Omicidio in primo piano. La Signora in Giallo

Murder, She Wrote #13

by Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain, Barbara Murgia (Translator)

Scrittrice e detective navigata, con una lunga carriera alle spalle, a Jessica Fletcher non era mai capitato che un suo lavoro fosse tradotto in pièce teatrale. Le luci di Broadway l'attendono, ma presto Jessica si scontra con la difficile realtà dell'ambiente dello spettacolo: sceneggiatori arrivisti, attori poco dotati e produttori arroganti. Tutto normale, ma il gioco si fa duro quando uno dei produttori dello spettacolo viene trovato morto.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Crime, Mystery Thriller

261 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Jessica Fletcher (born Jessica Beatrice MacGill, and writes under the initialed J.B. Fletcher) is a fictional character from the US television series Murder, She Wrote.

In keeping with the spirit of the TV show, a series of official original novels have been written by American ghostwriter Donald Bain and published by the New American Library. The author credit for the novels is shared with the fictitious "Jessica Fletcher." When the first novel in the series, Gin and Daggers, was published in 1989 it included several inaccuracies to the TV series including Jessica driving a car which she could not do as she never learned to drive. Due to fans pointing out the errors, the novel was republished in 2000 with most of the inaccuracies corrected.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. One of the better in the series! A five? Close. Perhaps it failed to make the leap because I had a feeling who might have been responsible for a string of murders in the Broadway theatre world. Burying the essential clue is an art form for mystery and thriller writers. I think of John Sandford with his Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers novels as one of the best. A few here were only an inch down. Jessica Fletcher has recently released her latest novel, Knock 'Em Dead, and her agent thinks it would be a hit as a play. I've always thought that part of Jessica's characterization is a combination of Agatha Christie and her elderly spinster, the fictional Jane Marple. Christie wrote numerous plays, including The Mousetrap, the longest running play of all time. Everyone hopes Jessica's will rise to such heights, but there are clouds on the horizon. There's a serial killer haunting the theatre district, and when Harry Schrumm the play's producer is found dead of a knife wound, who do you think is suspected? The actors explode in disarray. Then Jessica herself is attacked on the sidewalk. She eventually does her thing. That's the idea. I enjoyed it! (Au2022/Se2025)

[Donnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, fun story!

[Juliet Minerva Swift · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for the 2020 O.W.L.s readathon
MUGGLE STUDIES: book from the perspective of a muggle (contemporary)

This has many of the elements that appear in every single book of this series before this one, such as:

- Jessica going to a very expensive hotel in a nice city (what author is paid so much/gets given such expensive suites?)
- The press assaults her every time she appears after the murder is discovered
- Seth calls her to tell her she should go back home where she would be safe
- Mort calls her and offers some sort of police service (usually he offers to come to her and protect her, here he sends a bodyguard)
- George Sutherland makes a completely useless appearance which could be spared as it makes absolutely no difference in the plot and I still don't get why he had to exist

But I have to say this may be the best book so far. I am not sure why I feel this way, maybe it is the time I read this, or the fact it was in Italian and the translation helped my enjoyment, or simply it was better written.
I like that we have one clue to try guessing the identity of the killer, it was a very simple and revealing clue (I immediately understood the whole thing) but it was quite reminiscent of the TV series, which was definitely nice, considering that these books usually portray Jessica differently.

The setting was good too, I liked being in a theatre where a show was being prepared. Compared to other books, here we have very little on New York. Jessica doesn't spend as much time as usual walking around and savouring the city, but it wasn't a bad thing. We had already seen Manhattan in her second adventure so I appreciated the decision to set this book only around the theatre itself.

Overall, this was such a fun and light read, the mystery was very simple but still enjoyable and exactly what I needed at the moment.

