Provence - To Die For

Murder, She Wrote #17

by Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain

In this series seventeenth book of mystery and adventure, bestselling author Jessica Fletcher travels to Provence in France for some haute cuisine, and becomes embroiled in a culinary murder mystery.

Everyone respects the talents of chef Emil Bertrand and a spot in his cooking class is in great demand. That's not to say everyone likes him. Far from it. Jessica has one of the few spots in his class, and soon finds that there's deadly truth to that statement.

Librarian's note #1: there is an earlier MSW series by James Anderson and David Deutsch. Novelizations of TV episodes. The characters, settings, etc. have all been entered for the 4-volume original series: #1, The Murder of Sherlock Holmes (1985); #2, Hooray for Homicide (1985); #3, Lovers and Other Killers (1986); and #4, Murder in Two Acts (1986). But improvements welcome!

Librarian's note #2: the characters, settings, etc. have all been entered for the first 20 books in the current Jessica Fletcher / Donald Bain MSW series. They are #1, Gin & Daggers (1989) with a 2nd edition in (2000); #2, Manhattans & Murder (1994); #3, Rum & Razors (1995); #4, Brandy & Bullets (1995); #5, Martinis & Mayhem (1995); #6, A Deadly Judgment (1996); #7, A Palette for Murder (1996); #8, The Highland Fling Murders (1997); #9, Murder on the QE2 (1997); #10, Murder in Moscow (1998); #11, A Little Yuletide Murder (1998); #12, Murder at the Powderhorn Ranch (1999); #13, Knock 'Em Dead (1999); #14, Trick or Treachery (2000); #15, Blood on the Vine (2001); #16, Murder in a Minor Key (2001); #17, Provence - To Die For (2002); #18, You Bet Your Life (2002); #19, Majoring in Murder (2003), and #20, Destination Murder (2003). But improvements welcome! Needed - a librarian to give the same treatment for #21 and on.

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

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

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

[Antonella Imperiali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penso di leggerne altri perché questa investigatrice dilettante mi piace proprio, complice anche la serie tv, anche se in questo episodio si dimostra un po’ saccente, ficcanaso e invadente, ma d’altra parte è una scrittrice di gialli, la cara Jessica, e la sa lunga di questo mondo criminale.

Questa volta è in vacanza nella bella Provenza, e decide di frequentare un corso di cucina organizzato da un grande chef. E figuriamoci se non muore lo chef!!! Naturalmente la polizia non ci capisce un tubo e alla fine l’ispettore di turno chiede la sua autorevole collaborazione. Naturalmente, tra vari colpi di scena, il colpevole viene identificato e tutto è bene quel che finisce bene. Classico.

Storia leggera, godibilissima, soprattutto grazie ad una bella ambientazione.
Per non parlare poi della cucina gourmet presentata in varie pagine.
Acquolina in bocca assicurata.

🔹Tema del mese (dic/20): la cucina

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

”’I came to Provence to relax, to read, to cook, to enjoy the culture of another country.’”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I don’t mean to laugh. I really don’t. However, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that Jessica Fletcher is simply not allowed to take a vacation.

Why, you ask?

Every time Jessica takes a vacation, somebody fucking dies.

Between her, Poirot, and Marple, the universe is conspiring against them that they are absolutely not allowed to take any time off at all to just enjoy themselves. They’re essentially the Grim Reapers, reincarnated. And yet they keep trying to relax.

After her previous investigation, Jessica is finally (finally!) going on a much-needed vacation, this time for reals. Nothing is going to stand in her way. She’ll be spending two months in sunny Provence luxuriating in the French countryside and winding and dining on the divine cuisine. She’s even signed up for some cooking classes conducted by a world-renowned chef. It’s gonna be great.

And then someone dies. Because Jessica Fletcher is not allowed to have nice things.

