The Parlor PI's discussion
PI's, Murder She Wrote Fans, A Special Guest To Join Us In The Parlor Starting 1/31, Chpts. 1 thru 7.
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Tina
(last edited Jan 30, 2021 05:58AM)
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Jan 29, 2021 11:30AM
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Would love to join in. Went and purchased the Audible version. Print books take too long to arrive here. Even though we are in the middle of a heat wave, a snowed in book sounds a great way to keep cool.
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Good to see you again, Anastasia! Will be nice to chat mysterious doings with you and The PI's. So looking forward to it! See you soon. Thanx!
Hi Tina, I mentioned the discussion in the cozy bingo group as we have a Murder She Wrote challenge on at present and had a friend mention that she is interested but is unable to join due to email restrictions. Is there any way around this?
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We're expecting snow, too! Good reading weather!
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Nice of you to mention the discussion to your friends, Anastasia. I'll see if I can open group to public. Check back a few times and see if it works okay.
Done and done, Anastasia. She should be able to get in.
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Lucky you lot for having the perfect backdrop for this read. I have to contend with a view of palm trees and sunshine. However, there's a snap in the air where our heater checks off and on throughout the night and day. I'll take it! lol Either way, it's all good! Inn-joy much, PI's! ;-)
Tina wrote: "Anastasia wrote: "Hi Tina, I mentioned the discussion in the cozy bingo group as we have a Murder She Wrote challenge on at present and had a friend mention that she is interested but is unable to ..."Thanks Tina. I've let them know.
There's nothing wrong with palm trees and sunshine, Tina! I'll be ready tomorrow, too!
Hey, this is Jon Land, and I’m so happy to have been invited to “pop in” from time to time today, starting a bit later in the day around 5:00 EST. So if you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear them and will do my best to respond to all that are addressed my way here on this Goodreads blog. For starters, I thought you might like to hear how THE MURDER OF TWELVE happened. It was my fifth book in the Murder, She Wrote series and right from my first effort in the wake of Don Bain’s passing, A DATE WITH MURDER, it was probably clear to all of you that my approach to the series was going to be vastly different. I got the job because Don and I have the same agent. Don wrote all 46 of the previous titles, an amazing feat especially when you consider he never watched the television show starring Angela Lansbury on which the books were based. I, on the other hand, had seen the vast majority of the episodes but had never read a single book. So in taking over the series I made a conscious decision to go back to its roots and imagine what the books would be like had Murder, She Wrote come on the air in 2017 at the time instead of 1984. Not everyone was happy with the results, but I know in my heart my take on the series was far more faithful to the spirit of the TV show. I find “Jessica Fletcher” to be America’s own Agatha Christie and endeavored to make the books every bit the equal of the grand dame of mystery—hey, I’m nothing if not ambitious. So why not, I asked myself, write the Murder, She Wrote version of Christie’s most famed tale, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, which is also, arguably, the most famous mystery of all time. The TV show had done this in the classic episode entitled “Murder Takes the Bus,” in which Jessica and ten bus passengers are stranded by a storm at a roadside diner. Since she was already living at Cabot Cove’s Hill House Hotel after a fire damaged her beloved home at 698 Candlewood Lane a few books back. So the notion of being stranded in a historic blizzard with a dozen strangers being murdered one at a time fell right into place. Being a seat-of-the-pants writer, it was quite a challenge keeping everything and everyone straight and the most fun I had was when events occurred that surprised even me. That said, you should know that, unlike all my other efforts in the series, I knew who the killer was from the very beginning and built into the entire “puzzle” around…Well, I don’t want to give it away, since you may not have finished the book yet and far be it for me to spoil things for you. The book that followed THE MURDER OF TWELVE, MURDER IN SEASON, will be my last in the series because the publisher, Berkley, said they wanted to go in another direction. Suffice it to say those folks are not on my Christmas card list! Although I think highly of MURDER IN SEASON, I don’t think I’m capable of writing a mystery, or any book, better than THE MURDER OF TWELVE. It’s everything I set out to write and more. And I believe it’s the book I’ll most be remembered for in the series. Oh, by the way, it has the highest rating of any Murder, She Wrote book ever on Amazon and over 90% of the reviews have been 4 or 5 stars. So my approach may have been different than what readers were used to and my question to you before I sign off for now is, Did it work for you? Look forward to hearing your answer and your thoughts! Jon
Does this mean there will be no more Murder She Wrote books?
