What do you think?
Rate this book
Murder, She Wrote #6
A Deadly Judgment
The USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote mystery series continues as Jessica Fletcher searches for justice in Beantown...
Jessica is off to Boston to help her eccentric lawyer friend, Malcolm McLoon, defend a tycoon accused of fratricide. Her uncanny sleuthing talents will come in handy when the two old acquaintances dive into the case with their characteristic vigor.
But when the defendant's girlfriend—and his only alibi—is found dead in her apartment, the case takes one more murderous turn for the worse. Is someone out to make sure the accused gets convicted? Jessica has her suspicions, especially when the jurors become victims of deadly accidents. With only her gut feelings at work for her, Jessica must outwit the tenacious prosecutor and find the real culprit—before the killer finds her...
Jessica is off to Boston to help her eccentric lawyer friend, Malcolm McLoon, defend a tycoon accused of fratricide. Her uncanny sleuthing talents will come in handy when the two old acquaintances dive into the case with their characteristic vigor.
But when the defendant's girlfriend—and his only alibi—is found dead in her apartment, the case takes one more murderous turn for the worse. Is someone out to make sure the accused gets convicted? Jessica has her suspicions, especially when the jurors become victims of deadly accidents. With only her gut feelings at work for her, Jessica must outwit the tenacious prosecutor and find the real culprit—before the killer finds her...
307 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1996
92 people are currently reading
1017 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Fletcher
109 books1,095 followersLibrarian’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, and Barbara 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.
Source: Wikipedia
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, and Barbara 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.
Source: Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
September 12, 2025
3 Stars. Just a few too many coincidences here for me. I can't reveal the biggest one without giving away the motive or motives behind the murder central to the plot. Some coincidences should be expected in any novel, but overdoing it can be annoying! A few little ones? While day-dreaming about her own recipe for New England baked beans, Jessica gets a call from an old friend, doesn't she have so many, Malcolm McLoon, an attention-seeking attorney in Boston. He's good though. He can see that Jessica has excellent insight into human nature. He wants her talents as a jury consultant to help him select twelve people with an open mind on his client's case. The coincidence? The client is Billy Brannigan, accused of murdering his older brother Jack, manager of the family's famous Boston restaurant and baked bean business, Brannigan's Bean Pot. Here's the second one I can discuss. Jessica's publisher Vaughan Buckley had just recommended that her next murder mystery relate to a courtroom drama. Then McLoon calls. Get set for Court TV, action behind the scenes, insight into jury selection, and an even bigger coincidence. See my confidential note below. (Jun2021/Oc2024)
September 20, 2021
These books are like 10% Jessica Fletcher solving murders and 90% Jessica Fletcher weaseling her way out of social obligations. A+
November 16, 2018
Being a classic Murder, She Wrote fan, I thought that this novel would be a great read, but I was disappointed. It really didn't hold my interest at all, and I didn't care about the ending.
May 20, 2020
This one certainly had its ups and downs! Jessica was just fabulous as always and the surrporting cast was great. There was a lot going on. LOTS of zigs and zags. And to be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd like it but I do. Now I really want to see Boston even more!!
February 26, 2021
Jessica is at a loss for an idea for her next novel, so her publisher, Vaughan Buckley, suggests that she set her next book during a court trial. Jessica demurrs, having no experience with the trial end of things, but then her old friend Malcolm McLoon calls and invites her to Boston to be a jury consultant on his latest case: the big-city trial of infamous trust fund baby William Brannigan, who's accused of murdering his elder brother for money.
Jessica agrees, and quickly finds herself enmeshed in the defense of Billy Brannigan, only for people connected to the trial to start dropping dead: first a star witness, then a juror, and then another juror. It's up to Jessica to figure out who's got it in for poor Billy Brannigan - and why - before more people connected to him end up dead.