This was another charming installment in the book series that were inspired by the beloved TV show. It’s a show I grew up watching, because who can resist Mrs. Potts solving murder mysteries? However, I will have to admit that I thought Jessica was a little bit too pushy in this installment. I can’t quite point my finger on it, but she was a little off this time around. In the TV series (and earlier book installments), she was firm and assertive but never pushy when it came to expressing herself or trying to insert herself in the investigations. However, in this installment she was kind of rude at times. That’s not like the beloved Jessica I know. Maybe the author wanted to try something different when it came to the character, but I think it backfired a little bit.

I also thought that the plot, while good, was kind of all over the place when it came to topics. We’ve got chefs, truffles, truffle sniffing dogs, and my most hated trope- the “precocious kid who thinks they know everything but they’re really just annoying” trope. That trope can die on a hill as far as I’m concerned.

Despite those little setbacks, this was another installment in a solid series that’s sure to please any Murder, She Wrote fan.

Thanks, Jessica. Maybe you’ll be able to take that vacation after all.

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. A favourite. Three reasons. The location is wonderful, Provence in southern France. Second, Jessica does a serious amount of snooping with the active opposition of the local police, and gets into serious danger. And third, the puzzle as to who committed the dirty deed is a good one. Can we take them one at a time? Haven't you always wanted to visit Provence? For the lovely food and climate. And the beautiful little villages so close to Marseille and the Mediterranean. Did you know the Papacy was located in Provence in the 14th century? The descriptions are wonderful. Jessica is doing a home exchange with a friend who has moved into hers in Cabot Cove. She joins a food class with the great Emil Bertrand, but he soon ends up dead with his special knife buried in his chest. She begins her own investigation to the chagrin of Captain LeClerq. At one point she's balanced on an old castle wall about to fall to her death. At another she's battling truffle thieves. And the last point? So many suspects! A young lover, two cooking rivals, a runaway American teenager, a previous lover named Madame Poutine, is she from Quebec?, and others. This is the one for you and me. (Se2025)

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder follows Jessica everywhere, even on vacation! 3.5 stars, maybe?

[Kellene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know that I can always count on Jessica Fletcher for a fairly entertaining, solid mystery, and this was no exception. A French setting, with lots of description of the surrounding countryside and the food (sometimes too much description, to be honest), made for a great atmosphere, and the book included all of the typical Murder She Wrote characters. Again, the mystery was fine, but the victim was such a jerk, I was just glad he was dead, and didn't care too much who did it. But the thing that confounded me about this book, and many others in this series, is the MC. First of all, within an hour of meeting someone, Jessica is attached enough to intervene in a murder case against them, sometimes putting herself in grave danger? Secondly, regardless of where she is and how much the investigating official tells her to stay out of the investigation, Jessica always manages to insert herself into the investigation and make the police grateful that she could solve the case for them. All because she writes murder mysteries? Sometimes those thoughts stick in my mind and I have a hard time finishing the book because of my own incredulity.

[Elisa Schiorlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica Fletcher ha deciso di trascorrere quakche settimana di vacanza in Provenza in completo relax e frequentando un corso di cucina.
Ma le cose non andranno esattamente come aveva preventivato.

Lettura scorrevole ma secondo me non uno dei migliori della signora in giallo

[Laura L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, the French setting and the delicious sounding food, and a murder.

[Ryan Beltz · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a longtime fan of the Murder, She Wrote series, I’ve come to know what to expect—solid mystery, comfort settings, and the steady presence of Jessica Fletcher. Provence to Die For fits the formula, but it doesn’t do much to set itself apart from the rest of the series.

The mystery here is pretty straightforward and doesn’t throw many curveballs. While that’s not necessarily a dealbreaker, what did stand out (or didn’t, rather) were the side characters—none of them particularly memorable or engaging. And once again, the book suffers from the same issue that occasionally plagued the show: taking Jessica too far from Cabot Cove. With no familiar faces from France or Maine, there’s a certain charm and dynamic that feels missing.

That said, the book does introduce an intriguing wrinkle in the form of The Breeze, an Israeli detective who might just be Jessica’s Moriarty. It’s too early to tell, but if they lean into this new character, there could be some fresh life injected into the series. I’ll be curious to see if and how The Breeze becomes a recurring foil—or partner—in future installments.

