In the radio business, numbers is the name of the game, and if talk show psychologist Maggie Walsh wants to stay one step ahead of The Swine Report, she would have to stoop to drastic measures -- even if that meant having a psychic on her show. And when Madame Chantel Carrington's appearances light up the switchboard, Maggie is fairly sure she'll have the last laugh over the ratings after all.
But when Madame Chantel predicts the demise of two of Cypress Grove's citizens at a sΓ©ance, Maggie begins to wonder if there is some substance to this psychic stuff after all. And when it's discovered the two victims had attended the recent opening of the city's time capsule, well, the clues from beyond begin to add up, and it's up to Maggie to make her own predictions as to who the killer is.
Fans of cozy mysteries will be glad they dialed in to catch STAY TUNED FOR MURDER, the latest book in Mary Kennedy's Talk Show Radio Mystery series. Kennedy's main character, Maggie Walsh, is smart and sensible with the right touch of bemused skepticism necessary to be a good amateur sleuth. And you can't beat Maggie's momma, Lola, for quirky and sassy!
Add in a great mystery and a sizzling touch of romance with Maggie's hunky boyfriend, Detective Rafe, and I predict that you are going to love this lively and fun-filled tale.
Maggie Walsh, Floridaβs newest radio talk show psychologist,
thinks that being tucked away in her studio will keepher
safe from all the crazies. But when she hits the airwaves,
thereβs no telling whom sheβs reachingβand who wants to
reach back.
Maggie is a natural on the radio, but sheβs still learning
how to play the ratings game. Her big guest star is
self-proclaimed oracle Madame Chantel, whose on-air βchatsβ
with the dead are the talk of Cypress Groveβuntil Chantel
makes some grim predictions at a seance and one of the
townβs most beloved citizens is found murdered.
Meanwhile WYME is busy promoting the opening of a fifty-year
old time capsule. But the more Maggie learns about what
might be unearthed, the more she suspects that the timing of
the murder was no coincidence. The appearance of another
body has Maggie rushing to find the killerβand wondering if
there might be something to Chantelβs ghost stories.
You would assume that people who talk to the dead would be 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 βpsychic sensationβ 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 Fifth Avenue.
Big. Brash. Garish. Inescapable.
Oh yes. And full of hot air.
From her booming βHello dahlings!β 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 other-worldly 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 a few months ago 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 βbehavioral medicine.β
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 burn-out.
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.
Doctor Maggie, heal thyself.
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