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

As per usual, I enjoy reading Murder She Wrote stories and this one, Knock 'Em Dead, is no exception. It's easy reading with hints to discover who the murderer is before it's revealed. I sort of guessed right in this story, at least partially. However, the writer keeps me guessing with other possible choices.
Even though these are murder mysteries, there is something about theses stories that takes my mind off daily issues and relaxes me. Even the TV series, especially the TV series, somehow calms my nerves and removes any tensions I might have and then many times, I snooze away. That might not be a good thing to say about the shows, but I love them and they are good bedtime stories. The reason might be, because they don't seem to apply in the real world. The books and the TV shows are simple, enjoyable and allows me to move on to whatever comes next in my life without added burdens; whereas, other books make me think. Did I say that right?

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A murder mystery written by Jessica Fletcher, based on the Universal TV series. Does than mean that the author's name is fictional? After all, the only picture presented is that of actress Angela Lansbury and the bio is limited to one sentence. Hmmm, a mystery in itself ...
Murder She Wrote, the TV series, has become a classic in itself. The book series - there appear to be a great many titles out there - seems to have grown a life of its own. As on TV, Jessica Fletcher lives and writes in Cabot Cove, Maine, with her friends, but is affluent enough to travel and live in good hotels for extended periods of time. Her novels are written in the first person, as if recollecting actual events happening in her life. As with the TV series, Jessica is very curious and inquisitive which either annoys the local law enforcement officers or intrigues them to actually ask for her input in whatever investigation is going on. Guess, as in real life, it depends on the personality of the local cop.
Knock 'em Dead is her latest publication and has been optioned to become Jessica's very first Broadway play. That in itself requires the mystery writer's presence in New York, where a serial killer appears to be on the rampage through numerous theatres. Can the murderer possibly resist affecting a play based on a mystery novel?
The book was supposedly written by Jessica Fletcher in collaboration with Donald Bain. There is even less information available on him, the bio simply states that they have co-written a great number of mysteries, with a list of the titles. Nonetheless, whoever does write the stories is doing a great job, with the actual culprit not becoming known until right to the end. A well-written suspense adventure and an easy read, with a straight-forward storyline. A typical Jessica Fletcher murder mystery.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

so boring and so rushed, not one of the best in this series

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this out loud in the car while traveling for Christmas, and that turned out to be pretty fun. I found this outing from Donald Bain to be pretty enjoyable with the New York setting and a fun cast of characters. Knock Em Dead features:

A story within a story
Rich jerks
The World Trade Center
Susan Shevlin's travel agent skills
Lovable doofus bodyguard
Police-provided winter coats 🪡
Halfhearted ghost story
Handily resolved serial killings
Jerk actors
Jerk acting coach
Cabot Cove-r travel groups
Rich jerk describes how to make martinis!

[Katherine Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica is traveling all over the place, from Cabot Cove to London to New York and back to Maine. Then she's going back and forth between the lovely Cabot Cove and the Big Apple. But it's not all about writing, it's about theater. Mrs. F is very excited that one of her books is being turned into a Broadway show. Little did she know that there would be some actual murders amongst the rewrites and acting. One of the more enjoyable, non-Cabot Cove stories.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the first of these I have read. It was a little strange because although the cover reads that this book is written by "Jessica Fletcher" it is written as though Jessica is narrating. It was good overall. I did like that it took me 3 nights to get through it so I was kept in suspense about who dun it.

[Melmo2610 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another enjoyable MSW read. The plot with one of Jessica's books being made in to a Broadway play was fun and entertaining with great characters and a great mystery. Well worth the read!

[Xina W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

En lite svag story som dröjer sig lite länge vid intrigerna på teatern. Misslyckas med att överraska.

[Lavender · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Jessica's books get made into a Broadway play. She travels to New York in order to be a part of the production process and ends up helping to solve a serial killer case.

[Mapi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m actually slightly disappointed in this book, because the conclusion seemed very rushed. Generally it is like every other Murder, she wrote. I spotted the clue to who the murderer was immediately, so from that point onwards, it was not as thrilling anymore.

[Aparna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stars: 3 / 5
Recommendation:
Since guessing at least one of the killers, and not quite satisfied with the other killer, I felt this book fell a little short of rating 4. Yet it’s a wonderful and fun and cozy story that keeps you wanting to read the next in the series.

