About Mary the Author

Mary de la Peña- Author

Mary (M.J. Hatch) de la Peña is a Southern California criminal defense attorney, giving her special insight into the darker side of humanity. Always exploring fear and its impact on human nature, Mary plumbs the depths to find the hero within each character, especially in some of her most moving literature of her first two books, An Immigrant American Hero, and her memoir, Scruggs and Samantha, How a Shelter Dog and Kitten Saved Cinderella's Marriage. Also, using her experiences as a defense lawyer, she writes aggressively about murder in her Detective Jake Swanson murder mysteries, Murder Most Blonde, and Murder Most Judgmental, published under her maiden name, M.J. Hatch.