REVIEW: Murder She Wrote - A Date With Murder

Murder She Wrote - A Date With Murder
Author: Jessica Fletcher :) Donald Bain, Jon Land

I absolutely love Murder She Wrote! I watched the show faithfully each week when it was on television in the 80s and 90s, and I have my DVR set to record reruns even now. I've probably seen every episode at least 10 times. Angela Lansbury was perfect in the part of Jessica Fletcher, a retired teacher and amateur sleuth in Cabot Cove, Maine. She toodled along on her bicycle and solved murders. It was just great television.

A Date With Murder is the first novel based on the show that I have read. I'm so glad I did -- I loved it!! As I read the story, I heard the dialogue in my head in the voice of the actors....Angela Lansbury, Tom Bosley, William Windom. I could visualize the picturesque seaside of Cabot Cove, the characters, the story as it unfolded...and even imagine Jessica's horror as she discovered her friend, Hal Wirth, motionless on the floor of his kitchen during a party at his home. It was like getting to enjoy a new episode of Murder She Wrote after all these years. Some books just make you happy in your heart...know what I mean?

The basics: A Cabot Cove businessman dies after having a massive coronary at his home during a luncheon. After Hal Wirth's death, it is discovered that his finances were in ruin. His memoir reveals that he was unhappy in his marriage and actually used an online dating site once trying to find happiness with someone else. When strange information pops up about the dating site, Jessica begins to investigate the service to see if the site somehow had something to do with Hal's financial ruin and subsequent death. She discovers there is a whole lot more going on at LOVEISYOURS.com than just matching people with dating partners.

I enjoyed this story. It moved along at a nice pace and there were plenty of twists and turns in the plot, plus plenty of suspects. Because this is the first Murder She Wrote book that I've read, I didn't notice any of the differences in writing that some other reviews mention. Donald Bain who wrote the earlier books in the series passed away, and this book was written by another author, Jon Land. I thought he stayed true to the characters, but I'm basing my opinion on the television show and not any prior novels in this series. I did enjoy reading a new Jessica Fletcher mystery, so I plan to go back and read the earlier books. A Date With Murder is the 47th book in the Murder She Wrote series, so I'm not sure if I will read them all....or just cherry pick a few that sound particularly interesting. But I know I will enjoy any of them! I love the television show and the characters! It's always great to re-visit Cabot Cove!

Jon Land is the author of several mystery/thriller novels including the Blaine McCracken series. I enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading more of his work.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Berkley Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**