All in all, Provence to Die For is a standard Murder, She Wrote outing. Comforting in its familiarity, but not especially memorable. Worth a read for fans, but not a standout in the series.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typically solid and cozy addition to the Jessica Fletcher canon from the late Donald Bain, complete with a couple of interesting subplots. Two things work against it, however. First, too much time is spent writing a travelogue of Provence instead of writing a mystery, resulting in a lot of padding along the way. Second, while the narrative provides hints to some of the supporting clues to the mystery, it does not provide the clues needed for the reader to solve the central murder. So if you're looking to solve it (beyond an educated guess) before Jessica does, be prepared for disappointment.

[Aparna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stars: 3 / 5
Recommendation: A cozy addition to the plethora of books under Murder She Wrote series that takes one through the charming world of a little town in France, and also through the dark underbelly of the restaurant world. Enjoyable read even if parts can be skipped.

Provence - To Die For is the 17th novel in the long-running Murder She Wrote series co-written by Donald Bain & fictional writer Jessica Fletcher. It was first published on April 1, 2002. Jessica heads to Provence, France for a much needed vacation and down-time. But a murder of a prominent Chef mars her peaceful trip forcing her to wade through the soup of suspects and mysterious ingredients she meets along.

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.

Jessica is in the middle of another murder much to the dissatisfaction of the local police in Provence. She butts her head in, pushes people around, to find answers despite several warnings from the police. Interesting how stubborn Jessica is shown in this plot.

There is considerable description of all the places that Jessica visits while in Provence. The elaborate chapter on the cooking class was not helpful since we don’t actually see Jessica cooking anything other than prep work. These chapters dulled on a bit on the reader, bordering on boredom.

It is no surprising that Jessica doesn’t get to enjoy her vacation, again pulled into a murder mystery. Her natural curiosity and penchant to dig the truth always brings her in the middle of a mystery. The setting was charming, in a town in France. But at times that chapters dulled.

A cozy addition to the plethora of books under Murder She Wrote series that takes one through the charming world of a little town in France, and also through the dark underbelly of the restaurant world. Enjoyable read even if parts can be skipped.

Spoiler Alerts:

1. Plot Reveals:
a. Other characters of interest: Martine Devries, owner of the house Jessica swaps with and a friend; Mallory Cartwright, a fellow passenger Jessica meets on train; M. Phillipe Telloir, truffles trader; Madame Arlene, neighbor; Marcel, taxi driver; Madame Marie Roulandet, baker; Captain LeClerq; Lieutenant Thierry; Marius Poutine, Mme Poutine's husband; John Cartwright, Mallory's uncle.
b. Characters surrounding Chef Bertrand: Claire, hotel desk person; Guy Lavande, sous chef; Daniel Aubertin, head chef.
c. Guests taking cooking lessons with Chef Bertrand: Monsieur Rene Bonasse, a business man; Madame Paulette Franc Poutine; Craig & Jill Thomas, British couple.

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;
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. On Pg. 83, it looked like the order that Chef Bertrand gives to Guy is heard by everyone in the class. However, on Pg. 153, Jessica mentions that the Thomases heard the reprimand, not all of them.
b. On Pg. 160, we see that the waiter comes back to serve Jessica. However, that was the first time he was coming to her table.

[Juliet Minerva Swift · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for the 2020 N.E.W.T.s
HISTORY OF MAGIC: Book with a mainly black cover
Grade awarded: E

This one was good, a light summer read. The Provence as background was lovely, at first I wasn't really into it but then I enjoyed that aspect.

The plot was a bit convoluted, there was a lot of weird stuff like the whole truffle dogs part, and the weirdo that kinda makes Jessica lean over a railing but he didn't want to kill her ???

