Gang, I have a secret, in the last year or so I’ve kind of become entranced by an older woman.
Some days I spend three or four hours just watching her.
She’s a writer, a pretty famous one at that.
Her name is Jessica Fletcher and she’s also one of the best detectives working today…or 30 years ago, whatever, why quibble about details?
But when I recently discovered there were SIXTY ORIGINAL TIE-IN NOVELS, I became even more interested.
If you’ve been around on this site long enough, you’ll know two things I like are off the beaten path detectives and tie-in novels.
Be it Scooby-Doo, Monk, Shamble, or Psych, I just have a deep appreciation for the subgenre.
So when I recently acquired this first novel, I was a bit ascared, but I also was incredibly interested and started reading it immediately.
Does it respect the source?
And does it feel right?
Time to find out!
This is your as always chill, but deadly ***SPOILER ALERT***
When Jessica Fletcher heads to London to deliver the keynote speech at the International Society Of Mystery Writers convention, she quickly becomes embroiled, and even accused, in the murder of her friend and mentor, world famous mystery writer Marjorie Ainsworth.
With a scuzzy private detective, an overly eager village inspector, the lover of Marjorie’s slain protégé, and the Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard all on the case, can our Mrs. Fletcher solve her friend’s murder and still meet all of her obligations in London?
So this is what the kids mean when they talk about cozy mysteries and such, huh?
Well, I can get down with that.
Because as you can probably tell, despite the death of a friend and being accused of it, the stakes in this whole affair are low, and it makes for an oddly refreshing read.
At least compared to some of the bigger threats I come across in this style of story, where multiple people have their lives or careers on the line.
A realization I had while reading this is that Jessica Fletcher does a lot more leg work than your average detective, she doesn’t wait for all of the answers to just come to her like most.
She likes to get out and walk the town, she’s making phone calls, running down leads, and making connections.
If nothing else, this is what makes her one of the best at what she does.
One issue I have noticed in this book that bothered me early on, and come to find out it was a major sticking point for a lot of Fletcher-heads, is Bain playing fast and loose with the established Murde, She Wrote continuity.
On page one, Jessica says “I’d offered to drive”.
True Wroter’s know Jess never learned to drive, that’s why she’s often seen riding a bicycle around Cabot Cove.
My research has turned up that errors like this were once vastly more egregious and Donald Bain rewrote sections of the book to make it line up with the canon of the show more in or around 2000, I guess that one was just missed somehow.
My research has also uncovered what, at least to me, appears to be a conspiracy theory that Mr. Bain hated the series and never watched a single episode.
It was just a few scant posts, but these people were convinced.
I find that to be complete and utter horseshit for a couple of reasons.
1. He did too good of a job making it feel like the show for somebody that hated it.
2. I understand a job is a job, but the motherfucker wrote nearly two novels a year until his death in 2017 (one was released posthumously) and has his name on 47, that’s correct FORTY-SEVEN original Murder, She Wrote books.
There is no way in hell I could write 47 SpongeBob, Friends, or American Office novels, no matter how much you paid me.
I could be wrong now, but I don’t think so!
In the end, here’s what happened: I loved this book.
For quite a while now I’ve been out of sorts because I’m nearing the end of the Monk novels, but with this I think I have found a more than suitable replacement.
I can only hope the rest of the series is as well written and familiar as this one turned out to be.
And have no fear, I barely scratched the surface on the multiple plot lines in here.
If you dig this show there is absolutely no reason why you wouldn’t love this novel.
I can’t wait to meet up with Mrs. Fletcher again for another mystery.
Let us know what you think of this review in the comments below, share this post around the net with the Hashtag #TNBBookReview, or hit up our Linktree to find out where to connect with us.
If you like reading what we say around these parts, check out our 3 book! Our collection of original Horror Short Stories, The Camping Trip And Other Stories!
Our collection of non-fiction writings, Doomed: The Collected Essays & Reviews Volume 1!
And our book of original Sci-Fi & Fantasy Short Stories, Brimming With Adventure: Thrilling Tales Of The Nerd Blitz!
Hungry for more of that great Nerd Blitz content?
Head over to Patreon.com/NerdBlitzPod and join at the $5 level to get instant access to numerous Podcasts, Reviews, Audio Dramas, and so much more!
And finally, given the state of the world, do what you can to leave it a little bit better than you found it.
As difficult as that may be currently, it can have an impact far greater than you know.
Until next time, stay safe out there, gang.
