Thursday, November 4, 2021

Book Review: Debonair in Death by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran (Murder, She Wrote #54)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Captures the characters and their relationships from the classic show perfectly
Cons: Pacing in the first half could be better
The Bottom Line:
Death at gallery
Slip back into Cabot Cove
Delightful for fans


Art Shop Owner Murdered in Cabot Cove

While I have enjoyed the books in the Murder, She Wrote series that I’ve read, I didn’t feel that the author captured Jessica and her relationships with those in Cabot Cove accurately.  That’s why I was looking forward to seeing how Terrie Farley Moran would do in Debonair in Death, her first novel in the series set in Cabot Cove.  I’m happy to say she nailed the characters.

Everyone in town is buzzing about Nelson Penzell, the new partner in the art shop down on the water in Cabot Cove.  He is handsome, so the ladies, especially, are very happy to talk about him and try to catch his eye.  Jessica Fletcher hasn’t interacted with him much, but she just doesn’t quite see the appeal.

Tragedy strikes one night when Nelson is murdered inside his shop.  Coreen, the nail tech at Loretta’s salon is found screaming outside Nelson’s shop, covered in his blood.  Naturally, Sheriff Metzger looks at Coreen as the killer, but Jessica doesn’t think Coreen would hurt anyone.  Can she figure out what is going on?

As I said, the relationships in this book are wonderful.  We don’t see all the Cabot Cove characters we love, but we get to see plenty of them, and they all feel true to their characters on the show.  While Jessica and Sheriff Metzger disagree on who the prime suspect might be, they do so fairly agreeably.  You can tell there is mutual respect there, even if they disagree about what might be happening.  The relationships of all the returning characters are so critical since fans of the series always loved the Cabot Cove episodes.  We didn’t get as many as everyone seems to think we did while the show aired, but those are definitely some fan favorites.

Unfortunately, the pacing of the plot is uneven, especially in the first half.  Fortunately, things do pick up as we head into the second half of the book, and we get some fun twists before Jessica figures it all out.  The characters that are brought in to this book as suspects are also strong, and I enjoyed getting to know them.

Fans of Murder, She Wrote will definitely be glad they picked up Debonair in Death.  This book provides the perfect chance to catch up with old friends.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

1 comment:

  1. Definitely agree the first half was a bit slow but also agree that it was a good read. I like what Terrie Farley Moran is doing with the series.

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