Knock 'em Dead is the 13th novel in the long-running Murder She Wrote series co-written by Donald Bain & fictional writer Jessica Fletcher. It was first published on October 1, 1999. This time Jessica is pulled into the world of Broadway where one of her novels is being made into a play. But all the charm of Broadway is marred by murders and Jessica might be the next victim in the twisted mind of the killer.

This is my take on the series of books written by a plethora of authors and Jessica Fletcher (fictional author) based on the 80s and 90s popular American crime drama television series Murder, She Wrote. These books are ghost written by Donald Bain and fictional author Jessica Fletcher for the first 43 books until 2015. Then Donald Bain wrote these with Renee Paley Bain and Jon Land for four more books before Jon Land alone continued with Jessica Fletcher for 5 more books until 2020. Starting 2021 the series was picked by Terrie Farley Moran again pairing with the fictional writer Jessica Fletcher. As of 2023, 56 books have been written in this series. They are all written in first person narration.

I still cant begin to understand the careless and callous nature of Jessica when she talks about the knife incident with an actress in the theater play. Albeit the knife was a prop, it wasn’t a small incident to put it down as "silly misunderstanding". She is much more thoughtful about such incidents in the TV show. Bain portrays her differently in the book. However, readers will be pleased that she is back to solving her mysteries again.

We again see George Sutherland surface for a brief period of time in this tale. Although as of this 13th book, he had never come to Cabot Cove. I remember however reading the 32nd book, A Fatal Feast, (Yes, I had been reading them out of order and now started to read from beginning the ones I havent read yet) (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...) where George Sutherland finally visits Cabot Cove. Although since I havent yet read a few before this book he might have come to Cabot Cove in an earlier book too. **Shrugging my shoulders**

Since we are still a few years away from 9/11 incident in New York City, we see that references to the buildings have been made in the plot. We also see again history of many places that Jessica visits in NYC. Also she explains why NYC is called as Big Apple, interesting!

Of all the things that I didn’t expect to see was ghosts in this book. But again theater people are very superstitious so it seems fitting. But it was painfully obvious who was one of the killers at least. The other one was a surprise towards the end, not because the character was unexpected, but there was no explanation of motive other than saying that the killer was a maniac.

Since guessing at least one of the killers, and not quite satisfied with the other killer, I felt this book fell a little short of rating 4. Yet it’s a wonderful and fun and cozy story that keeps you wanting to read the next in the series.

Spoiler Alerts:

1. Plot Reveals:
a. People in the theater: Harry Schrumm, the producer; Aaron Manley, the playwright; Arnold "Arnie" and Jill Factor, backing the play; April Larsen; Cyrus Walpole, director; Linda Amsted, casting director; Priscilla Hoye and Joseph Scott, publicists; Joseph McCartney; Brett Burton; David Potts; Hanna Shawn; Pamela South; Charles Flowers; Victor "Vic" Righetti, manning the stage door; Peter Monroe, theater manager; Roy Richardson, acting teacher; Wade Agus, Assistant director; Jenny Forrest;
b. Other characters: Detective Henry Hayes, divorced; Detective Tony Vasile; Martin Willig, assistant manager of the hotel Jessica stays in NYC; Wendell Watson, Jessica's bodyguard, son of Gloria Watson;
c. I have read in a recent book that mentioned Broadway street in NYC as Great White Way. It fails my memory which one was that. But we see the same thing being referred here in this plot.
d. Wendell Watson becomes a rookie cop at the end of the book.

