Assassinio in prima classe. La Signora in Giallo

Murder, She Wrote #20

by Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain, Barbara Murgia (Translator)

A Jessica Fletcher, si sa, piace viaggiare: questa volta si trova su un lussuoso, pittoresco treno d'epoca, che corre attraverso il Canada. Servizio d'altri tempi, tovaglie di lino e posateria d'argento... Ma i nostalgici membri del Track and Rail Club che l'hanno invitata covano rancori che spesso sfociano in scontri feroci, finché la situazione degenera e il discusso presidente dell'associazione muore in preda a spaventose convulsioni. Avvelenamento?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Crime, Murder Mystery, Mystery Thriller

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Jessica Fletcher (born Jessica Beatrice MacGill, and writes under the initialed J.B. Fletcher) is a fictional character from the US television series Murder, She Wrote.

In keeping with the spirit of the TV show, a series of official original novels have been written by American ghostwriter Donald Bain and published by the New American Library. The author credit for the novels is shared with the fictitious "Jessica Fletcher." When the first novel in the series, Gin and Daggers, was published in 1989 it included several inaccuracies to the TV series including Jessica driving a car which she could not do as she never learned to drive. Due to fans pointing out the errors, the novel was republished in 2000 with most of the inaccuracies corrected.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. One of my favourite MSWs - and a great murder mystery set in Canada. It takes place in a location I know well, Vancouver, British Columbia with its lovely Stanley Park and the mountains to the north. Canada's Pacific gateway. Jessica and her Cabot Cove friend, Reggie Weems, he's a model train enthusiast and a member of the North America-wide Track and Rail Club, are in town for the club's annual meeting. It includes a three day excursion on B.C. Rail's Whistler Northwind from Vancouver to one of the world's great ski resorts, Whistler, and then up truly rugged country to 100 Mile House in the Cariboo Region and Prince George, northern B.C.'s "capital." While on the train, rich businessman and club president Alvin Blevin takes a sip of a celebratory Bloody Mary and drops dead. Jessica is certain it was strychnine poisoning but finds many in the club, including Alvin's wife Theodora and her son by an earlier marriage, Benjamin, upset when she sticks her nose into places it might not belong. Familiar? But the RCMP are pleased with her help. The MSW series nearly ends as Jess almost falls from the train into the Fraser River canyon! Enjoy, I did. (No2024/Se2025)

[Katherine Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite crime-solvers is vacationing away from Cabot Cove, and traveling on the Whistler Northwind train through British Columbia with her friend Reggie, a member of the Track and Rail association. During what should be a beautiful trip, Jessica finds herself in the middle of yet another crime. Once again she puts her research to use to help in the investigation of the death of the asssociation's unlikable president. Will her probing questions lead her to hot water or perhaps to another crime?
The Murder, She Wrote series is one of my absolutes favorites, and Destination Murder proved to be another great one. The writing always draws me in, making me feel like I'm in on the action. The lovable Mrs. Fletcher would be great on her own, but I always enjoy her various companions who join her on her adventures and mystery-solving. Keep on writing and solving mysteries J.B.!

[Wendy Heuvel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memories of my childhood came rushing back as I jumped into the world of Jessica Fletcher in this book. It’s the first one I’ve read of this series, but I’m certain to read more. It’s just like the television show and I can even hear Angela Lansbury’s voice when I read Jessica Fletcher's dialogue. A good read.

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Destination Murder is probably one of my favourite books in the Murder, She Wrote series!
This book is based in British Columbia and mentions places in the province where I have been. Knowing exactly where the story is supposed to have taken place, even though it is fictional, was a nice treat. The way Jessica uses her amazing senses of deduction and observation was fascinating as the plot took many twists and turns. The Whistler Northwind train was supposed to take her on a relaxing three day trip from Vancouver to Prince George but instead she finds herself assisting in a full on murder investigation while still on the train. There are many potential suspects, all among her on the train, who were not on the best terms with the victim and don't appreciate Jessica nosing around. Even while having to fear for her own safety Jessica does not let up! In the end Jessica finds that a grudge can be a dangerous thing when the person holding it wants to take revenge.
I would recommend Destination Murder to teenagers and adults who like a good mystery novel especially if they live in British Columbia!

[Lollyletsgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, so much so, I'd like to take a train trip and watch the scenery go by-- you can tell that's not my usual commute, so it appears I'm waxing poetic about taking the train. ;]

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this might be my favourite Murder She Wrote book, it’s definitely my favourite book of the year so far.

[Teri-K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some of these books are delightful - unfortunately this one wasn't. I don't know how many times I tried to read this and ended up too bored to finish. this time I was determined to finish it or DNF and get it off my shelves. I did finish, and it's getting off my shelves, too. A train ride through the Canadian Rockies should be a wonderful setting for a murder. Having travelled by train through the US Rockies I was prepared for breathtaking scenery, animal sightings, etc. But, with few exceptions, this was a dreary trip, stuck on a non-descript train with too many suspects and victims I didn't care about at all. Reading this was painful.

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites and not one I was super excited to get through. The mystery was a bit lackluster and I think I didn’t care for this story as much because there were no familiar characters. I like my dialogue with characters that show up in other books and it unfortunately was not in this volume. I also thought the descriptions of Vancouver and the overall train ride overtook the plot. Underwhelming and probably won’t reread this one.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a wonderful story! 🖤

[Chris Velazquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard of Murder She Wrote for some time but didn't get a chance to actually watch the show till a few years ago. While I only got to watch the first four seasons, I absolutely fell in love with the show, and when I found out there were books about it, I just had to read them. This was my first one I've read, and I found myself enjoying it.

Everything was easy to follow along, the setting was great, and while I'm not used to reading books with first person narration, it makes sense here because we see everything through Jessica Fletcher's eyes, and everything was very true to the character, I could absolutely hear Angela Lansbury's voice in my head while reading. The author also clearly did his research on both real life locations and food, which I enjoyed. And much to my delight, I was able to deduce the guilty party and his motivation well ahead of the reveal, which is also part of the appeal of the TV show for me.

My only downside for the book is that it sometimes felt like it dragged, and the reveal of the guilty party was very abrupt. But other than that, I liked my first foray into the Murder he Wrote book series, and I look forward to reading more.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than anything I think this is a fascinating historical account commemorating the Whistler Northwind/Pacific Starlight Dinner trains, both of which stopped running even before this book was published in 2004. Clearly a lot of work and research went into this novel, down to the exact pattern of the curtains on the trains.

[Melmo2610 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Set in Canada on a lovely train ride scene that would be so much fun to take, minus a murder of course! :) The mystery aspect was quite good with a few surprises along the way. One of my favorite Murder, She Wrote stories I have read thus far.

[Harold Cheetham · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read. always a great story.

[Helena Vigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special but a very fun read

[Aparna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stars: 4 / 5
Recommendation: Evoking several memories of my own of train rides, this book certainly keeps the reader engaged while taking them through a juicy murder mystery. There are plethora of suspects but still I could fathom a guess on who could be the killer, but the motive came as a surprise. Another successful cozy mystery.

Destination Murder is the 20th 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 2004. This time the murder is set on a rail tour that Jessica takes as a guest with the Track and Rail Club. A murder does not however deter the club members to try to make the best of the tour. However, Jessica needs to find the killer before someone else gets derailed.

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.

Although the title of the 9th book, Murder on the QE2, reminded me of Agatha Christie's Murder on Orient Express, I believe this book comes closer to that plot. We are on a rail tour in Canada, and then there is a murder that occurs on the train and all the club members are suspects. Just like a Christie book.

We get details of the beautiful landscape and scenes along the rail tour that Jessica takes that begins in Vancouver up to British Columbia on the historic Whistler Northwind. Although the details were elaborate and lengthy, this time around they were enjoyable.

Pity that this tourist train was operated only for two seasons - 2001 and 2002. Interesting though that this book was written in 2004. I wonder if author Bain had checked for its existence before using it in the book. Wouldn’t it be prudent to use another train that was in existence for real? He does mention in the book thru characters who say that this would be the last trip for this train.

