Fit for murder
(Book)

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.)

Cabot Cove, whose population must be decimated by now, is rocked by yet another murder. Though she seems to attract as many murders as she solves, famous author Jessica Fletcher is beloved of her friends and neighbors. As she eats breakfast at the local luncheonette with one of them, Dr. Seth Hazlitt, they're accosted by Evelyn Phillips, former editor of the local newspaper, who's upset about the condition of Bertha Mae Cormier, an elderly woman apparently entranced by a much younger man. Concerned, Jessica looks into Bertha Mae's relationship with her next-door neighbor, Martin Terranova, owner of a health-conscious exercise and meditation studio whose classes are popular with both men and women. Well-liked junk collector Oscar Cisneros is arrested after he's found with one of Bertha Mae's antiques, which Terranova accuses him of stealing, but Jessica and Sheriff Mort Metzger are far from convinced of his guilt. When Terranova is found crushed by a barbell, Jessica takes time from researching her next book to investigate this new murder. Working with the editor of the Gazette, who's also quietly looking into a hot story of embezzlement that will shock the residents of Cabot Cove, Jessica does a deep dive into Terranova's background and finds that he had a shady past with other well-off elderly women. But is that the only possible motive for his murder? The redoubtable sleuth once again unravels several complex cases plaguing her beloved hometown. 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.)