun in another series. He wrote the Sr. Mary Teresa Mysteries under the name Monica Quill. Who can forget Brother Cadfael, the 12th century monk and herbalist in the series by Ellis Peters?

It's not just those of Christian faiths who find murder. Ruby Rothman is a rabbi's widow in Eternal, Texas in the humorous Ruby the Rabbi's Wife Mysteries by Sharon Kahn. Harry Kemelman gave us the Rabbi Mystery series, following Rabbi David Small.

If you want to add a little religion to your reading, give one of these series a try!