Stay Tuned for Murder

Table of Contents

 

 

“A breezy, quick read, with oddball characters and a warm, tropical setting.”

—The Mystery Reader

“A well-paced story.”

—I Love a Mystery

“[R]ich characters and a moving plot that will keep you guessing until the last wonderful page.”

—TwoLips Reviews

“With a lively cast of characters, including Maggie’s hilarious mother, and a spellbinding mystery to solve, Kennedy continues to delight and surprise her readers with this winning addition to the cozy mystery genre.”

—Fresh Fiction

“There is no doubt . . .
Reel Murder
is nothing but a win-win for the reader.”

—Once Upon a Romance Reviews

 

“If you’re thinking of committing murder in South Florida, beware of Mary Kennedy’s delightful radio psychologist, Maggie Walsh, one of the most appealing amateur sleuths to come along in years. Hook her up with Jessica Fletcher and no murderer shall ever go unpunished.”

—Donald Bain, author of the
Murder, She Wrote
series

“Tune in for a great new series featuring insightful Dr. Maggie, a radio talk show psychologist who says it like she sees it in a wry and clever debut. Huge fun.”

—Carolyn Hart, author of
Laughed ’til He Died

“Mary Kennedy’s smart and sophisticated radio shrink uses her wit and wiles to catch a killer. Frasier would be jealous!”

—Nancy Martin, author of the Blackbird Sisters series

“Floridians can claim another sleuthing marvel—and Kennedy has the beginning of a hit series. Charming, humorous, sassy psychologist Maggie Walsh is a cross between Carrie Bradshaw and Dr. Jennifer Melfi as she deals with flaky coworkers, a screen-siren mother, and the attentions of a sexy detective and a gorgeous hotelier. The plot lures the unsuspecting reader into the laid-back Florida coast before turning up the volume on the competitive world of New Age gurus.”

—
Romantic Times
(4 stars)

“
Dead Air
is a fun, fast-paced mystery set in steamy Florida with a bright, engaging heroine.”

—The Mystery Reader

“You definitely want to tune in to this one....
Dead Air
is the excellent start to the Talk Radio Mystery series. The characters are fresh, fun, and exciting.”

—The Best Reviews

“Mary Kennedy opens up her new amateur sleuth series with a delightful homicide that will keep the audience guessing just who the killer is.”

—Genre Go Round Reviews

“
Dead Air
has more twists and turns than an old country road!”

—The Romance Readers Connection

Other Talk Radio Mysteries by Mary Kennedy

OBSIDIAN
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First published by Obsidian, an imprint of New American Library,
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First Printing, January 2011

Copyright © Mary Kennedy, 2011

eISBN: 9781101481011

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Thank you to my wonderful agent, Holly Root. She accomplishes miracles and makes it all seem effortless.

Thank you to the excellent team at Penguin Obsidian for their enthusiasm, their creativity, and their marketing savvy. You’re the best.

I’m very grateful to my husband, Alan, my computer guru.

A big thank-you to Gail Link, author, friend, and RWA Bookseller of the Year.

A shout-out to the fabulous Becke Davis, talented author, dear friend, who does such a great job with the Barnes & Noble Mystery Book Club.

Hugs and thanks to Bob and Jill TenEyck, who continue to be my number one fans.

To Lieutenant Colonel Lisa Schieferstein and the brave men and women of the 389th Renegades. Thank you for your service. You are my heroes.

As always, thanks to Mark Bouton, fellow mystery author and friend, for all his expertise on crime solving, forensics, and the FBI.

You would assume that people who talk to the dead would be as pale as vampires, their luminous eyes filled with unspoken secrets and timeless wisdom. You would expect them to speak in hushed tones, their voices floating like whispers on a tropical breeze as they invoke spirits from the beyond. You’d probably picture them as quiet and introspective, pondering the mysteries of life and what lies beyond the grave.

You would be wrong. Dead wrong.

