Murder, She Wrote: Margaritas & Murder

I have collected all of the Murder She Wrote books to date and re-read them every so often. I find them very 'readable'. This one is no exception.

Another good Murder She Wrote.. This one really kept me guessing about who did the murder. Well written and keeps you in suspense.

Over the course of this series Jessica's publisher Vaughan Buckley and his wife Olga have taken on a more and more important role. At first they would just appear on occasion when Jessica had finished a book or when she was in New York. Finally Jessica spent a vacation at an Inn near the Buckley's home in the Hamptons and in this entry she is spending some time with them in yet another of their vacation homes. This time, unlike Jessica's trip to the Hamptons, the Buckley's are at the very center of the story from beginning to end and despite missing Seth and Mort, I found this story to be a very refreshing change. I do however hope and expect to see the Cabot Cove crew back at the forefront of the next book. Vaughan and Olga have purchased a vacation home in rural Mexico and Jessica goes for a visit. Once she is there she meets a large group of Americans and Canadians who have retired to the area. As usual, Donald Bain does an excellent job of creating the characters with whom Jessica will interact. Some are very likable while others were so irritating that I found myself hurrying to get through the sections in which they appeared. Just like real people however, all of these characters are not really all that they seem to be but with Jessica on the case no one's secrets are safe. "The case" in this book involves the kidnapping of Vaughan Buckley while he is on a trip with the outgoing and gregarious Woody Manheim who is retired from the military. When the pair does not return on time Olga, who was against the trip from the beginning, calls the police who find the pair's abandoned car along with a blood soaked handkerchief. Not sure just how far she can trust the police Jessica begins to snoop and because the life of her friend is in serious danger she takes her snooping to a new level. In the process she very much violates the privacy of several people but justifies it to herself because time is of the essence. In the end however it is not Jessica's snooping but instead an act of kindness on her part that provides the key clue. The most impressive thing about this book however is the way that the author builds the suspense as his story progresses. As the reader nears the climactic moment the pace of the book picks up considerably and I found myself moving toward the edge of my seat. This reaction in the reader is a clear mark of a good mystery and since I scooted up so far that I almost fell out of my recliner this must indeed be a good mystery novel. It's not the best entry in the series by any means but this is certainly a very solid and enjoyable book.

Yet another solid Murder She Wrote novel from the safe hands of Donald Bain, as always Mr Bain's easy to read style creates vivid images in you mind of people and places, his knack seems to be that he can do this witout the reader ever feeling that the story is becoming bogged down. As others have mentioned the only real problem is Jesica's missing friends from back in Cabot Cove, not even the usual mention of the likes of Mort or Seth, or of Mara's Luncheonette or Charlene Sassi's bakery. Still all told this is a solid installment in the series, can't wait for the next (which I believe is the final book in the current contact, however Mr Bain has just signed a contract for another four books in the series!)

This is one of the best Murder She Wrote books thus far. While normally the stories set in Cabot Cove are the most enjoyable, this one set in Mexico with her publisher friends is just as good. I completely forgot about Seth and Mort back home and this time they were not missed. There's a lot of action right from the start and the ending is very well done.