Despite the misrepresented fact, I still loved this book. Perhaps because I have an inclination to take one of these rail tours soon. One pet peeve I want to add though. I wish author Bain stuck to either using the last names or first names of the character after their initial introduction of full name is done. It confuses when he is going back and forth on that. I had seen this in other books as well.

Evoking several memories of my own of train rides, this book certainly keeps the reader engaged while taking them through a juicy murder mystery. There are plethora of suspects but still I could fathom a guess on who could be the killer, but the motive came as a surprise. Another successful cozy mystery.

Spoiler Alerts:

1. Plot Reveals:
a. Track & Rail Club members: Hank and Deedee Crocker, from Pittsburgh; Junior and Maeve Pinckney, from Atlanta; Alvin Blevin, club President, his wife Theodora & step son Benjamin Vail; Winston Rendell, from England; Marilyn Whitmore & her daughter Samantha, from Vancouver; Marty & Gail Goldfinch, from Hartford, Connecticut;
b. Staff on the Train: Bruce, guest services supervisor; Jenna C; Callie, bar tender; Karl, kitchen helper;
c. Other characters: Detective Christian Marshall, Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Eugene "Gene" Driscoll, reporter; Detective Joe Jillian, Vancouver PD:

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. Even though Jessica is giving a guest lecture, she is not a full-fledged professor. Yet she is addressed as a "Professor" several times in the book. In the TV show she was never addressed that way. I think Bain deviated from the norm but this was false portrayal of the character.
b. On Pg. 181, Line 8 from bottom, the closing quote is missing.

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questa sì che è un'avventura coi fiocchi!

[Juliet Minerva Swift · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for the 2020 N.E.W.T.s
ANCIENT RUNES: Bathsheda Babbling - author name starts with a B (first or last)
Grade awarded: A

Considering this is the fourth Murder, She Wrote book I read consecutively, I can confidently say 2020 isn't the year of quality reading.
But I am cutting myself some slack, it is summer after all, and I am dangerously tethering on the brink of a bad reading slump. So if what I need to cope is Jessica Fletcher, I am gonna get me some Jessica Fletcher.

This one is set on a train, and I usually ADORE mysteries set on trains (I mean, 99% of my love for this trope comes from Murder on the Orient Express, because it is one of the two mystery novels I read set on trains, but you know I also like those set in planes or boats or some isolated closed space).

But here, meh. Some parts I liked and some I didn't. What I usually like in mysteries is the isolated setting, and here we got a bit of that, but the characters would then get out of the train, walk around cities and the whole train magic was a bit spoiled to me.

Here too, the characters were all incredibly unlikable, there were maybe 3 nice people, while the rest was yuck. The young girl especially, she was insane. I find it absurd that Jessica did stick around her despite she being so obviously disturbed and dangerous. I think this really made me feel like the Jessica we read here is not the one from the TV series. TV Jessica would have been stronger in dealing with the situation, while here she seems such a pushover, she gets insulted and treated like shit, but she doesn't manage to stand up for herself.

The uncovering of the culprit was...weird? I mean, Jessica took a huge mind step to actually get to the resolution. The culprit was rather obvious, but let's say it was finding him that was the hard part, and unless Jessica was some sort of clairvoyant, I am not convinced her deductions are solid enough considering her knowledge.

[Karol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Destination Murder is a comfortably interesting book in the "Murder She Wrote" book series. The book series stays true to the characters and style of the TV show, and holds my interest as much as the very popular show did. Donald Bain, the author, described Vancouver, British Columbia and the surrounding area so well that I could actually picture it quite vividly. I felt as though I was right there as things were happening.

Of course, Jessica figured out all the details ahead of the talented investigators and journalists also working on the mystery - but that's what makes her Jessica. This time, I had it all figured out before she did, which is a rarity for me.

Fun and engaging - another good cozy mystery.

