A year ago, my daily activities looked completely different from today. I’ve gone from being an ICU nurse, to caregiver, to international healthcare consultant, to a researcher at a biopharmaceutical lab. Maybe this constant shifting is a cusp thing. Given my birthdate, I’m an old Gen Z who just missed being a Millennial by twenty-five days. My mom says I keep changing jobs because I’m indecisive. Harry Lancaster — former client, now colleague and friend — calls me brave. He says I’m not afraid to pivot when something doesn’t feel right. I’ll take his version.
Anyway, more change is coming (sorry, not sorry, mom). I’ve signed up for criminology classes this fall at Westerly College. Why? Because Harry and I trip over a dead body every few months and then solve the murder like a boss. We’ve caught two killers in less than one year!
You might be thinking that nursing school didn’t prepare me for this plot twist, but really, it totally did. Being a good nurse requires a lot of the same skills that detectives need.
First off, nurses have to be able to read people. Patients lie to you constantly — not maliciously, just out of embarrassment or fear. You have to learn how to tell if people aren’t being honest and how to catch what they aren’t saying, like with a hesitation, flinch, or too-quick answer.
Nursing also makes you really detail oriented. In the ICU, nothing is minor. The tiniest detail can make the difference between the right diagnosis or a wrong one. That same instinct is exactly what you need to study a crime scene or notice clues.
Another critical requirement for nurses and detectives is the ability to stay calm when everything around you is on fire. There’s no time to spiral when a patient is crashing — you triage, prioritize, and act, almost without thinking because your response is so routine. Okay, I’ll admit, there was that one time that I full-on fainted when someone pulled a gun on me and Harry. But the second time that happened, I stayed standing. Progress.
Although, if I had to pick the one skill that makes me really good at investigating, it’s empathy. In nursing, empathy isn’t optional — it’s something you have to have because when you genuinely sympathize with your patients, you’re better at taking care of them and making them feel safe. That makes them more honest with you, and they end up with better care. When witnesses and suspects feel the same, they confide in you, and that’s how you get to the truth.
So my days now have me doing desk research in a lab and I’ll soon be a student again. I have no idea what will come after that, but knowing Harry and the mayhem we get pulled into, no matter what I decide, there will be more adventure.
Can’t wait!!!
A FIELD GUIDE TO DEATH & DECEIT
Series: A Harry & Emma Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: September 2026
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link
Widower and anthropologist Harry Lancaster and his Gen Z colleague Emma are back for more murder and mayhem when they stumble upon a dead farmer.
When an odd request leads Harry Lancaster to agree to meet his former sweetheart Willow at a farm on the outskirts of town, Emma’s suspicions run high, and she insists on joining him. Instead of Willow greeting them when they arrive, they discover the farm’s owner dead, with a corn rake embedded in his back.
After being interrogated by the police, Harry and Emma return to his home to find a bereft Willow, who admits she lost her life savings in a real estate scam involving the farm. Worried Willow will become the main murder suspect, Harry decides to help her, despite Emma’s concerns.
To bring the swindlers—and murderer—to justice, Harry recruits his potentially shady, financial-whiz brother and a neighborhood teenage hacker. Then Willow’s realtor is declared missing, and Harry’s brother is caught up in the fray.
As the team unearths clues, they increasingly dodge danger in their race to save Willow and Harry’s brother before anyone else turns up dead.
About the author
Michelle L. Cullen has lived and traveled all over the world: from working as a (decent if powered by enough espresso) bilingual secretary in Paris to backpacking around Europe, Central America, and Southern Africa, to helping to rebuild communities after war throughout Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific. She studied anthropology at Melbourne University in Australia and sociology at the London School of Economics in England. She currently lives in Annapolis, Maryland, where she’s busy doing yoga, playing outside, or plotting murder. She’s a proud member of SinC, ITW, MWA, and The Authors Guild.