UN MISTERO SECOLARE, UN NATALE MOVIMENTATO, TRE OMICIDI DA RISOLVERE. JESSICA FLETCHER NON RIESCE A STARE LONTANA DALLE INDAGINI NEANCHE DURANTE LE FESTE.
Con i lavori di ristrutturazione della sua adorata casa quasi completati, Jessica Fletcher è di ottimo umore e pronta a celebrare il Natale. La gioiosa atmosfera festiva viene però spezzata da una scoperta inquietante: dal terreno della sua proprietà emergono delle ossa. A quanto pare, non risalgono tutte alla stessa epoca; tuttavia, Jessica sospetta che, nonostante i secoli che li separano, i resti possano essere collegati. Quando il reporter Tad Hollenbeck viene assassinato, gli omicidi non sembrano destinati a rimanere nel passato. Più indizi, o meglio, più cadaveri fanno una prova e mentre Jessica scava in profondità per trovare la connessione tra quelle ossa e la morte di Tad, tutto pare ricondurre a un mistero che ha a lungo tormentato Cabot Cove. Anche l'idilliaca cittadina del Maine nasconde un oscuro segreto e Jessica dovrà riportarlo a galla per salvare il Natale... ed evitare che sia anche l'ultimo per lei.
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. The author credit for the novels is shared with the fictitious "Jessica Fletcher." The series has been continued by authors Renée Paley-Bain, Jon Land, Terrie Farley Moran, andBarbara Early.
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.
Murder, She Wrote: Murder in Season is the 52nd-installment of this beloved Cozy Mystery series starring famous author and amateur sleuth, Jessica Fletcher.
This is the 5th-book authored by Jon Land, who took the reins after the passing of the original writer for the series, Donald Bain.
Incidentally, this is the 35th Murder, She Wrote book that I have read.
Sometimes it feels like I have been reading this series my whole life and, honestly, I hope it continues that way.
There's something about settling in with a new Jessica Fletcher mystery; the epitome of cozy.
As with many Adult Mystery series, you do not need to read these in order. You can really start anywhere.
You'll learn the characters as you go along and before you know it, it will be like reuniting with old friends every time you start a new story.
If you are interested in starting this series, I would recommend reading the synopsis for a bunch of them and picking whichever one sounds most interesting to you.
Jessica travels a lot, so there are mysteries set all over the world, in addition to her hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine.
In this installment, Jessica has recently moved back into her home on Candlewood Lane, in Cabot Cove, after a lengthy reconstruction project following a house fire.
The Christmas holiday is rapidly approaching and Jessica is looking forward to having her nephew, Grady, and his wife, Donna, and son, Frank, stay with her for the occasion. It seems like a long time since they have all been together.
Unfortunately, as luck would have it, or as Jessica's luck would have it, one of the final bits of reconstruction includes some trenching in her backyard, where not one, but two bodies are discovered.
The corpses appear to have been moved there, along with a trunk of old documents, from another location. Making it even more mysterious, one set of remains looks to be over a hundred years old, while the other is much more recent. How are they possibly connected?
Now instead of focusing on the holiday, all of Jessica's focus is on the remains.
Adding to the stress of the investigation, a tabloid reporter, Tad Hollenbeck, known for his overly sensationalized reporting, suddenly arrives in town claiming to be doing a story on how Cabot Cove is the "murder capital of the country".
As preposterous as it sounds, Tad's headline seems to be coming true when he is found dead in his local hotel room.
What's one more mystery for Jessica, Mort and Seth to solve?
I had so much fun reading this; learning more about the history of Cabot Cove and having Jessica back home.
This holiday is going to be tough, not being able to be with my family like I regularly would. I really needed something nostalgic like this to help with the 2020 blues.
Jon Land is settling in nicely as the author of this series. In the beginning, I'll admit, I was worried, but he really nailed the tone on the last two.
I will continue to pick up the books in this series for as long as they are published. I am hoping with Jon Land now at the helm, that will be for a very long time to come.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and I review. I truly appreciate the opportunity!
Murder in Season marks Jon Land’s sixth and final book in the MSW series. His approach has been distinctly mediocre from the start, although it must be said that there have been positive moments from his tenure. The Murder of Twelve was undoubtedly his best effort, even if it was only just above average. Others, such as Manuscript for Murder and Murder in Red, I have found to be among the worst of the overall series (along with Murder in Moscow). Murder in Season was an average adventure, one which I read in less than a week but it was fatally flawed in some areas that must be mentioned.