Chantel Carrington, the new “psychic sensation” in Cypress Grove, is none of the above. Everything about Chantel is larger than life, strictly va-va-voom. Think of one of those giant Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons bobbing over Manhattan.

Big. Brash. Garish. Inescapable.

Oh, yes. And full of hot air.

From her booming “Hello, dahlings!” as she rolls down the WYME corridors to her eye-popping Hawaiian muumuus, Chantel steals the spotlight every time.

Today she was the featured guest on my afternoon radio talk show,
On the Couch with Maggie Walsh.
She’s been on the show four times in the past two weeks, and I hate to admit it, but each time the ratings have skyrocketed.

It seems that my entire listening audience is jonesing to communicate with the dearly departed, and Chantel does her best to accommodate them. Cyrus, the station manager, is so thrilled with her otherworldly chats that I’m sure he salivates, just thinking about all that extra advertising revenue pouring into WYME.

Vera Mae, my producer, and I are less happy with the arrangement.

When I first arrived in Cypress Grove to host my own radio show, I’d been pretty naive about the topics I’d be covering. A former clinical psychologist with a cushy Manhattan practice, I’d gained quite a following for my work in what the shrinks call “behavioral medicine.”

Behavioral medicine is based on the idea that if you change your thinking, you can change your behavior, leading to a more positive mental outlook. No Freudian claptrap, no endless discussions of your dreams or Jungian archetypes.

But after a few brutal winters in the Big Apple, I’d become sick of the city, frustrated by the skyrocketing real estate prices, and worst of all, I discovered I was tired of listening to people’s problems all day long. Yes, tired of listening to people’s problems.

Some days I felt like I was trapped in a
Jerry Springer
marathon.

A shocking revelation, right? Practically career suicide to say it publicly, but there you have it. I was whipped, emotionally drained, with nothing left to give.

I had total burnout.

So what did I do? I diagnosed the problem and wrote my own prescription. I made an executive decision, as The Donald would say. I knew I needed a complete change of pace, and I made it happen. I closed up shop, transferred my patients to a trusted colleague, sold my IKEA furniture, and moved to a sleepy Florida town.

Dr. Maggie, heal thyself.

At least, that was what I thought I was doing. I picked a town that was more like Mayberry than Manhattan, a place that was north of Boca, not too far from Palm Beach, and a pleasant ride to Fort Lauderdale. As the chamber of commerce says, “Cypress Grove: we’re near everyplace else you’d rather be!”

I figured I’d use my clinical expertise and introduce my listening audience to the hottest topics in behavioral medicine, featuring the latest news in mental health issues. I’d select a topic and invite a fascinating guest expert to join me on the airwaves.

Except for one tiny problem. Where was I going to find a bunch of fascinating guests? It had never occurred to me that we’d have trouble persuading A-list experts to make the trek to Cypress Grove to appear on my show. We don’t pay our guests, so unless they’re hawking a book or a tape, there’s really not much in it for them, except for the proverbial fifteen minutes of fame. And all the stale glazed doughnuts they can scarf down in the break room.

When Chantel Carrington blew into town last month to promote her latest book,
I Talk to Dead People—and You Can, Too!
I invited her to do a guest spot on my show. It was against my better judgment, but I knew Cyrus would be pleased, and frankly, my ratings could use a bit of a boost.

During the last Nielsen ratings,
On the Couch with Maggie Walsh
tied for last place, right down there with
Bob Figgs and the Swine Report
. I was running neck and neck with a show that features pigs!

I had no idea Chantel would be such a huge success and, worst of all, that she would pick Cypress Grove as the perfect place to work on her next book. Before you could say woo-woo, she’d rented an apartment near Branscom Pond and was hosting séances in town.

So here I was, entertaining her as a guest on my show and making the best of a bad situation. I was making lemonade out of lemons.

Ironic, really, because this is the same annoying bit of advice I used to give my patients. Funny how our bromides come back to haunt us.