Leafing Through Pages - The Fine Art of Murder (Murder, She Wrote # 36)
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Stars: 2 / 5
Recommendation: This was a little under the weather kind of book with so many hostile characters and standoffish. We get to see beautiful Italy and also see the dark world of art, but the end conclusion was partially completed for my taste. Not a bad read, but not something remarkable either.
The Fine Art of Murder is the 36th novel in the long-running Murder She Wrote series co-written by Donald Bain & fictional writer Jessica Fletcher. It was first published on October of 2011. Jessica is vacationing in Italy enjoying the museums and fine art of lesser known Italian masterworks when she witnesses the murder of an off-duty policeman and the stealing of a painting. However, she returns to Cabot Cove after agreeing to help the authorities. But months later the son of an old friend reaches out to her asking her help to exonerate his step-mother from the murder of his father which takes her back to Italy and to the murder / theft.
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. After Donald Bain passed away in 2017, Jon Land alone took the baton and 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 found the primary character very standoffish and at times rude to Jessica, when she herself forced Jessica to be involved in the investigation. I didn’t find gratitude on her part at all. And Jessica as always is very forgiving towards her and her family who have done nothing but hinder the investigation. It's a testament to Jessica's good nature and penchant to hunt for the truth that kept her going. If I was in her place, I would leave them to their fate and get myself free of everything.
As always we get a tour of lesser-known places in Italy through Jessica's eyes; a history of several locations in Italy as well as in Chicago. And this time around we get an education in the art of mixology specially around the various ways one can make a Martini, as well as the pure way of drinking it.
We come to know that there are something called Bond Bars in Italy in honor of James Bond 007 which serve the true form of Martini just like Bond would have wanted. We are also taken into the dark underbelly of the artistic world involving art, forgery and murder.
It was obvious towards the first quarter of the book as to at least one party's involvement in the murder. However, again the Author Bain did not give a complete conclusion on the art thieves. It was more of conjecture and hypothesis than factual.
Also Jessica still feels impressed by one of the characters, even though she was put through harrowing experiences. I wonder why she is so forgiving and accepting of everyone despite the dangers or interesting experiences they bring her.
This was a little under the weather kind of book with so many hostile characters and standoffish. We get to see beautiful Italy and also see the dark world of art, but the end conclusion was partially completed for my taste. Not a bad read, but not something remarkable either.
Spoiler Alerts:
1. Plot Reveals:
a. Law Enforcement in Italy: Detective Sergio Maresca; Detective Filippo Lippi; Detective Amato.
b. Jonathon Simsbury's family & friends: Marlise Morrison Simsbury, his second wife; Wayne Simsbury; his son; Willard Corman, attorney representing Marlise in the murder trial; Consuela, cook; Mrs. Simsbury, Jonathon's mother; Mrs. Tetley, live-in housekeeper; Carl Grundig, chauffer; Joe Jankowski, Jonathon's attorney; Edgar Peters, partner.
c. Other characters: Ms. Robertson, Corman's paralegal; Detective Larry Witmer; Detective Walter Munsch; Susan Hurley, Jonathon's executive assistant; Anthony "Tony" Curso, art appraiser, historian and professor.
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 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; Paulette, Matt's assistant;
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 / Barbara?; Mara, restaurant owner of Mara’s Luncheonette; Hank Weathers, a homeless war vet; Seamus McGilray, manager of Hill House Hotel; Richard "Dick" Mann, Fire Chief; Charlene Sassi, a baker; Susan Shevlin, travel agent and her husband Jim, Mayor of Cabot Cove; Professor Donskoy; Roberta Dougherty, bookstore owner; Richard Koser, photographer, and his wife MaryJane; 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 and historian and president of Cabot Cove's historical society, also an investment advisor, and his wife Ellen; Pat Hitchcock, Cabot Cove's popular nurse and teacher?; Gloria Watson, Wendell's mother; Joseph "Joe" Turco, an attorney; Marcia Davis, costume designer; David and Jim Raneri, owners of Charles Department Store; Ralph Mackin, town attorney; Ed and Joan Lerner, retirees; Brenda Brody, copy editor of Cabot Cove Insider; Doug Treyz, dentist, and his wife Tina; Jack and Marilou Decker, publishers of Cabot Cove Insider; Peter and Roberta Walters, owners of the radio station; Horace Teller, publisher of Cabot Cove News; Doris Sitar, assistant manager at Cabot Cove Savings Bank; Dmitri, owner of local taxi company; Phil Wick, field manager of the phone company; John St. Clair, professor of business law at Cabot Cove Community College; Dr. Jennifer "Jenny" Countryman, Seth's partner; Reginald "Reggie" Weems, insurance agent; Richard Jenkins & Sal Marterella, city council members; Jack Wilson, the Veterinarian, and his wife Tobe; Evelyn Phillips, editor of Cabot Cove Gazette; Maniram Chatterjee & his wife Hita, jewelry shop owners;
d. Sheriff Metzger’s office staff & other law enforcement: Deputy Andy Jenks; Deputy Jack; Rookie Wendell Watson; Deputy Harold; Deputy Jerry; Alfred Gillo, medical examiner; Judge Kaplan; Marie Poutre, dispatcher.
e. Jessica Fletcher’s family: Grady Fletcher, nephew that she and her late-husband Frank raise, his wife Donna and child Frank.
f. We continue to see Mort Metzger's wife being called as Maureen. Although we now know the reason why Mort's wife is different than the TV series, I distinctly remember her name being changed to Adele in the 50th book, A Time for Murder. Looks like the confusion is not completely alleviated.
g. I remember reading one of the later books (and couldn’t figure out which one was that) where we see Sam Booth as the mayor of Cabot Cove. However, since I started reading the series from the beginning, looks like the mayor of Cabot Cove is Jim Shevlin. I wonder if Sam Booth surfaces as I remember from way back read.
h. The prominent photographer of Cabot Cove's last name is spelled differently in the 30th book A Slaying in Savannah. Up until then he was "Koser" and now he is "Kaser" in that book. Wonder if it will change back in future.
i. In the 27th book Coffee, Tea or Murder? we see that Jed's wife is named Barbara. But up until then she was named Alicia. Wonder if Bain will have a backup story for that in future books.
j. From the 9th book, Murder on the QE2: Mary Ward has been a prominent character in this book. Will she resurface again?
k. 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?
l. From the 3th book:
i. Tom Craig offers Michael Haggerty a book deal to write about his escapades as an undercover British spy.
ii. There is reference to a very expensive luxury perfume called Shalini in the book. The name sounded Indian so I was curious why it was called a luxury perfume. Turns out it is a French Parfum but made with exotic flowers of rare occurrence. No wonder its very pricey.
iii. There is no closure as to who actually kills the person in the first murder.
iv. Will Jennifer Kahn, the alleged jewel thief, walk away free since they could only find circumstantial evidence against her and nothing concrete?
m. 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.
n. 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.