Murder, She Wrote: a Little Yuletide Murder

Mystery writer Jessica Fletcher feels that this Christmas will be her best ever, as she finally has time to relax in the sleepy little town of Cabot Cove, Maine. A town that she has formally adopted as her own. Without a deadline holding her down this December, Jessica feels that she'll finally have the opportunity to embrace the small-town festivities, starting with the annual Christmas festival. However, when the body of one of Jessica's beloved neighbors, Rory Brent - a.k.a. Saint Nick - is found, a bullet-wound to the head, the Christmas season takes a turn for the worst. Suddenly, Jessica is determined to find out who shot the man everyone admired, for donning the big red suit each and every Christmas Eve, in an attempt to brighten the eyes of each and every girl and boy by ho-ho-ho-ing his way into everyone's hearts as Santa Claus at the annual festival. Jessica knows that there will be no peace on earth until the murderer has been brought to justice, but with everyone in town pointing the finger at Rory Brent's longtime enemy, and resident town mean man, Jake Walther, no one seems to be considering the possible other suspects roaming around the small town. People who may seem innocent, but could be hiding a very deadly secret. Now, as Jessica begins snooping around, she starts to uncover some very important evidence that leads her to believe that the sheriff has made a very big mistake, and arrested the wrong person. Now, Jessica, with a little help from some of her friends, is determined to bring the true murderer to justice before Christmas, or else there's no chance of this holiday being merry or bright. I was an avid watcher of MURDER, SHE WROTE when I was about 7-years-old, but then I lost touch with TV, and forgot about Jessica Fletcher, and her sleuthing skills. So when I happened upon this holiday mystery starring the mystery writing detective in Barnes & Noble, I absolutely had to have it. Boy did it bring back memories. Not only was this an enjoyable mystery, that left me wondering whodunit, but the flow of dialogue was amazing, and really showcased Donald Bain's knowledge of the show and its characters. I literally felt like I could hear the characters speaking as I read their lines throughout the novel, as they were so true to what I was used to on the show. Jessica, as always, was a pleasure - sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, but not in an obnoxious, overbearing way; more of a caring, concerned neighbor way; and the interaction between her and Dr. Seth Hazlitt, along with the slew of other characters was amazing. What was so perfect about A LITTLE YULETIDE MURDER is that it truly does revolve around the holidays, and doesn't just try and pass itself off as a Christmas book like so many other holiday releases nowadays. Donald Bain has truly outdone himself, and won a fan for life. Have yourself a merry little murder with the Cabot Cove gang! Erika Sorocco Freelance Reviewer

Its early December in Cabot Cove and the denizens of this small Maine town have gathered to plan their annual Christmas Festival. After a while someone notices the absence of the ever-jovial Rory Brent who always plays Santa at the festival. Knowing that only something serious could keep Brent away from this meeting the townspeople send someone to check on Santa. To the great dismay of the whole town, Rory Brent is found in one of his barns, shot to death. Following the murder there are more than a few questions floating around Cabot Cove not the least of which is who will play Santa this year. One thing that everybody seems certain of however is the identity of the murderer. Jake Walther is almost universally disliked in Cabot Cove and it is well known that he and the victim didn't get along. Furthermore, the victim's son immediately accuses Walther of the murder so that in the eyes of the public Jake has already been tried and convicted. Jessica is not sure whether or not Jake is guilty but she is very disturbed by the attitude of her fellow citizens. She keeps reminding both others and herself that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. She doesn't get actively involved however until Jake's wife Mary asks for her help and the more the famous mystery writer finds out, the more she digs. Along the way she discovers that "Saint Rory" wasn't so saintly after all and that several other people aren't really who they seem to be. I have always been very fond of the books in this series that feature Cabot Cove and I particularly enjoyed spending Christmas in this quaint little snow-covered town. The plot is a little slow to develop at times but the author still manages to make this book very hard to put down. Just enough information dribbles in during each chapter to make you really want to find out what happens next. Even more enjoyable is the fact that some of the characters in this book are very complex which is not the norm for this series. Actually, I found the ending of the book to be quite touching and the depth of feeling that came across from the characters was very moving. In my opinion, this is one of the better books in this series and I highly recommend it to any fan of Jessica Fletcher or warm fuzzy mystery novels. Plus, you'll never guess who ends up playing Santa!

This is one of the better Murder, She Wrote mysteries I've read since "Rum and Razors" back in 1995. I enjoy the setting of small, snowy towns, and Donald Bain captures that in "A Little Yuletide Murder." Suspense is evident in this book, as is a handful of twists and turns with 3-Dimensional characters. Each page is intriguing, which keeps readers wanting more. The reason I recommend this book so highly is because of the quality of writing each page exemplifies. Good writing is hard to find today, but I can say Donald Bain has "it."

Jessica Fletcher unwraps a deadly puzzle when she sets out to discover who killed "Santa Claus" -- a.k.a. her neighbor Rory Brent, who played St. Nick at the town's yearly Christmas Eve Celebration.

I enjoyed reading this book over the holidays. After watching the tv series for many years, I can "picture" each main character as he/she's interacting. Good story with good twists.