Introducing: the Connie Murphy Mysteries

           In keeping with our regularly-irregular Books In A Series postings, Wild Women Authors is delighted to feature author BarbaraHelene Smith and the Connie Murphy Mysteries, a set of short contemporary mysteries which feature a senior drug investigator with the Food and Drug Administration. The stories are based on real cases from the author’s seventeen years’ experience as an FDA investigator.

First up is the protagonist, FDA investigator Connie Murphy.

Good morning, Connie. Thanks for joining us to talk about the series and yourself. Let’s begin with how you would describe yourself. I’m passionate about protecting public health and safety. After graduating from college, a neighbor, who worked for the Social Security Administration, suggested I look for a job with the Federal government. That’s how I began working with the Food and Drug Administration. An investigator is very much like being a detective. I must find ingenious ways to uncover how and why products fail, especially when people are less forthcoming, hide documents or fail to tell the truth.

How do you do this? I’m trained in interviewing and interrogation techniques and keep asking questions until I get the right answer.

Tell us about your job. What do you do exactly, and when, why and how? The best part of the job is no two days are ever the same. The FDA inspects a wide variety of products - food, drugs, medical devices, and blood banks. The investigators have a monthly work plan to inspect manufacturers to ensure they are adhering to government regulations. The assignments are sometimes interrupted to follow up consumer complaints, medical emergencies or special investigations. As a senior drug investigator, I also audit clinical trial studies for new drugs.

Is there potential for danger? Technically, no. However, while conducting some routine inspections, intrigue and danger sometimes intervene, and I occasionally find myself in threatening situations.

Can you give us some examples? Most problems occur at the Mexican border when identifying and stopping prohibited substances from entering the United States. On one stakeout, I was shot when I got caught in a crossfire between the FBI and a drug cartel. I was also kidnapped on assignment in Puerto Rico and left to die in the ocean.

Your life seems very busy. Do you have time to date? Occasionally. I’ve dated Tex Marshall, an FDA investigator I first met in Utah and then on assignment in Puerto Rico. Steve Morrison, a homicide detective, is a good friend of my brothers and I’ve known him for years. I met Drew Brown, a fraud detective when he interviewed my Aunt Agnes and me as witnesses to an extortion case.

Who won your heart? You’ll have to read the stories to find the answer.

Thanks for this, Connie. Now we’d like to chat with BarbaraHelene.

Which writer or character[s], from either books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on your writing? I read a lot of mysteries. Some of my favorite authors are Louise Penny, Michael Connolly, Lee Child, David Baldacci, Steve Berry, J.A. Jance, just to name a few. I’m also a big fan of television mystery shows.

Regarding research, obviously you write what you know but did you need extra research for any of the individual books, and if so, where did you start? I start with the basic facts from the FDA case. However, when dealing with some pharmaceutical problems, I must do extra research. I have a degree in biology, so I understand most of the chemistry, but I need to get the readers to understand the specifics without getting too technical.

What makes each story in the series different? Each story highlights a different aspect of the FDA and is based on real cases with only the names changed to protect the guilty.

About the first three mysteries in this series:

Book 1—Death by Dysfunction: Connie investigates a pharmaceutical-related death that takes her to Puerto Rico, where the drug was manufactured. There she teams with Tex Marshall, an investigator with whom she had a previous romantic encounter. Together, they uncover evidence of an illegal Internet operation. It takes Connie’s investigative training to locate the drug cartel’s headquarters and her athletic prowess to escape death.

Book 2—Sidelined by Steroids: While Connie is in southern California instructing new investigators, she is assigned to participate on an Interagency Steroid Task Force. The Task Force doesn’t take Connie’s female presence seriously. Undeterred, she attacks their make-work assignments with her typical stubborn determination and uncovers vital information. She is convinced another illegal steroid shipment is imminent, but the Task Force is too busy to listen. She travels alone to the Mexican border to follow the suspect shipment, biting off more than she can handle and putting her life in danger.

Book 3—Trials and Tribulations: Connie’s assignment is to audit a clinical trial for an off-label drug use. While reviewing records at the pharmaceutical manufacturer, she observes a suspicious report from one of the study sites. She visits the doctor conducting the testing and learns the Study Director and all the case files are missing. Her ensuing investigation leads to industrial espionage and murder.

What's next for you? I’m writing a novella, “Uprooting the Family Tree”, about a woman who travels to California to learn more about her birth mother, only to discover everything she’s been told is a lie. While working with a retired police detective, she gets entangled in a twenty-five-year-old cold case involving rape, kidnapping and murder. The book should be out as an e-book and paperback this summer.

All of the Connie Murphy Mysteries can be found in print as well as pub formats at Amazon.com

About our Feature Author: BarbaraHelene Smith is a woman of mysteries. Like most writers, she has a story to tell. Inspired by intrigue, she uses her experience from academia, government and private industry to plot suspense stories. The Connie Murphy Mysteries are based on her seventeen years as an FDA investigator.

She belongs to several writing groups: Lilac City Rochester Writers, Wild About Writing and Novel Ideas. Her stories and poetry have been published in the Barnes and Noble’s Halloween Anthologies (Horrendous Halloween, Howling Halloween, Hair Raising Halloween), IdeaGems, The Storyteller, Adventures of the Average Woman, Tough Lit, and Cruisin’ Style Magazine. “Merry Christmas to You” won the May 2006 International Library of Poetry Editor’s Choice Award.

BarbaraHelene has also published Assume Nothing, four short mysteries about ordinary women who find themselves in extraordinary situations while looking for the truth. When not writing, she likes to travel, hike with friends, work on genealogy, and volunteer at the local animal shelter.

Contact BarbaraHelene Smith at bhs.author@gmail.com.