Hello Mystery Lovers! I’m Helen Morrisey and I’m a real estate agent working in a small Maryland town at the very top of the Chesapeake Bay. When you inhale, you smell a whiff of fresh crab. I’ve never felt a need to leave home – other than during my college years. I’ve never inherited a B&B, a book shop, or a café. Not that I would have minded. I’m a get-up-in-the morning, down a coffee, bolt for my first appointment kind of woman. When I can force myself into exercising, I jog from my house, set on a cliff, to the lighthouse.

Tammi, my incredible assistant, tries to keep me on track. Showings, inspections, paperwork. In my world, most houses are ‘normal’ and rarely multimillion-dollar showcases. I drive a navy-blue Mini Cooper sedan because it reminds me of Nancy Drew, my first heroine. Fortunately, most clients today travel in their own cars, not mine. When their kids do scrunch in with me, I usually have to hose out Cheerios, Cheese-Its, and drink boxes at the end of the day.

I’m not a cook, although I love to eat. Twizzlers are my go-to food in between appointments. You can find them in my tote bag, my glove compartment, and my desk. Often dried out and dusty. I do love my downtime on my deck looking out at the Chesapeake with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or cabernet and a classic mystery. My cats, Agatha and Watson, like to join me. Ever since my husband, Andy, died three years ago, attractive men make me nervous. I’ve been vacillating about re-entering the dating scene. Let’s say I’m a very slow mover when it comes to romance.

My grown-up twins, Shaun and Lizzie, tell me my biggest problem is my obsession with being a fixer upper. By that they mean not just dilapidated houses in need of rescuing, but people who need defending. I’m afraid it’s a trait that goes way back to grade school days.

The first time I met Detective Joe McAlister of the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, I’d found a dead builder in a new model house. I told Joe that finding dead bodies was way more upsetting than dealing with picky buyers, demanding sellers, and diva agents. After a lot of years in the real estate business, I thought I’d seen it all. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

So, when it came to my first attempt at solving a mystery in Murder in the Master, I decided to form my own personal Detection Club of expert sleuths – Jane Marple, Jessica Fletcher, Nora Charles, Agatha Raisin, and, yes, Nancy Drew, to help me unearth the truth. My reference library is all the cases they’ve solved. Joe thinks I may have lost my mind, but reluctantly admits our insight comes in handy.

Jane Marple wisely observed that murder isn’t something to take lightheartedly. Something for all of us mystery lovers to keep in mind. In the meantime, I’m late for my next house showing. Hope we can catch up with each other again soon – without another dead body!

Killer in the Kitchen, A Chesapeake Bay Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy
Release: September 2022
Purchase Link

Murder is on the menu
A celebrity chef poisoned
A bay town reeling
A sleuth pursued
Real estate rule #2: How to sell a house fast—offer a drop-dead kitchen.

When real estate pro Helen Morrisey’s bombshell daughter, Lizzie, a popular home shopping network host, invites her to meet an internationally famous chef, Helen jumps at the chance. What woman doesn’t want to shake hands with a celebrity and do a little shopping at the same time? Even more intriguing, this culinary superstar is about to sell his waterfront mansion and it’s her opportunity to talk business. After all, he couldn’t choose a sharper agent than Helen, could he? That’s a job that comes to a dead halt when she walks onto the TV kitchen of Cooking with Roberto to find his blood dripping bright red into his signature dish and her daughter collapsed beside him.

Detective Joe McAllister arrives to take charge and is none too pleased to find Helen asking his questions. Their on again, off again, romance might sour when she ignores his warnings. Undaunted, Helen calls on the personalities and special skills of her Detection Club of famous sleuths to stir this investigation pot. It doesn’t take long before the explosive ingredients of off-camera jealousy, competition, and nasty rumors create a recipe for disaster. Helen has to solve Roberto’s murder before more tempers boil over and they all get burned.

Meet the author
Judy L. Murray’s debut novel, Murder in the Master – A Chesapeake Bay Mystery, is an IPPY Silver Medalist, a Silver Falchion Winner, and an Agatha Award Nominee for Best First Novel. Second in the series, Killer in the Kitchen, was released September 2022. A Philadelphia real estate broker and restoration addict, Judy has worked with enough delusional sellers, jittery buyers, testy contractors, and diva agents to fill her head with back-office insight and truth versus gossip. She lives atop a cliff on the Chesapeake Bay with her husband where she writes long after sunset. They’re buffeted by winds in winter and invaded by family and dogs in summer. She began her professional writing career as a newspaper reporter and magazine columnist. Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Find her at judylmurraymysteries.com.

All comments are welcomed.