You Bet Your Life (Murder, She Wrote)

This is one of the best in the series, I have read it about 5 times.

Jessica is at it again, no matter where she is, a murder happens. These books are a joy to read.

I have read several of the "Murder She Wrote" books and I must say that this is one of the most enjoyable and engaging stories in the series. Seldom has a mystery in this or any other series drawn me into the story like this one did. I really just can't say enough good things about this book! One of the criticisms that have been aired about some of the books in this series was the lack of depth for many of the characters and in some of the stories this is certainly the case. This time however Mr. Bain was firing on all cylinders for not only are the characters colorful and believable they also make you either sympathize with them or despise them. It is rare for a book of this type to grab you so thoroughly that you really begin to care about what happens to some of the characters and get somewhat emotionally involved but this book had that very effect on me. This is one of those books that tells the reader one story in order to explain what is going on with the main story and so a good deal of the book is a flashback to a wedding held two years before the main story begins. It is then that several of the Cabot Cove gang fly out to Las Vegas for the wedding of one of their former neighbors to a wealthy businessman. Among the visitors are naturally Jessica, Seth and Mort and from the very beginning Seth is sure that his old friend Martha is making a horrible mistake. (As a side note I would really like to know why Mort's wife has a different name in the books than the one she had on television.) It turns out however that for the most part Martha is happy with her new life, at least until her new husband is murdered and she is charged with the crime. The main story revolves around the trial and Jessica's efforts to clear her friend. Along the way she wins a slots jackpot and gets taken for a ride by a gangster. She also meets a delightful little lady who plays the slots at every opportunity and like to go to the Vegas wedding chapels and take pictures of the ceremonies. She doesn't know the couples, she just like to go to weddings and her pictures actually provide Jessica with a vital clue. Overall this is one of Mr. Bain's best efforts and despite the small part played by the quirky Cabot Cove gang this entry in the series is a definite winner. Jessica it seems is at her best when the pressure is on and the pressure is certainly on in this case.

You Bet Your Life has Jessica Fletcher in Las Vegas to help investigate a murder and to get aquitted a friend of hers from Maine. I thought, for the most part, that this was a well written book, with accurate and interesting atmosphere of Las Vegas. Some threads weren't really tied together at the end, and anyone who commonly reads cozy Mysteries will quickly realize who did it, but, I still really enjoyed it. The trial unfolds interestingly, and the Las Vegas scene is well described. I recommend this to cozy mystery lovers.

Sitting down to read a Murder She Wrote book is like reading a letter from a dear friend. From watching the tv shows for so many years, I feel like I know all the regular characters. I can see them in my mind.Jessica and some of her friends traveled to Las Vegas to watch their friend Martha marry Victor Kildaire two years ago. Martha had previously been widowed. Her first husband was a doctor in Cabot Cove. Dr. Seth Hazlitt isn't too fond of her new husband and the quickness of the wedding.Now Jessica is traveling alone to Las Vegas. Martha has been charged with Victor's murder. Jessica does not believe she is guilty. She starts asking questions and getting information. She joins Martha's defense team and stays at her house. This gives Jessica more access to information. She is interviewed by Court TV.Victor was a high-rolling Las Vegas local with three ex-wives and many people who were jealous of him. The suspects are almost unlimited. The three ex-wives were diverse and very suspicious.Once again Jessica is assisting a friend and getting herself in dangerous situations. I enjoyed this book. It is always fun to read a Murder She Wrote book. It is definitely a cozy. I do prefer the ones set in Cabot Cove, ME, as I know most of the people in those. But this book was well written with a good plot and interesting characters. Not having been to Las Vegas I can't say whether the setting was accurate, but it fit what I know about Las Vegas.The authors created enough suspects so that you could not easily figure out who did it.I highly recommend this book and the whole Murder She Wrote series.