I was intrigued by the puzzle of the two skeletons found in the building plot from the moment I read of the storyline when the book was announced in early 2020. Christmas is a love of mine, too - and murder stories set at Christmas one of my favourite genres. The cold, callous nature of the ultimate criminal act nicely counteracts the cosy comfort of the Yuletide period (a story where this was done expertly was A Little Yuletide Murder, a truly wonderful MSW book). However, the story soon descended into some of Land’s fanfic nonsense - trying to rewrite the history of Cabot Cove? Uh—no thank you! Tension built adequately throughout, but I will also admit to guessing the killer, method, motive and clues about halfway through the book. I like to be surprised, but here I wasn’t.
Land’s grip of Jessica has got better. This is probably the closest he came to her and he should be congratulated on that. Seth is okay too, although he didn’t get that much to do in this book. Mort is not so good - he’s written as some kind of irate bully who barks threats at people if they don’t comply. Harry McGraw…where do I start? I’m looking forward to reading a book without him in. He’s awfully written and not even entertaining. I contemplated skipping the parts he was in. The suspects are a pretty good bunch, no complaint there.
Why do all of Land’s books take place in Cabot Cove? I don’t understand this - Jessica travels everywhere in the TV series and in the previous books, so why is she suddenly just a stay-at-home woman who has all the time in the world to poodle around town? She’s usually rapidly busy being involved in all kinds of international events. (I also detected very little of Jessica as a writer in this book, no mention of working on a new book or having just published one or anything). I also have to complain yet again (for the 6th time now!) about Cabot Cove being called the Murder Capital of Maine. This ruins everything cute about the original series - the point was that Cabot Cove is a quaint, charming town where all of these murders coincidentally happen. It is never mentioned or commented upon. Here, this nuance is bulldozed to the point where it isn’t charming. It’s like someone constantly pointing out to Hercule Poirot that murder follows him around. We get it, and we’re fine with it. Stop harping on about it.
Jon Land’s time as writer of this series will probably be remembered as a brief lapse into a different MSW world. His writing isn’t terrible and I’m sure his six efforts will still be read. Maybe I’m being harsh and maybe this is just a different way of reading MSW. Who knows? All I can say is that I am looking forward to seeing how Terrie Farley Moran develops the series in Killing in a Koi Pond (already preordered!) in May 2021.
6/10 - average fun, on par with The Murder of Twelve.
Jessica Fletcher is looking forward to spending Christmas in her fully restored house, including a visit from nephew Grady and his family. The final work needing to be done on her house is a new septic system. When the workers start digging, they find human remains. It is quickly determined that one of the bodies is centuries old, but the other is much more recent. The investigation looks like it ties into the founders of Cabot Cove. What secret might the founders have been hiding that is worth killing for today? Meanwhile, in a bit of horribly bad timing, a tabloid TV reporter is in town to do a story about the high murder rate in Cabot Cove. What complications will that produce in the investigation?
Next to the Cabot Cove episodes of the TV show, the episodes with Grady were always my favorite, so I was thrilled to get to spend time with him here. Some of the other regulars seem a bit off to me, but that’s been how I’ve felt with the last few books, the only books in the series I’ve read. The mystery was good. I do struggle at times to get into mysteries that are set years before the characters we are reading about, but this book did a good job of tying the past into modern activity to make me care about the outcome. The ending was a bit abrupt, but it does answer our questions. The Christmas scenes were wonderful and put me in the mood for the holiday. This is a Christmas treat for fans of the series.
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Any time I see a book by Jon Land, there is no question that I want to read it. Murder in Season (murder, she wrote #52)
Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads
MY REVIEW
Tis the season and Seth is confirming Jessica’s role as Mrs Claus along with his as Santa. I am sure there will be a murder for the holiday.
Jessica is still at the Hill House Hotel since renovations on her burned out home at 698 Candlewood Lane has been met with setbacks. When she found out the septic system was not up to code and would have to be replaced, what do you think is going to happen? Isn’t it about time for a body to appear? Well, surprise, surprise, we have two…and a box…in the trench.
tad Hollenbeck, a tabloid reporter is there to report on Cabot Cove and why there seem to be in inordinate amount of murders taking place there. Jessica seems to draw them to her, like flies to honey and Tad ends up adding to the count. Why him, and who are the two found at Jessica’s home?
The town’s history comes to light and it’s not all peaches and cream.
When Sheila’s doorbell rang, I knew what was coming. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, so it is pretty hard to surprise me…and I love when an author can.
Murder, treasure, greed, slavery…
What happened in the past? What secrets will be exposed? And…who the hell is doing all the killing? So many suspects and the clock ticks on.
