Murder, She Wrote--A Time for Murder

September 15, 2019
Jessica Fletcher (Murder She Wrote: Murder in Red, 2019, etc.) must review the very first murder case she solved in order to find a brand-new killer. When high school senior Kristi Powell, interviewing Jessica for a series on former teachers at Cabot Cove High, asks about her first real-life murder case, Jessica is reluctant to answer. But Kristi keeps pushing about the case, which took place 25 years ago in the halcyon days when Jessica and her husband, Frank, were raising their nephew and she was a substitute teacher in the nearby town of Appleton. A visit to the high school reveals that Jessica's interviewer was an imposter who's shortly found shot dead. In death, the phony Kristi Powell is finally identified as Ginny Genaway, a 33-year-old whose divorced father, Walter Reavis, was the high school principal whose murder first turned Jessica from teacher to sleuthing mystery writer. Ginny had an older sister, Lisa Joy, who's long gone from the area and a brother killed while serving in the Middle East. An invitation to a retirement party for former fellow teacher Wilma Tisdale brings back a flood of memories from the days when Jessica helped the local law solve Walter's murder. Now she's eager to help Sheriff Mort Metzger with this one. So is Ginny's husband, an incarcerated mob boss who sends a few associates to Cabot Cove just in case Jessica needs help. Slowly Jessica reveals the details of how the earlier case was solved and who was involved, throwing light on the current case, which features some of the same people. Ginny's mother is found living in an area lighthouse, and Lisa Joy may or may not be dead in what may or may not be an accident. Wondering who's targeting the Reavis family gives Jessica ample opportunity to reflect on her storied past. A nostalgic portrait of the past illuminates a tricky case that's one of the heroine's best.

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September 30, 2019
Jessica Fletcher becomes entangled in mysteries past and present in Land’s diverting fourth novel—the 50th in the overall series—to feature the indefatigable writer-sleuth from Cabot Cove, Maine (after Murder in Red). When a local high school journalist interviews Jessica, she wonders why the girl persists in asking about the first case she investigated 25 years ago, despite her expressed opposition to revisiting the painful event. At that time, Jessica was an English substitute teacher dreaming of a writing career, and the victim was high school principal Walter Reavis. When other deaths occur in the present, Jessica is convinced that the murders are connected to Reavis’s murder. Recalling the details of the first case, she delves into the complex relationships of the principal’s loved ones and co-workers and concludes that a vendetta might exist against Reavis’s family. Readers will enjoy appearances by Jessica’s familiar associates, including retired sheriff Amos Tupper and current sheriff Mort Metzger, as the action builds to a nail-biting climax. This long-running franchise remains as strong as ever.

November 1, 2019

It's been 25 years since Jessica Fletcher solved her first murder mystery. Now, she's being interviewed for a high school newspaper, that initial case comes back to haunt her. She was a high school substitute English teacher when she helped police detective Amos Tupper investigate the murder of the school principal. Jessica was a keen witness even then, helping to narrow the time frame to find a liar and killer. At present, the young interviewer turns out to be older than Jessica thought, and she's related to the victim from 25 years earlier. It's a retirement party for a teacher from that same school, though, that brings a new murderer out into the open. The combination of Fletcher's first case with a contemporary one is perfect for the 50th book in the popular series. Characters from Jessica's past, including retired sheriff Tupper, return to add a nostalgic element to the story. VERDICT Although there are so many implausible elements, including the startling climax with a freighter and a lighthouse, fans of the cozy mystery series will be eager to pick up this latest book. [See Prepub Alert, 4/22/19.]--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2019

Here's the 50th entry in the USA Today best-selling series, which has 4.5 million copies in print. The narrative travels back to Jessica's very first murder investigation, when she's a young high school teacher puzzled by the principal's mysterious death, then veers to the present when Jessica travels to the retirement party of an old colleague--who also ends up dead.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.