Killing in a Koi Pond
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

A visit to an old college pal takes a dark (but not too dark) turn when a renowned mystery author discovers a death that screams murder, at least to her. Delighted to be reunited with her old friend from Harrison College, Jessica Fletcher's curious about Willis, the man Dolores Nickens has just wed. After two failed marriages, Dolores may finally have found the soul mate she'll settle down with forever, and Jessica's cautiously pleased to make his acquaintance on a trip to Manning Hall, his impressive South Carolina home. But Willis raises Jessica's hackles: Though he's obviously warm to Dolores, he's the kind of guy who can turn his charm on and off. When he tries to fire members of his staff before a dinner party, Dolores must talk sense into him by pointing out that fired people can't serve guests. The one person Willis can never be upset with is his 9-year-old granddaughter, Abby, the apple of his eye, and of his bride's too, though she's grandmother by marriage rather than blood. His doting on Abby seems inversely proportional to his loathing of his son-in-law, Clancy, whose irresponsible lifestyle irks Willis to no end. But none of these domestic tensions mar Jessica's visit until Willis is found dead near the estate's koi pond. Jessica is instantly convinced that Willis has been murdered and equally convinced that her job as famed mystery author J.B. Fletcher will give her the insight to solve the case--if only she can convince the reluctant local sheriff of the same. A quintessential cozy that breaks no new ground and doesn't need to. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In the latest addition to this USA Today best-selling series, based on the hit television show featuring Jessica Fletcher, Jessica gets into the act when her favorite technician at the local nail salon is accused of murdering Nelson Penzell, co-owner of a fancy-schmancy art and treasure store in Cabot Cove, ME. Coauthor Moran is just getting involved in the long-running series.

In Fletcher and Moran's routine latest Murder, She Wrote mystery (after Death on the Emerald Isle), writer and sleuth Jessica Fletcher is at work on a new novel when former Cabot Cove Gazette editor Evelyn Phillips returns to the small Maine town to check in on her and Jessica's mutual friend, Bertha Mae Cormier. After Evelyn and Jessica visit Bertha Mae, they become less concerned with the addled letters she's been sending to Evelyn and more concerned that her young, handsome next-door neighbor, Martin Terranova, is taking advantage of her. Bertha Mae is clearly smitten with the decades-younger fitness junkie, and her friends come to suspect he's a serial predator intent on manipulating older people into granting him access to her finances. When Martin is found murdered, Evelyn's public distrust of him makes her the prime suspect. Jessica, however, believes one of Martin's other elderly victims has taken him down, and sets out to clear her friend's name. Fans will know exactly what they're getting into, but newbies may balk at the surplus of overdescribed tea times and the stilted dialogue. It's a forgettable installment in a venerable series. Agent: Kim Lionetti, BookEnds Literary. (Jan.)