As the story unfolds, my mind is at least able to keep up, using each new piece of the puzzle to put it together…slowly. It still takes Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land to get me there.
I did have a bit of a jolt, when Jessica walked into her house and someone grabbed her. After all, with all the bodies falling and Jessica on the investigation, someone could feel threatened by her. Hey…you can’t mess with Jessica. It’s just wrong!
Murder In Season by Jon Land is murder on the light side, seeing Jessica doesn’t like violence. And that’s just fine. It doesn’t always have to be violent and filled with blood and guts. And we do have many warm, wonderful moments for the holiday season, showing it is better to give than to receive, because family and friends give it back in spades.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Murder In Season by Jon Land.
Murder She Wrote is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. I enjoyed reading this one during this holiday season. The story was fun and I enjoyed visiting with Jessica and her neighbors in her beloved town of Cabot Cove. The mystery was fun, and I look forward to reading another book in this fun series which reminds me so much of the tv series I enjoyed watching and still watch reruns of.
This episode is a fabulous surprise in the series! I enjoyed every page of it, from the traditions of a Cabot Cove Christmas to the thrill of vicariously holding and reading historical documents from the late 18th century. Jessica is planning the best Christmas this year, as her home is finally ready for her to move back to. For the first time in years, she will be able to celebrate with Grady, the nephew she and her late husband Frank raised, and his family.
Jessica is at the favorite local diner, Mara’s, with Dr. Seth Hazlitt and Sheriff Mort Metzger, when her contractor calls. They are beginning to replace her septic system; the final step in her home rebuild. They found human remains in the trench, so the three head for her back yard.
While discussing what is in the trench, a trio from the tabloid TV show, Stalker, arrive. Tad, the star, wants to do a series on what he has dubbed the “murder capital of the country”. He has some unusual ideas as to what the cause of the murders are, one of them even being that Jessica is behind the murders because, after all, she is a mystery writer. Mort sends them away, refusing to allow them to film a new police investigation.
The state police confirm Seth’s estimate. One skeleton belongs to a man who died in late 1700’s, and the other, a young woman, who died 10 to 16 months ago. Both had been murdered. The other find in the trench that Mort kept in Cabot Cove might shed some light on the older remains. There was a wood chest from the colonial period, according to its craftsmanship and hardware. Inside are many journals and documents that they think are the founding documents of Cabot Cove that went missing many, many years ago. They could not have been buried that long as they are too well-preserved. And one of the skeletons has soil on it that was not from the trench. They would have only been there for a couple days, if that long. Someone alive now, presumably in Cabot Cove, has put them in the trench since excavation began, but why?
Tad, of Stalker, has a few secrets of his own, including ones kept from his producer and photographer. He is there to get an even bigger story than he will tell them, but never revealed what it is before he was murdered in his hotel room. When his real identity is learned, there is something more going on behind the scenes than anyone could have guessed.
The characters are so delightful and engaging! Jessica, Mort, and Seth would be an interesting group to sit down at Mara’s with for coffee and a slice of pie. Add Harry, her favorite PI, in town to join her for Christmas and mystery, and I would be happy to join this group just to see them work out a case. If anyone could find the who, the whodunit, and why in this mystery, it is this crew! The ending brought surprises that I could not have guessed. Don’t let this being the 52nd in the series put you off from reading it, as there is sufficient backstory to make these old friends come to life. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys well-written cozy mysteries with excellent characters, a Christmas setting, and a baffling mystery!
From a thankful heart: I received a complimentary copy of this novel, and this is my honest review.
Jessica Fletcher, famosa scrittrice di gialli, attende la fine della ristrutturazione della propria casa a Cabot Cove dopo che un incendio l’ha parzialmente distrutta. Felice di poter invitare parenti e amici per Natale una volta terminati i lavori, si trova a dover fare i conti con delle ossa che vengono ritrovate proprio durante gli scavi per la sostituzione della fossa biologica. I corpi rinvenuti sono due e appartengono a due epoche completamente diverse. Quando anche il giornalista incaricato di fare un servizio su Cabot Cove viene ritrovato morto, Jessica con lo sceriffo Metzger e Seth, l’amico di sempre, iniziano ad indagare.