[Sophie Sternschuss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica joins her train enthusiast friend on a trip across Canada by train. Naturally the views are not the main attraction and the president of the train club falls ill and dies in front of the passengers. Jessica obviously feels that this is not natural causes and suspects foul play. Jessica joins the detectives in finding out what happened but her life is also put in danger. A nice Murder She Wrote to pick up if you like mysteries set on trains( although I would have loved it to be a sleeper train). If you like Murder on the Orient express you will probably like this. I did suspect some aspects but the main twist and unveiling was a surprise.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ rounded up to 4. It's the "train murder" mystery of the series. I appreciate the author choosing a different route and setting the action on board of a lesser known train, the Whistler Nordwind of Canada, that is sadly not operating anymore.

The research was immpecable and the route in the Canadian wilderness beautifully described. The mystery was quite clever. Mrs Fletcher was the boss, as usual.

The only thing that irked me, is that the author Donald Bain did not seemed to be train enthusiast at all. He makes multiple characters to give statement that rail does not have a future at all. It makes me giddy that the modern world is proving him wrong.

[Kellene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of the Murder, She Wrote series, but I think this was my least favorite installment so far. The plot was fairly well paced and original (I had bits of it figured out, but not the conclusion by a long shot), but I struggled through this book. Again, I think the issue for me was the characters. I love Jessica, but the rest of the cast either fell flat or were so unlikable that I was adding them to the victim list throughout. Definitely looking forward to a next read in the series so that I can get over the disappointment I felt from this one.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a spate of reading books quite different from the usual, I’ve found this series of books based on the character brought to life by Angela Lansbury so engaging and satisfying that I’ve read at least a half-dozen in 2024. Destination Murder is the best so far. The tension and suspense were high and one night I had to stop reading for fear I wouldn’t be able to sleep. In 2025 I’ll take a break from Jessica Fletcher books, but I will likely read all 63 titles (I think that’s total published to date) by the time I can’t read any longer!

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book was a lot of fun! It’s a mystery set a board a passenger train traveling through British Columbia’s mountainous region. Highly unpopular man is poisoned while drinking a bloody Mary in the club car. Jessica Fletcher is on hand and is the first to notice that the man has been poisoned rather than suffering a heart attack as most of the other passengers believe. There are a lot of suspects just sort through, and it takes a keen I and agile mind to solve this puzzle.

[Candyce Sweet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I'm a big fan of the television show, so getting to read about the continuing adventures of Jessica Fletcher has been fun over the Christmas break. This book definitely inspired me to want to take a trip by train (sans murder, of course!), and it was fun to see how this investigation unfolded. This was a great read and a great distraction from everything going on in the world right now.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invited by a friend who is a member of a railroad enthusiasts club to travel on a train “cruise” through British Colombia, Jessica happily accepts. Her joy is quickly diminished when she discovers that the president of the club is overbearing and obnoxious. All the club members dislike him but enough to murder him? Jessica follows twisted clues and nearly dies twice but, with the help of RCMP Detective Marshall, she prevails and reveals the killer. A good plot and well written.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love the books in this series and this one had a fun setting: a train trip through Canada, with overnight stops along the way. It made me want to visit Canada and all the sites that Jessica went to and, as always, I love how the author weaves descriptions of real places in with the murder mystery. A very fun read!

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book thoroughly. Definitely one of the best storylines among the Murder She Wrote book series because of one jaw–dropping scene, one “gotcha!” moment, and so many potential suspects to choose from! It really keeps you guessing. I found it hard to put this book down because it was that good!

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed and mostly enjoyable whodunit, Destination Murder is nonetheless not the best of the series. I will admit to suspecting the solution very early on and it fell into cliched territory.

However I really liked the setting and the characters - that was very enjoyable, it just deserved a better mystery.

7/10

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jess! My mother-in-law says she doesn't like the show or books because "someone DIES everywhere she goes", isn't that the point? There were unexpected turns and of course Jess solves the murder but it was still very enjoyable.

[Susan Jo Grassi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books just as I loved the TV program. This one takes place in British Columbia on a scenic passenger train ride. As the daughter of a locomotive engineer, I would love to take one of these excursions but not, however, with Jessica Fletcher, as murder follows her around like a shadow.