About the Book
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Jessica Fletcher has dinner with her old pal Harry McGraw and gets pulled into a puzzling murder case.
Invited to deliver a lecture at the Boston Public Library, Jessica Fletcher excitedly makes plans to see local friends. Naturally that includes dinner at Gilhooley’s with PI Harry McGraw. Harry excitedly talks about his latest client, the CEO of Cure All Pharmaceuticals, who’s received anonymous blackmail demands and wants Harry to identify the culprit. Cookie, Gilhooley’s longtime bartender, also has something he wants to tell he asked Harry to investigate his daughter Aileen’s boyfriend, who Cookie thinks is too slick by half, but now Harry is too wrapped up in this new case. While Jessica wonders how best to approach Aileen, the young woman stumbles into Gilhooley’s covered in blood. She just discovered her boyfriend’s corpse -- and quickly becomes the chief suspect in his murder!
My Review
Author and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher is off to Boston with her good friend Dr. Seth Hazlitt. Jessica is scheduled to give a lecture at the local library and decides to turn the trip into part work and part vacation. They take the opportunity to visit with old friends and acquaintances. One of those friends is Harry McGraw, a private investigator.
While having dinner with Harry at Gilhooley’s, the bartender confides in Jessica and Harry that he doesn’t trust his daughter Aileen’s new boyfriend. He asks them to investigate the guy. Before they can work out a plan of action, Aileen staggers into Gilhooley’s covered in blood…her boyfriend’s blood. She found his dead body and doesn’t know what to do. Instead of investigating him, they are now investigating his death. Of course, Aileen is now the main suspect in the man’s death.
Jessica and Harry work together to clear Aileen of all suspicion. They quickly learn the man had many enemies and any one of them could have done it. Their job is to prove that Aileen didn't.
The storyline moves along at a nice, steady pace. We follow Jessica’s thought process in solving a crime, as well as tag along in her social and professional life. I felt like I was right by Jessica’s side as she played investigator, author, and even a little bit of a tourist.
Jessica is surrounded by a well-developed, quirky supporting cast. Each character came to life on each page.
I was totally engrossed with this story. Jessica is so good at figuring these things out. I’m not so good, but I have fun trying. This is a page-turner for me. I couldn’t put it down. I did not guess whodunit. It's a very well written mystery that makes me crave more just like it.
I didn’t watch the Murder, She Wrote TV series, but I’m very familiar with the storyline behind it. I’m enjoying the books very much. I really need to go back and read the earlier books. Such an enjoyable mystery series.
For reading challenges:
Literary Escapes Reading Challenge 2025 (Massachusetts)
NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2025
Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 2025
FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I need to get this for my mom.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they are writing strong mysteries and staying true to the series that way.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this one too! I'm not a Murder She Wrote super fan but the episodes with Harry were always some of my favorites!
ReplyDelete