2. Sub Plots:
a. Friends of Jessica Fletcher: Dr. Seth Hazlitt, long-time friend in Cabot Cove, Maine; George Sutherland, senior inspector with Scotland Yard; Morton "Mort" Metzger, Cabot Cove Sherriff and his wife Adele / Maureen?; Eve Simpson, realtor friend working at Cabot Cove Realty; Sam Booth, mayor of Cabot Cove; Ethan Cragg, Cabot Cove’s chief town elder;
b. Literary contacts and friends: her publisher Vaughan Buckley of Buckley House, his fashion model wife Olga Buckley and their dogs Sadie and Rose; Harry McGraw, her private eye friend; Matt Miller, her literary agent & his wife Susan;
c. Other Characters appear frequently: Josh, the mailman; Jed Richardson, only bush pilot for Cabot Cove and owner of Jed's Flying Service, and his wife Alicia; Mara, restaurant owner of Mara’s Luncheonette; Hank Weathers, a homeless war vet; Seamus McGilray, manager of Hill House Hotel; Dick Mann, Fire Chief; Charlene Sassi, a baker; Susan Shevlin, travel agent and her husband Jim who is the Mayor of Cabot Cove; Professor Donskoy; Roberta Dougherty, bookstore owner; Richard Koser, photographer; Tim Purdy, real estate agent; Barbara DePaoli, Chamber of Commerce's secretary; Anthon Colarusso, dentist; Beth and Peter Mullin, owners of flower shop Old Tyme Floral; Sam Davis, investment advisor; Jack Decker, publisher of Cabot Cove's monthly magazine; Peter Eder, Cabot Cove's symphony orchestra; Bob Daros, owns Heritage Fuel; Tim Purdy, treasurer of chamber of commerce; Pat Hitchcock, Cabot Cove's popular nurse
d. Sheriff Metzger’s office staff: Deputy Andy Jenks; Deputy Jack;
e. Jessica Fletcher’s family: Grady Fletcher, nephew that she and her late-husband Frank raise, his wife Donna and child Frank;
f. In the 6th book, A Deadly Judgment, Dr. Seth Hazlitt is seen dating jury consultant Jill Farkas at the end of the book. Did that spill into any subsequent books? At least I don’t remember from reading either the 7th book A Palette for Murder or the 8th book The Highland Fling Murders. May be this was only pat of the 6th book plot.
g. George and Jessica continue to meet in every other book, increasing their intimacy. But I guess the romance will still have to wait.
h. From the 9th book, Murder on the QE2: Mary Ward has been a prominent character in this book. Will she resurface again?
i. From the 10th book, Murder in Moscow:
i. There is still no resolution as to who or how Ward Wenington was killed in D.C. and why Vladislav "Vlady" Staritova was killed in Russia. What was the connection?
ii. Alexandra Kozhina disappears at the end of the plot. And will she surface in another book?
j. From the 51st book, The Murder of Twelve:
i. Author Land gives considerable mystery to Seamus McGilray’s character. I wonder if he resurfaces in a future book.
ii. Towards the end of the book, Mort jokes that Jessica should run for mayor. Hmm…something to look forward to I suppose.
k. In the 50th book, A Time for Murder, Jessica is shown at Hill House, Cabot Cove’s very own Inn due to a fire at her Victorian home at 698 Candlewood Lame. I wonder if the 49th book, Murder in Red, has anything to do with her house getting caught fire which almost killed her.

3. Grammatical / Character / Plot / Geographical / Historical / Mythological Errors:
a. Mara owns a restaurant called Mara's Luncheonette. However, in this book we see that she has a dockside restaurant too. Does she have two restaurants?
b. Mort's wife in this book is named Maureen. But she was named Adele in the TV show…and also in the 50th book, A Time for Murder, she was back to Adele. Did author Bain correct it after feedback from the readers?

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Jessica's novels is being turned into a Broadway play. While the play is being rehearsed and the actors are getting ready for opening night the producer and stage door guard are murdered.
Naturally Jessica is determined to find the killer.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!! A+

[Allison Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seem to find Jessica much more palatable when she is away from her Cabot Cove cronies, so this installment, taking place mainly in NYC with a cast of strangers was quite enjoyable. Plenty of twists and turns to the mystery and I don't remember a single "Ayuh" in the whole book. Bravo.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an entertaining read, although I was able to guess who the murderer was after reading only 1/3 of the book. However, the author did put in an unexpected twist that left me completely surprised by the discovery that solved another mystery within the same storyline. Well done!

