Patrick and Grace Mysteries

One of America's favorite senior sleuth duos

Grace Johnson, elderly New York City widow, "ran away from home, and at my age!" she says. Patrick O'Mally, retired New York cop, comes to her rescue by taking her to the homeless shelter where he volunteers. Grace quickly becomes their most valuable employee.

The fun begins when a priest from St. Patrick's Cathedral recruits them to help solve a mystery: the statue of St. Patrick has disappeared! They are led on a merry chase by a young girl, and along the way they just happen to solve the one murder case that has bugged Patrick for years, as well as get caught in the middle of an attempted poisoning.

IN ST. PATRICK'S CUSTODY is the first in the Patrick & Grace Mystery series.

Patrick O'Malley, retired New York City cop, and Grace Johnson, Jill-of-all-trades at the homeless shelter where she escaped in the first Patrick and Grace Mystery, take flight to Nebraska when they hear that Walter Schmidt, Grace's cohort from the kitchen at the shelter was found hanging in the apple shed. What seems ilke a perfectly simple suicide soon turns to a devious plot, with family secrets abounding on every side. Small town life is at its best, where outsiders are "suspects" from the start, but soon Patrick and Grace have a lineup of suspects of their own.

The primary clue is the letter to Patrick and Grace, which contained a key to a safety deposit box. In the box? A RECIPE FOR MURDER. But was it really worth killing for? Obviously someone thought so. It was a recipe, literally, "to die for."

Patrick O'Mally and Grace Johnson are a couple of senior citizen sleuths from New York City who have endeared themselves to readers around the world. Now they return in OLD HABITS DIE HARD: The Case of the Missing Mother Superior.

Sister Babs makes her first appearance in this Patrick and Grace Mystery. She is a hilarious psychic nun, who says "My habit has a habit of its own"--a secret pocket sewn to the inside of her habit in which she hides a bottle of Drambuie, which she insists she uses "only for emergencies."

Sister Mary Margaret, who does not like Sister Babs in the least, shares "Oh, yes, they say she only gets a 'vision' when she's 'in the spirit.' I've seen her in action; it's when she's 'in HER spirits!'"

This one is so much fun that if I were a Catholic I might be afraid of being excommunicated! Of course if you listen to the REAL news in the Church, this one seems pretty mild.

Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews says, "A prim and proper mystery, appropriate for all ages. I found the plot getting more and more interesting as curious, and often humorous, events led up to a fantastic ending. Author Janet Elaine Smith writes compelling mysteries that no one would be ashamed to have found by a teen on the book shelf or coffee table. I loved every minute reading this tale."

Hang your wishes on a Star--a Star* book, that is!