Non credo che la Signora in giallo abbia bisogno di presentazioni! Adoro Jessica Fletcher, il suo acume e la sua umiltà. Sì, è vero: dove va lei ci scappa sempre il morto (a volte più di uno 😅) e un po’ di sfiga la porta 😂😂😂 ma come si fa a non amarla! Soprattutto l’attrice che l’ha saputa interpretare magistralmente, Angela Lansbury. Il libro è leggero, la storia ben costruita e i personaggi li ritrovi piacevolmente come ritroveresti dei cari amici, e non hai bisogno di immaginarli perché nella testa hai in mente i loro volti e le loro voci dopo aver visto un sacco di volte il telefilm. Una lettura che ci voleva proprio per accompagnarmi verso il Natale 🎅
Jessica is getting her septic system replaced in her back yard when a sturdy old box is found with 2 bodies in. 1 body has been dead for a couple centuries & the other as little as a year before. As Jess, Mort Metzger & Harry Magraw (private investigator) look into these deaths. A tv show host & camera crew show up to look into why murders are climbing in Cabot Cove.
As they investigate, the tv show host gets killed. Jess & Mort start thinking that there's a connection to the murders & 1 of the bodies in the box from Jessica's yard. They realize that the 1 body that was found in her yard was 1 of the founding fathers of Cabot Cove. They fear that the ancestors of the founding fathers that still live in Cabot Cove might be in danger.
Jessica's nephew Grady, his wife Donna & their son Frank show up for Christmas. They help Jess go through the journal to the founding father from her yard. They realize that there are missing jewels that should belong to the descendants of the founding fathers.
In time, Jess in able to figure out who killed the tv host & the newer body from her yard & just in time to celebrate Christmas with loved ones.
"La Signora Fletcher ha sempre fortuna quando si tratta di morti. Si potrebbe dire che li attira" !!!
Primo libro che leggo della serie de "La Signora in giallo" e l'ho scelto perché ambientato sotto il periodo natalizio, ma sinceramente l'aria natalizia si sente solo nelle ultime dieci pagine...peccato. La trama è interessante e con colpi di scena come accade anche nel telefilm, ma c'è qualcosa che mi ha fatto storgere il naso... All'inizio sono rimasta un pò delusa e sconcertata perché Jessica viene presentata come una donna saccente che si crogiola del suo acume e dei suoi successi investigativi.. elementi che subito l'allontanano dalla mia amata e umile Jessica Fletcher televisiva💛 (perché tutti amano Jessica Beatrice Fletcher giusto?!? GIUSTO?! Non ammetto obiezioni in merito!!!). Avanzando la lettura la situazione si riprende, magari lo scrittore ha capito che aveva sbagliato approccio..chissà.. sta di fatto che mi aspettavo decisamente di più.
Ho letto le opinioni di altri lettori che dicevano che Jon Land non è lo scrittore più apprezzato di questa serie e di provare con altri autori, per es. Donald Bain. Quindi, darò una seconda possibilità a questa saga...
Jessica Fletcher is almost too busy getting ready for Christmas and a visit from her beloved nephew Grady and his family to concentrate on an old mystery that is leaving new corpses behind. When an antique trunk and two skeletons are found under Jessica's lawn when she orders a new septic system, the police are surprised to learn that one of the skeletons is really old, and the other only a year dead. Maybe the secret is in the trunk, which is filled with historic documents about the founding of Cabot's Cove and the five men who came from Boston to start the new town. Then there are two more deaths, and the descendants of the town's founders are all suspects--or are they potential victims? The culprit was rather obvious, but it's a nice seasonal read.
Another terrible Jon Land MSW. His version of this series are terrible. The characters do things they would never do. The dialogue is nothing like Donald Bain’s dialogue. The characters say things that are so out of character!! The actual mysteries seem like an afterthought. I really am glad this is the last of Jon Land in this series. I really really dislike them and that’s sad because I love these books.
Mi è stato regalato da quel buontempone del mio ragazzo per Natale e il regalo sta avendo i suoi effetti: ogni mattina ascolto in loop la sigla della Signora in giallo, tanto che mi è venuta voglia di fare un rewatch di tutti i 264 episodi del telefilm.
Lettura piacevole con una buona dose di impiccionaggine da parte della protagonista, nonché di intuizioni a palate che ovviamente riesce ad avere solo lei proprio alla fine di ogni capitolo. 4 stelle solo per la sagacia di Jessica!
These books do for "Murder, She Wrote" what "Cobra Kai" has done for "The Karate Kid. " In the best Christmas book I didn't get to read in December, there were laugh out loud insults about Jessica's books as well as two memorable fan moments.
Even though there's a good probability I'll be murdered, I want to go back to Cabot Cove.
Ho sempre guardato i telefilm ma non avevo mai letto nulla. Libro che si legge in modo molto scorrevole e ti cattura per trovare il colpevole. La signora in giallo si trova a fare i conti con i padri fondatori della città di Cabot Cove e con ben tre delitti. Ne uscirà vincente con i suoi ragionamenti.
