Murder He Wrote

Originally published: New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1984.

A Funeral in New OrleansJessica Fletcher has a writer’s conference in New Orleans and can’t resist staying an extra week for the annual Jazz Festival. In her short time there, she gets a chance to sample everything the city has to offer— its delectable food, its wonderful music and, of course, its unique brand of murder and corruption… Arts critic Wayne Copely is desperately searching for the fabled recordings of New Orleans jazz legend Little Red LeCoeur. But when he hears that his old friend Jessica Fletcher is in town, he’s more than happy to take a break from work and give her an insider’s view of the festival. Unfortunately, her jazz lesson and his search are tragically cut short when he turns up dead next to the grave of an old voodoo queen. And when the cops pass off the bizarre event as a mere ‘accidental death’, it’s up to Jessica to get to the bottom of it...

Jessica Fletcher investigates a mysterious manuscript with deadly consequences in the latest entry in this USA Today bestselling series... Jessica Fletcher has had plenty to worry about over her storied career, both as a bestselling novelist and amateur sleuth. But she never had any reason to worry about her longtime publisher, Lane Barfield, who also happens to be a trusted friend. When mounting evidence of financial malfeasance leads to an FBI investigation of Lane, Jessica can't believe what she's reading. So when Barfield turns up dead, Jessica takes on the task of proving Barfield's innocence--she can't fathom someone she's known and trusted for so long cheating her. Sure enough, Jessica's lone wolf investigation turns up several oddities and inconsistencies in Barfield's murder. Jessica knows something is being covered up, but what exactly? The trail she takes to answer that question reveals something far more nefarious afoot, involving shadowy characters from the heights of power in Washington. At the heart of Jessica's investigation lies a manuscript Barfield had intended to bring out after all other publishers had turned it down. The problem is that manuscript has disappeared, all traces of its submission and very existence having been wiped off the books. With her own life now in jeopardy, Jessica refuses to back off and sets her sights on learning the contents of that manuscript and what about it may have led to several murders. Every step she takes brings her closer to the truth of what lies in the pages, as well as the person who penned them.

FRAMED? Jessica’s art-viewing Italian vacation is interrupted by a pair of gunmen who steal a painting and kill a retired police officer in the process. Agreeing to help identify the crooks should they be caught, Jessica returns to Cabot Cove and puts the shocking experience behind her. Months later, Wayne Simsbury, the stepson of an old friend, comes to her for help. Wayne’s father has been shot to death. Not only has Wayne’s stepmother, Marlise, been charged with the murder, but Wayne himself claims to have witnessed the crime. Unsure what to do, he has sought out Jessica—the one person his stepmother had always claimed could help with any problem. Now, on top of a seemingly open-and-shut murder case to crack in Chicago, Jessica finds herself back in Italy helping the police make their case against the art thieves—and she faces a looming danger that may connect the Italian killers to the fate of her old friend....

In Murder, He Wrote, Bain takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey from the rousing loops of Coffee, Tea or Me and the best selling comedy series it spawned to the gravity-defying biographies of Veronica Lake, legendary talk show king Long John Nebel, and top model and CIA mind-control subject Candy Jones; from the spectacular curves and twists of the wildly successful murder mystery novels based on the TV show "Murder, She Wrote" to the creaks and squeaks of one of the most bizarre gang wars in U.S. history, Charlie and the Shawneetown Dame.

In the latest entry in this USA Today bestselling series, Jessica Fletcher takes on an Agatha Christie-style mystery when she finds herself stranded in a hotel during a blizzard with twelve strangers and a killer in their midst.... Still staying at the Hill House hotel while her beloved home is being rebuilt, Jessica Fletcher finds herself sharing the space for a weekend with a dozen members of a wedding party who have gathered there for a rehearsal dinner. The families of the bride and groom can't stand each other but have agreed to put aside years of long-simmering tension to celebrate the nuptials. Unfortunately, weather forecasters underestimated the severity of a storm that turns into a historic blizzard that dumps nearly five feet of snow on Cabot Cove, leaving everyone stranded. But the hotel guests have bigger things to worry about than bad weather conditions and potential cold feet, because a murderer has shown up ininvited--one who has vowed to take them down one by one....

When competing restaurants open in Cabot Cove, Jessica must track down who killed one of the chefs.

In this newest in the USA Today bestselling mystery series, Jessica Fletcher takes a relaxing getaway that turns into a reel deadly situation. Jessica enters a fly fishing competition at a nearby lake. Joining her is the sheriff's wife, Maureen Metzger. Their guide, however, is a surprise to both... Brian Kinney is an ex-con. Jailed as an accomplice to Darryl Jepson, a convicted killer, Brian was later exonerated. Yet when Jepson breaks out of prison vowing revenge, Cabot Cove becomes the focus of the nation as the authorities descend upon the town.

When a local art shop owner is murdered, Jessica Fletcher is surprised to once again be working alongside her old friend MI-6 agent Michael Haggerty to solve the case in the newest mystery in this USA Today bestselling series. When Nelson Penzell, co-owner of a local art and treasure store in Cabot Cove, is murdered, the nail tech from Jessica Fletcher's favorite beauty parlor is the main suspect. After all, she's the one who ran out of the store screaming, covered in blood, and holding the murder weapon. Jessica is positive that despite the circumstances, Coreen can't possibly be guilty, and is determined to prove it. When Michael Haggerty, handsome MI-6 agent and Jessica's old friend, is caught snooping around the victim’s home, it's quickly apparent to her that she was right. Nelson has always had a bit of a reputation for being a rake, but Haggerty is sure his sins go far beyond what anyone in town imagined. If she wants to clear Coreen's name, Jessica will have to work alongside Michael to find out who killed Nelson—and maybe help bust a crime ring in the process.