The young American girl that befriends Jessica is so SO ANNOYING. Apart from being written too flatly, she acts like a friggin idiot. Had I been Jessica, I would have flown that girl back to the US without a plane.
But somehow most of the characters are mean or unlikable, I guess to make you consider each of them a possible suspect.

I would say that I could/couldn't predict the killer, but right now I am not entirely sure who did the killing. I barely remember the ending, but I think it was a good one.

[Jameson · Rating 4 out of 5]

[As always, this rating is relevant only to this corner of fiction: MSW "novels" and others based on TV shows. Obviously with these mass market, pop fic, "readables" I don't consider the quality of the prose or anything.]

Okay. So I'm addicted to this show. Extremely. Pathetically. I've even read about half a dozen of these books. They're the kind of books you can bring to - not even the beach - a really loud and obnoxious public pool. At least the ones I've read. Maybe there are some that more closely resemble the types of cozies they strive to emulate--AC's Miss Marple series maybe?--but I haven't found any yet.

This one though is a bit better than average.

[Byron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun read! Nothing life-changing, but a good time. As is often the case with these books, Jessica took one or two very dangerous risks during the story that I found rather unbelievable…but I’ve come to expect that of these books so it didn’t bother me too much. It’s just amusing; this woman must know she’s invincible to do some of the things she does. Anyway, I enjoyed the setting quite a lot, and particularly enjoyed the character of the grumpy baker whom Jess manages to befriend through a series of persistent encounters and favors. Martine’s house made for a very cozy main setting, and I really liked all the foodie/restaurant-related details.

[Sonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again I enjoyed reading a Murder She Wrote story, Provence—To Die For by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain. It was an interesting murder mystery story in Provence, France. It’s another way to learn about another culture and way of life along with many of the types of characters one may come across. This story has some twists and good suspects. It's great for a vacation read, which is when I read it. Poor Jessica Fletcher, she never gets a complete restful vacation, because she’s more interested in solving murder mysteries that seem to happen when she’s around. She just can't help herself.

[Kimberly Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

***Mild spoilers

Not one of my favorites from this series. First, I honestly don't think Jessica ever explained how she decided on the murderer. There were very few actual clues or evidence. Just not well developed in my opinion.
Second, Jessica was fairly obnoxious. She was rude and pushy to the people she wanted to question. She seemed to think that, because she writes murder books, she can force people to talk to her! Weird.
Third, the bazzar scene in the ruins. What in the world?

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica is off on a two month vacation in Provence and first up on her to do list is a week-long cooking class with a Michelin star chef. When he is murdered on the second day with one of his own knives Jessica begins to look into the background of the other classmates, including a young teenager she met on the train to Avignon. Lots of red herrings and great clues but this reader was definitely surprised by the ending. Great characters and a good plot.

[Ciera Legue · Rating 4 out of 5]

the ending really surprised me and while i felt the majority of the drama was in the beginning around the time of murder and than at the end and wasnt much in the middle i am glad how it ended and was pleasantly surprised that the cops had the right person all along even though they had pratically no evidence at the time of the murder

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an improvement over the previous book, even though some things seemed rather random. Apart from the horribly stereotypical way French people were portrayed, it was entertaining reading about Jessica in a different country for once.

[Robin Minarich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not like all the others that I have read. First of all, it never captured my interests like all the other ones that I have read of hers. Had to make myself finish reading it. It was like this one was her first novel instead of her 17th one.

[Sarah Jowett · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay... didn't really like France so I guess it's a good thing I've never been ha.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Jessica.

[Anita (Hearts and Whodunits) · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Murder, She Wrote mysteries I've read.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

just like the show. Good fun. I like how the characters in the book call her out on her pushy busybody ways.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun learning about France and mushrooms. Thoroughly enjoyed it start to finish.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably the waekest of the series so far.

[Jaymie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a fun time! This one was especially compelling. It mixed in some mini mysteries that added to the overall plot. Loved it!

[Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely terrible. I think I lost brain cells.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read.

[Lavender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica takes a vacation in Provence. As it happens, she also ends up caught up in a murder investigation.