Jessica Fletcher is ready to set sail, breathe in some crisp Alaskan air, and maybe—just maybe—enjoy a murder-free vacation. But Panning for Murder has other plans. The trip is barely underway when Jessica’s old friend Kathy Copeland shows up and shatters the dream with five chilling words: “My sister disappeared on board.”
Now instead of scenic glacier views and moose-spotting excursions, Jessica’s pulled into a mystery thick with family secrets, gold rush lore, and one very high-stakes game of hide and seek. Kathy’s sister Wilimena, a flighty but fiercely independent woman, vanished during a previous voyage on this same cruise line. And while Wilimena has a reputation for disappearing for “spiritual retreats” and “unexplained sabbaticals,” this time Kathy is sure it’s different. This time, she thinks someone wanted her gone for good.
As the ship makes its way through Alaska’s Inside Passage, Jessica starts asking questions and getting answers that don’t quite line up. Everyone’s got a version of what happened to Wilimena — a missed excursion, a strange argument, a mysterious man spotted in a port town — but no one seems to have the whole truth. The deeper Jessica digs, the more tangled the mystery becomes. Why was Wilimena so obsessed with their infamous aunt, Thelma Copeland, a legendary madam during Alaska’s gold rush? Is there actually a hidden fortune involved, or is that just a dusty myth fueling dangerous greed?
The setting is a dream — misty fjords, old mining towns, and elegant dinners on the cruise ship’s observation deck — but the atmosphere tightens with every nautical mile. Jessica can feel someone watching her. And as she gets closer to the truth, it becomes obvious that someone on this ship has a lot to lose if Wilimena’s secrets come to light.
The character dynamics here are rich. Kathy is a complicated figure — equal parts heartbroken and suspicious, desperate to find her sister but holding things back from Jessica. Wilimena, though missing for most of the book, is a magnetic presence. Her eccentricities, obsessions, and past behavior unfold slowly through other people’s stories, and by the time Jessica uncovers the truth, you realize how much danger was floating just beneath the surface of every interaction.
This mystery leans into atmosphere hard. If you’ve ever wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise, this will either heighten your excitement or make you double-check your travel insurance. From the historic streets of Ketchikan to the eerie isolation of Misty Fjords, the book treats Alaska like a character in its own right — wild, remote, and just mysterious enough to hide a killer or two.
Panning for Murder is a 4-star entry that plays with setting and suspense beautifully. It trades the fast-paced twists of earlier books for a slower, creeping dread — a mystery that unspools at sea and lures you in with every wave. By the time Jessica solves it, you’ll want a vacation from the vacation.