In the fiftieth entry in this USA Today bestselling series, two timelines converge as Jessica Fletcher returns to high school to investigate the murder of an old colleague, while we meet Jessica as a young teacher solving her very first murder…Young Jessica Fletcher’s life couldn’t be more ordinary. She teaches at the local high school while she and her loving husband, Frank, are raising their … Frank, are raising their nephew Grady together. But when the beloved principal dies under mysterious circumstances, Jessica knows something is off and, for the very first time, investigates a death.
Present-day Jessica returns to high school for a colleague’s retirement party and has fun seeing familiar faces. That is, until the colleague winds up dead–and his death has mysterious links to Jessica’s very first murder case.
With nothing but her own instincts to guide her, Jessica embarks on a quest to find out what really happened all those years ago and who’s behind these murders. Because time is running out to catch this killer….
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When Jessica Fletcher sits down to be interviewed by a student from Cabot Cove High School, she is surprised to find the student bringing up Jessica’s first time solving a murder. No, it wasn’t at the launch party of her first book, but it was twenty-five years ago when she, her husband Frank, and their nephew Grady were living in Appleton, Maine. The principal where Jessica was a substitute English teacher was murdered, and Jessica helped solve the case. Jessica usually doesn’t talk about it, and she deflects again, but when she goes to apologize to the student later, she discovers that the woman who interviewed her wasn’t a student at the high school at all. Who interviewed her? What is her interest in the case?
Going into this book, I was concerned that this book was going to contradict things established in the pilot episode of the TV show, but it does a good job of explaining things so that this doesn’t happen. We do spend part of the book in the past, and all the transitions are easy to follow. I found both mysteries, past and present, to be very compelling, and I couldn’t put the book down until I reached the climax. Unfortunately, the climax is a bit over the top, which has happened in the books I’ve read in the series. Likewise, I did find that Jessica, Mort, and Seth spent more time sniping at each other than I remembered from most episodes of the show. On the other hand, Jessica has stopped swearing, which was a welcome return to normalcy for the character. This book is the fiftieth novel based on the show, and as a result manages to work in a few Easter Eggs that fans will enjoy. If you are a fan, you’ll enjoy this entry.
I enjoyed this story and the mystery drew me in. I enjoy that the author gives us more of a look into the vulnerability of Jessica Fletcher – we are taken behind the curtain to her thoughts and feelings. An entertaining installment all fans of Murder, She Wrote are sure to enjoy.
My mind has been blown. We finally (in a way) get to meet Frank and learn a bit about Jess’s life before Cabot Cove. We also learn about her first ever murder investigation and how it’s connected to a present day murder. Read in 2 days but it would have been 1 if the phone didn’t ring and EVERYONE didn’t have to talk to me as soon as the book was in my hand. (don’t you hate that?)
I’ve enjoyed all of the Murder, She Wrote books that I’ve read, and I’m glad that Jon Land is picking up so well where Donald Bain left off.
“MURDER, SHE WROTE: A TIME FOR MURDER” is the 50th entry in the best-selling book series based on the beloved, long-running TV series “Murder, She Wrote” featuring amateur sleuth and successful mystery writer Jessica Fletcher. This story is an involving mystery-within-a-mystery that engages the reader while giving fans a glimpse into the early adult life of the much-loved character of Jessica, who began her working life as an English teacher. The story line weaves action from the present day between Jessica’s recollections of the first murder case which drew her in twenty five yeas ago. Always a sharp-eyed observer with a keen, intellectual curiosity, Jessica could never lave a clue unturned, a question unasked, or a mystery unsolved. Author Jon Land has captured the essence of “Murder, She Wrote”–giving readers an irresistible taste of the flavor of the quaint Maine setting, the lovably quirky characters, and the undeniable knack that Jessica has for becoming immersed in murderous mysteries. I am a longtime “Murder, She Wrote” fan, and I greatly enjoyed visiting with Jessica and her friends, and I laughed at their banter. Following along with Jessica (at any age) as she rides her bicycle through the great mystery trails of life is always a special treat.
Book Copy Gratis Author
Wow, #50 in the Murder She Wrote series and I have enjoyed reading the books and watching the TV reruns. How about you?
We are going back in time to Jessica Fletcher’s first murder investigation, her publisher.
It was the inspiration for Jessica Fletcher becoming a mystery writer, but, more than that, bodies are falling and they all lead back to the high school she used to teach at and the murder of her publisher.
Back and forth we go,
I was led down false paths, following one red herring after another. We have plenty of bodies and suspects making it difficult to find out the why and who and how they are all connected.
I love that I am at 91% and still guessing. Great job Jon!
Well…that was one wild ride to the end. It’s hard to imagine the books still going strong at #50, but Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land keep on giving.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A Time For Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Jon Land.
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I love this fabulous 50th in series! It is a wonderful start to the next 25 years of Jessica’s adventures! In this stunning, intense mystery, Jessica takes us back to a place and time she rarely mentions – Appleton, Maine, when she and her late husband Frank were very happily married and raising their nephew, Grady. Characters are likable and well-developed. The mystery is challenging, culminating in an intense battle. The plot is finely detailed and executed.
Jessica meets with a student reporter from Cabot Cove High’s newspaper. The teen is dressed to portray an older, serious journalist. While Jessica is impressed with her demeanor and the information she has gathered about her, she doesn’t want to open that chapter of her life again. At least not to the public. Even the high school. She gently shut the door on those questions.
Jessica has been staying at Hill House while her home is being refinished. It was set on fire by killers a few months ago, and she misses that beautiful Cabot Cove home she shared all too briefly with Frank. Her mail at Hill House includes an invitation to the retirement party of Wilma, a fellow teacher from Appleton High School 25 years earlier, to be held this Saturday in Cabot Cove. It has been at least ten years since Jessica last saw Wilma, at a bookstore where a signing was held for one of her books. It might be fun to see everyone again.
After thinking it through, Jessica decided to give the young reporter something that will help the future of her career. It’s time to open the curtains on that happy time of her life, even if it does take her back to the first murder she investigated, long before that party in London celebrating her first book publication. When she went to the high school to find her, the young woman she was introduced to as the reporter is not the person who interviewed her. As she wonders who, and why, someone wants to learn about her past, Jessica discusses it with close friends, Sheriff Mort Metzger, and Dr. Seth Hazlitt, who also happen to be her partners in crime-solving. That night, Mort learns that a woman matching that description is found murdered at a scenic overlook.
The young woman is Ginny Genaway, the younger daughter of Walter Reavis, the principal from Appleton High School and ex-wife of a mafia boss. Walter is also the subject of Jessica’s first murder investigation. How ironic that 25 years later, his younger daughter has met a similar fate.
I so enjoyed meeting the younger Jessica, who is as brilliant as she is today with her incredible talent to notice details that many would miss and connect dots before others even see them! I also enjoyed meeting Frank and a much younger Grady. A really fun surprise is that now-retired Cabot Cove sheriff, Amos Tupper, was a new detective in Appleton. Not only is it their first time working together, it is also Amos’ first murder investigation.
Jessica does has an amazing memory for the details of Reavis’ death and seeing what pieces might lead her to find his daughter Ginny’s murder. There are plot twists that left my head spinning, and while I had a feeling about much of the solution, I didn’t completely solve it. There were surprises throughout, with a powerful, incredible ending! I highly recommend this to everyone who is a fan of Jessica Fletcher, page-turning cozy mysteries set in Maine/ New England, with breathtaking moments and satisfying resolutions.
From a thankful heart: I received an early copy of this novel; a review was not required.