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And a thump on the head to Berkley for retiring JB for she, Seth, Mort and the lot have much more insight as to what MSW fans want than those buzz kills at Berkley. Hrmph Ah well-- We still have today and we'll enjoy that!
PI's, I'll start the first set of chapters (breakdown) here as this is where we're already gathered with several invites going out directing interested readers to this thread. This will be chptrs. 1 through 7. In a week or so, I'll post the next hunk in a new thread and so on.
Thanks for your participation, all. So, with a gentle crack of your book's spine, please settle back and Inn-joy, The Murder of Twelve!
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As for spoilers, just indicate one's coming up, drop down a few lines to escape readers' gaze and post away. TY!
Well, we wanted a snow themed mystery for Jan. and Mr. Land delivered. I love that he brought Seth, Mort, Mara's diner, Hill House along for this ride.
Oops, Metzer just got a call. Seems he's wanted at the old textile mill. But why?
Such a disappointment what the publishers are doing....I certainly have enjoyed all of this series but think this one is one of if not the best...the story flowed and kept me reading to see if I had it figured out before the murderer was revealed...and love that Mort and Seth were able to be involved in the background so to speak...and I adored the "Constable"!!
Hi Jon! I'm also about 1/3 of the way through the book, but should be finished tomorrow. I did notice that your approach was different, but I am really enjoying it. That's not to say that I didn't like Donald Bain's books because I enjoyed them, too! (How interesting that he'd never seen the series, and you had!!!). Okay, all that aside, I am loving the set up for everything! Murder Takes the Bus is one of my favorite episodes (poor Amos and his quest to win the big screen tv!!!), and And Then There Were None is my favorite classic mystery EVER. I hope that you'll be able to pop in tomorrow or later to at least read our future comments. :-)
I would also like to mention that I'm enjoying having Harry McGraw feature in the story!
Hello PIs!!! I will start reading tomorrow Welcome to the Parlor, Jon!
Anastasia wrote: "Does this mean there will be no more Murder She Wrote books?"Yes, but they will be written by another writer I've never heard of.
Mark Pghfan wrote: "Thanks for joining us, Jon. You may have noted above that I am about a third of the way through the book and enjoying is very much. The setting during a blizzard is really intriguing. Something I'v..."The thing I love the most about THE MURDER OF TWELVE is the fact that, other than the phone, Jessica is totally on her own, without anyone to rely on at least in person.
Tina wrote: "Welcome to The Parlor, Mr. Land. Thank you for taking time from your schedule to join us for our Jan. '21 Read & Discuss of your whodunit, The Murder of Twelve. That's good of you, especially since..."A pleasure to be here and you have gathered a great group!
Jon wrote: "Mark Pghfan wrote: "Thanks for joining us, Jon. You may have noted above that I am about a third of the way through the book and enjoying is very much. The setting during a blizzard is really intri..."Yes, let's hope the phone lines don't go down! :D
Joanie wrote: "Such a disappointment what the publishers are doing....I certainly have enjoyed all of this series but think this one is one of if not the best...the story flowed and kept me reading to see if I ha..."Ha-ha! What great comments and I love the fact that you mentioned the old textile mill. My original intention was to get to the storm and Hill House much faster. But as soon as I plunged into the writing, I realized we had to have 50 or so pages that set everything up and left some clues to be resolved later.
Nicole wrote: "Hi Jon! I'm also about 1/3 of the way through the book, but should be finished tomorrow. I did notice that your approach was different, but I am really enjoying it. That's not to say that I didn't ..."Nicole, I will definitely pop in tomorrow to see what you think after you've finished. So glad we're of one mind when it comes to MURDER TAKES THE BUS. But, indeed, what did Jessica do with that TV she won?
Nicole wrote: "I would also like to mention that I'm enjoying having Harry McGraw feature in the story!"Thanks, Nicole!! Me, too!!!
PugMom wrote: "Hello PIs!!! I will start reading tomorrow Welcome to the Parlor, Jon!"Look forward to your thoughts!!!
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Oh, Harry! How could I forget to include him on the list. Thanks for that, Nicole!
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It is a disappointment, Joanie. I hope the publisher comes to their senses and doesn't put JB and the gang out to pasture. They've much more life in them and not ready to be retired!
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Hey, PugMom, looking forward to seeing you here. Enjoy the read!