Come sempre adorabile. In questa avventura a Jessica trovano ben due cadaveri praticamente nel giardino di casa. Il giallo attorno a queste morti è lo spunto per raccontare le origini di Cabot Cove e mi è davvero piaciuto scoprire i misteri che ovviamente circondano la sua fondazione.
2.5 is more like it. Better than the previous Land book I tried to read, but still had some parts that really annoyed me. -Jessica would not be that rude about Amos’s time as sheriff -Jed Richardson taught Jessica to fly. -Mort is now married to Maureen. -Donna used to be an accountant too. -Harry McGraw is a thin man. Those aren’t even the plot points that bothered me! These are the plot points that bothered me. -How did Jessica not know that was a fake mustache? And why was a fake mustache this guy’s regular attire? -The slavery plot point seemed glossed over. -Cabot Cove as murder capital of the world is not the meta commentary that I want from a MSW book. -Not fond of Cabot Cove as summer retreat either. -The mystery of who the bodies are and where the diamonds are was not a mystery.
All of that said, I did finish the book and enjoy the Christmas cozy feeling.
Un libro che mi ha stupita per la sua “complessità” di dettagli e intrecci che mai mi sarei aspettata!
Da grande amante della serie tv ho voluto cimentarmi anche nella lettura di uno dei romanzi con protagonista Jessica Fletcher e devo dire che sono stata piacevolmente sorpresa, anche se purtroppo a pagina 30 avevo già capito tutto 👎🏻😆.
La scrittura è scorrevole, piacevole e la trama l’ho trovata interessante! Consigliato !✨
3.5☆ The writing style is so poor but these books are basically a comfort read for me at this point. Jessica and Cabot Cove really feel like home ❤️ I also really like the character of Harry McGraw who I don't remember at all from the show 😅 The mystery itself was fine. Towards the end, it was quite clear who the murderer was even without a lot of clues. But the journey was entertaining enough! I loved how meta it was with the fact that there are a lot of murders happening in Cabot Cove lmao
È il secondo libro che leggo della serie "La signora in giallo" e mi piacciono molto perché rievocano totalmente l'omonima serie TV che amo tanto e che guardo ancora quando ne ho l'occasione. In questo libro troviamo quasi tutti i più amati personaggi di Cabot Cove e non solo. A parte la protagonista Jessica Fletcher, ci sono Seth Hazlitt, lo sceriffo Metzger e persino l'investigatore Harry McGraw. E anche Grady, il nipote di Jessica, con la moglie e il figlio Frank. Tutti insieme per festeggiare il Natale, ma ovviamente dove c'è Jessica Fletcher ci sono anche dei delitti. Il mistero di questo romanzo è complesso e ben costruito e, sinceramente, non avevo capito chi fosse l'assassino. È un romanzo scorrevole e, anche se non ha un ritmo veloce, non annoia mai. Devo dire che la risoluzione del caso e la conclusione mi sono piaciute molto. PS: Ho adorato il regalo di Natale che fa Harry a Jessica, ma ovviamente non vi svelerò di cosa si tratta.
MURDER IN SEASON offers fun mystery fare with colonial con men, historic pirates, missing treasure, and Charles Dickens. What more could a reader want from a Christmas cozy? At the same time, Jon Land takes a hard and measured look through Jessica’s eyes at a tough topic — the sins of our forebearers. He handles this discussion deftly and in perfect tune with the story’s mood and pace. And thanks to a visit from Jessica’s grandnephew Frank, she finds not only a reckoning of the past but hope for the future.
Murder in Season is a cozy mystery surrounding the holiday season. Watching these characters every week, I feel like I know them. And, this story feels like I was visiting old friends. The plot was a puzzle concerning a 250-year-old mystery, and there were many different clues and suspects to keep me interested in finding out who the culprit was in the end. My thanks to the Somerset County Library system of New Jersey for their wonderful selection of books, including the one I reviewed here.
Murder, She Wrote: Murder in Season by Jessica Fletcher, Jon Land. Thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Cabot Cove and Jessica Fletcher. The theme from the TV show played in my head while I was reading. Interesting mystery and detective work.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.
If you don't read this in Angela Lansbury's voice, are you even reading a Jessica Fletcher novel?
I liked the Christmas tie in throughout and thought the overall story about the founding fathers of Cabot Cove was pretty cozy. I'll most likely pick up more from the series, just not around the holidays - need something a bit more festive in December.