Being a former actor wannabe, I enjoyed this themed storyline because I could definitely relate to the egotistical personalities of the book's characters. And yes, there are plenty of them out there, including the stereotypical tyrannical acting coach. The book may be fiction, but I could see how the characters could easily have been "loosely based" on some of the real people I'd encountered in the acting world. The only token tyrant missing in this book was a character based on the real-life infamous talent agent to the stars (e.g. the one who helped found CAA).

[Laura Jayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few weeks ago (perhaps a fortnight?), I found this book in Waterstones, Gower Street. I used to love watching 'Murder, She Wrote' whenever it was on TV, I had actually met Angela Lansbury herself when she was starring in 'Blithe Spirit' in the West End... and I didn't even know these books existed.
So, I picked this one up - of course I did, it's a Broadway mystery!
Reading this book reminded me of the TV show, those cosy hours spent watching it. A fun, little mystery without any of those graphic, disturbing aspects all of these modern shows seem eager to include.
There were a few errors, like when Roy Richardson is suddenly referred to as Robertson, and I did solve the mystery far too easily, but I still loved this book. It's the kind you curl up with, wrapped up in a cosy blanket, a mug of hot chocolate in one hand, as rain patters gently on the windowpane on an autumn night.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm shocked to learn I'd probably not like any Mrs Fletcher's books, at least based on description of one of them in this installment. Some psychological daffy, no one detective character and overall impression that would be something more similar to The Chairs than to The Mousetrap.

The book in question is being turned into a Broadway play and Jessica is all participating in production, while the producer got murdered and there is a thatre-themed serial killer on the loose. There was a bit too little snooping and clues collecting by Mrs Fletcher, but I enjoyed the vivid description of the New York City and Wendell the bodyguard.

[Giulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been a great fan of the show since I was a kid, so I couldn't help myself when I saw the book in my local bookstore.
Of course, the name is fictional and whatever, but the book is seriously well written and literally brings you inside the tv show: intricate plot, mysterious characters and the villain revealed at the very end.
It is a very "light" book, one you would read like Sunday afternoon just to stay quiet and spend some fun time alone. Very nice!

[Alice Harbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery/Fiction. Didn't enjoy it as much as the TV productions. The book bogged down a bit in the middle. The characters were poorly developed and there were so many of them that I had to go back to check how they fit in to the story. There were many foreshadowings of who killed whom, with the exception of one person killed The ending was almost anti-climatic. Mildly entertaining.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining mystery, with both well developed plot and characters. It is a mystery within a mystery, and presents a dangerous challenge for Jessica. But, she is finally able to unravel it all at the end. These books are written in a style that maintains the spirit of Jessica Fletcher as played by Angela Lansbury. An enjoyable, fun read!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica travels to New York and faces great news—one of her works is being adapted into a hit Broadway musical. But with the Broadway murderer targeting hit shows, she’s a little leery of the whole thing... until she starts investigating by the request of the NYPD.

It was cute, but the killer was easily identified early on.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The clues were well laid out in this one. The timeline felt weird. The solution was a bit obvious and felt a little off. Today details about Broadway are much more well known and I had a hard time remembering what it was like in 1999, so I think that is why I didn’t like this one as much as I liked others.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so different than the typical Murder She Wrote books I couldn’t even finish it! It kept repeating things and described details way more than they should . Basically if they weren’t repeating one thing, they were describing a room down to the carpet fibers !
Was very disappointed. Maybe in a few years I can pick it back up and maybe like it better.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the title I thought this was going to be about professional boxing. Instead, Jessica has her new book optioned into a Broadway play. She has no more luck with a play than she’s had with film adaptations. A fairly good plot; I figured out one murder, but not the others. A bit slow at times; there were a few characters who were quite enjoyable, others, not so much.

[Katey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not bad, but I didn't think the plot was exciting throughout the book, until the ending came near and Jessica figured out the non-serial killer. It was the next book in the series and even made a reading challenge category, so that's always a bonus. Onto the next book.

[Ewa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit I really liked it. I like TV series, although it's quite shallow and not really convincing regarding crime stories. Book is maybe similar, but it was easy to read, nice characters, descriptions, action.