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Yes, but they will be written by another writer I've never heard of."
I heard the PTB were thinking of a whole new take on MSW with a totally different JB. Nothing I'd be interested in. :-(
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No spoiler here, but yikes, she really gets put through it with--
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Thank you, Jon. They are pretty special. They...we are The PI's! ;-)
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She watched MSW, of course...and some Columbos, Suchet and Hickson Christies! lol
Tina wrote: "Mark Pghfan wrote: "I'll be ready when we start. About a third of the way through the book at this point. 3-5 inches of snow expected here Sunday, though hardly the amount Jessica and Cabot Cove ar..."I think I actually wrote this book, let me see, in the spring prior to it coming out. But it would have been fun to have written some scenes while it was snowing. Kind of like a crazed version of virtual reality, kind of like watching the movie SPEED while on a bus trip or the original AIRPORT while flying somewhere!
Mark Pghfan wrote: "Thanks for joining us, Jon. You may have noted above that I am about a third of the way through the book and enjoying is very much. The setting during a blizzard is really intriguing. Something I'v..."You know, Mark, I've caught some flak for the back and forth banter between Mort/Seth/Harry and Jessica. I don't get it because it feels to me like this is the way the characters would talk if the series was on the air today. And you may have noticed I did make some tweaks to characters' back story like Mort Metzger being a Vietnam vet. I've also caught flak over the fact that I kept Mort married to Lucille. Don Bain had them divorced with Mort married to a woman named Maureen. But I love the fact that Mort's always talking about a wife we never once met while the show was on the air or in any of the previous books....until (Spoiler Alert!) MURDER IN SEASON!
Joanie wrote: "Such a disappointment what the publishers are doing....I certainly have enjoyed all of this series but think this one is one of if not the best...the story flowed and kept me reading to see if I ha..."Thanks, Joanie!
Tina wrote: "Welcome to The Parlor, Mr. Land. Thank you for taking time from your schedule to join us for our Jan. '21 Read & Discuss of your whodunit, The Murder of Twelve. That's good of you, especially since..."The good news is the morons at Berkley didn't drop the series--they just dropped me. The bad news is I suspect my replacement will not hold true to the spirit and ambition of my approach which was to give Jessica Fletcher the justice she deserves as America's greatest female sleuth.
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Q - Any of you ever see a body that wasn't part of a memorial service or the like? Do tell.
Something that's not creepy is there may be a giveaway as a part of this MSW book discussion. I'll sleuth more clues and see if it's red or blue herring in nature and let you know. ;-)
I just couldn't grasp Mort and Lucille not married to each other...even tho we never saw her on tv she still seemed real in the scenes she was talked about. And I loved the banter between Mort/Seth/Harry and Jessica. (Just my opinions!!)
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Either way, it's a loss all way 'round, Jon. :-(
Tina wrote: "I always thought it creepy when a character has to rifle through the pockets of a corpse. But then, that's something I wouldn't be able to do. Yes, I am a wuss. LOLQ - Any of you ever see a body ..."
Lots of bodies as part of my former occupation. Writing death certificates was part of the job but luckily no suspicious deaths.
Enjoying the book so far but don't seem to be as far in as everyone else. So far only the one body of the PI. Anticipating plenty more from the title.
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And I agree with you, Jon, that she is now active and confident while acting on her own.
I'm into the second part of the discussion already, largely because I know I will need to get the book back to the library by the 9th. There was a queue to receive it and so I probably won't be able to renew it!
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Joanie, it wouldn't do to have JB w/out Mort, Seth, Harry etc. As for Mort's wife, I'm afraid I didn't put much thought to her character. Maybe it had to do w/her not appearing in the TV episodes. I mean, I knew she was there, and always hoped for her to appear but then I quickly returned to trying to solve the mystery at hand. In the mark of a crack sleuth, that may not have been a good idea. ;-)
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Q - Any of you eve..."
Wow, Anastasia. I now see the fuel for which your penchant of mysteries grew. The lady has grit! Good on you.
The most I've ever witnessed was in a late-night drive-by accident scene. The authorities had the body lying in the street, covered but w/his hand hanging out from under the cover. It was dark, spooky enough and then that. Ugh
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No rush, Anastasia. Our discussion will go on for a few weeks and we have lots of time to enjoy the read and discuss.
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I preferred JB solving mysteries in Cabot Cove as well, Pghfan. NYC as backdrop just didn't make it for me.
