MURDER, SHE WROTE: CLOSE-UP ON MURDER (MURDER, SHE WROTE, BOOK #40) BY JESSICA FLETCHER & DONALD BAIN : BOOK REVIEW

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3 Star rating
 
Murder, She Wrote: Close-up on Murder
Murder, She Wrote #40  
By Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain
ISBN# 9780451240200
Author’s Website: http://www.donaldbain.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

murder-she-wrote-close-up-on-murder-jessica-fletcher-donald-bainSynopsis:

It’s a brand-new episode of the USA Today bestselling series—and Jessica Fletcher is finding out that some people in the movie biz can make you, break you, or just plain kill you…

Cabot Cove is about to be invaded—by Hollywood. One of Jessica’s older novels is being made into a big-budget movie. The producer has decided to shoot most of the film on location in town, since the book was loosely based on a murder that shocked Cabot Cove over a decade earlier.

The murder occurred when a judge was gunned down while walking her dog. The prime suspect: an enraged husband whom the judge ruled against in a child custody case. But further investigation pointed to the victim’s own husband—and ultimately to his mistress, accused of eliminating her rival.

Unfortunately, everyone on the set has a hidden agenda. A novice director wants his shot at the big-time. A fading star, making a comeback, has many unreasonable demands. Her astrologer sees trouble in the stars. And a stranger on the movie lot is stalking Jessica.

But fiction and reality fatally collide when the actress playing the judge is shot—the only witness her dog—and there’s a cast and crew of possible suspects. With tensions between locals and the Hollywood horde mounting, Jessica must find the killer before anyone else is left on the cutting-room floor.

Review:

I have been remiss in adding the Murder, She Wrote series to my cozy mystery reads…..So I shall start with this book…better late than never!  As I begin reading, having watched the TV series, I get a visual as if I were watching this story unfold on the TV.

The story is well paced with all the requisite components…a murder (actually more than one), a number of really viable suspects and Jessica with her great detective skills.   I found the personality of the Chihuahua (Cecil) accurately portrayed (at least from any experience I have had with Chihuahuas).  I must admit – I did become invested in what would happen to Cecil now that her owner had been murdered.

The number of twists to possible suspects, both to the original murder that the movie was based on and the murder on set of the production of the movie kept the book going for me.  Otherwise, the story line might have been a bit flat.

It was nice to revisit Cabot Cove in book format for a change.  I felt the characters were as they were on the TV series, so I felt a familiarity with the residents of Cabot Cove…like coming home to family.  Having thoroughly enjoyed this read, I will most definitely go back and read the remainder of the series as they are easy reads, just like I enjoy in the middle of winter sitting next to the fireplace with my cozy mystery and a cup of hot cocoa.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*