Leafing Through Pages - A Vote For Murder (Murder, She Wrote # 22)
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Stars: 4 / 5
Recommendation: The killer wasn’t as surprising as the motive and who encouraged the killer. The plot gives readers an insight into Washington Politics and the cheating and bribery that is common even though seldom comes out. This plot stayed very true to the original TV show.
A Vote for Murder is the 22nd novel in the long-running Murder She Wrote series co-written by Donald Bain & fictional writer Jessica Fletcher. It was first published on September of 2005. Jessica is in the nation's capital for a new literacy initiative and comes upon the dead body of Maine's junior Senator's aide. Amidst many political conspiracies, she has to work with her good friend Scotland Yard Inspector George Sutherland to reveal 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. 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.
George Sutherland is in Washington D.C. at the same time as Jessica Fletcher. How charming! He is attending a conference on terrorism while Jessica is part of the literacy initiative. We see a little progress in their romance that they obviously deny.
We see reference to another case that George and Jessica worked together in Napa Valley and few books ago, the 15th book, Blood on the Vine; and two other cases on which both of them worked together - the very first book Gin and Daggers; and the 8th book The Highland Fling Murders.
But George called away to attend to a terrorist attack in London, although he was overseeing it from D. C. In real life, there was indeed London Train Bombings in 2005, and author Bain was certainly alluding to them in this plot. Poor George he gets injured again, albeit this time it’s a mugging. Looks like every book he is in he somehow is getting hurt. Again we get a lot of history lesson as Jessica and George traverse through D.C.
It's a political drama that touches closely to reality. Specially when the case looks like straight out of Gary Condit's scandal regarding disappearance of Chandra Levy, intern in Condit's district. A case that has not been solved still unlike the one we see in the book.
The book touches upon homosexuality and homophobia. It was much less accepted in 2005 compared to the present world. Also Jessica frowns upon people using mobile phones in public places. I wonder if her opinion changed in the later books cause now mobile phones have become an extension to one's palms.
The killer wasn’t as surprising as the motive and who encouraged the killer. The plot gives readers an insight into Washington Politics and the cheating and bribery that is common even though seldom comes out. This plot stayed very true to the original TV show.
Spoiler Alerts:
1. Plot Reveals:
a. Politicians in Washington D.C: Warren Nebel, Maine's Junior Senator; his wife Patricia; his son Jack; his daughter Christine & her fiancee Joe Radisch; President Dimond; Dr. Thomas Lester, Librarian of Congress; Walter Grusin, lobbyist; Richard Carraway, assistant to Nebel's aide; James Barzelouski, Ohio congressman; Gail Marsha-Miner, Congresswoman for a district in California; Hal Duncan, Nebel's attorney; Sandy Teller, Nebel's press aide; Eleanor Atherton, public affairs specialist.
b. Other authors in the literacy initiative: Karl von Miller, young adult novel writer; Marsha Jane Grane; Bill Littlefield, author of Korean and Vietnam war histories.
c. Other characters: Mrs. Carmela Martinez, Nebel's cook; Detective Joe Moody, McLean District Station; Jardine, Nebel's butler; Natalie Mumford, a reporter; Oscar Brophy, an eccentric Cabot Cove resident; Greg & Charlotte Farlow, Nikki Farlow's parents; Dr. Morris Young, Physician.
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; 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; 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 who is the 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; 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.
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. But she was named Adele in the TV show…and also in the 50th book, A Time for Murder, she was back to Adele. Not sure when Bain changed it back to Adele since I have a few more books to go before I reach the 50th book, but perhaps the readers made him change it back.
g. From the 9th book, Murder on the QE2: Mary Ward has been a prominent character in this book. Will she resurface again?
h. 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?
i. 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.
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.
3. Grammatical / Character / Plot / Geographical / Historical / Mythological Errors:
a. On Pg. 150, Line 6 from bottom, shouldn’t it be "shown to me by Detective Moody…"?