This was a new read for me, one of the few early novels I hadn't read before. It is compulsively readable, and I finished it in what amounted to one sitting, but the plot is so outrageous that you could drive semi-trucks through it. I can't believe, even in 1996, that a prosecutor would bring such a flimsy case to trial as the one the state had against Billy Brannigan. There was no physical evidence, no DNA, no forensics, no murder weapon. All they had was a motive. Really? Especially in a high profile case, it's hard to believe that the state wouldn't have all of its ducks in a row before taking a shot at this.
Malcolm McLoon was a total slimeball, again making me wonder how or why Jessica ever put up with him as a friend (similar to Rum & Razors). Billy Brannigan had basically zero personality, and what was there, was really stupid. I couldn't decide if he was a rich boy who was going to get off because of his money, or if he'd been framed because he was such an obvious(ly good) patsy. Thomas McEnroe stuck out like a sore thumb from the start, and it quickly became obvious that Henry LeClaire was up to no good. How either of these two got past the jury selection is something you'll have to suspend major disbelief over, as is the fact that when Cynthia Warren was found dead, the police investigating the case didn't go over the personal papers laying scattered about in plain sight.
The plot doesn't hold up to even routine scrutiny, but there was a nice twist to the end, and Jessica was so obviously fed up with the whole court system, that I gave this an extra star.
Here are the canon inconsistencies that I spotted in this book:
*Jessica is referred to as J.D. Fletcher
*the Cabot Cove Spotlight is the local paper (as opposed to the Gazette)
*Jessica apparently has a passion for red geraniums to the point where she wanted to carry them as her bridal bouquet, and Frank used to shower her with them on a regular basis
*Mort claims to remember cases that Malcolm McLoon tried twenty years ago in Cabot Cove
*Jessica claims to have worked as an editor at a publishing house in Boston after graduating from college
Jessica agrees, and quickly finds herself enmeshed in the defense of Billy Brannigan, only for people connected to the trial to start dropping dead: first a star witness, then a juror, and then another juror. It's up to Jessica to figure out who's got it in for poor Billy Brannigan - and why - before more people connected to him end up dead.
This was a new read for me, one of the few early novels I hadn't read before. It is compulsively readable, and I finished it in what amounted to one sitting, but the plot is so outrageous that you could drive semi-trucks through it. I can't believe, even in 1996, that a prosecutor would bring such a flimsy case to trial as the one the state had against Billy Brannigan. There was no physical evidence, no DNA, no forensics, no murder weapon. All they had was a motive. Really? Especially in a high profile case, it's hard to believe that the state wouldn't have all of its ducks in a row before taking a shot at this.
Malcolm McLoon was a total slimeball, again making me wonder how or why Jessica ever put up with him as a friend (similar to Rum & Razors). Billy Brannigan had basically zero personality, and what was there, was really stupid. I couldn't decide if he was a rich boy who was going to get off because of his money, or if he'd been framed because he was such an obvious(ly good) patsy. Thomas McEnroe stuck out like a sore thumb from the start, and it quickly became obvious that Henry LeClaire was up to no good. How either of these two got past the jury selection is something you'll have to suspend major disbelief over, as is the fact that when Cynthia Warren was found dead, the police investigating the case didn't go over the personal papers laying scattered about in plain sight.
The plot doesn't hold up to even routine scrutiny, but there was a nice twist to the end, and Jessica was so obviously fed up with the whole court system, that I gave this an extra star.
Here are the canon inconsistencies that I spotted in this book:
*Jessica is referred to as J.D. Fletcher
*the Cabot Cove Spotlight is the local paper (as opposed to the Gazette)
*Jessica apparently has a passion for red geraniums to the point where she wanted to carry them as her bridal bouquet, and Frank used to shower her with them on a regular basis
*Mort claims to remember cases that Malcolm McLoon tried twenty years ago in Cabot Cove
*Jessica claims to have worked as an editor at a publishing house in Boston after graduating from college
September 11, 2018
Jessica goes to Boston to help be a jury consultant to her friend and lawyer, Malcolm McLoon. Malcolm is in the process of going to trial for one of the heirs of Brannigan's Beans. Jessica has gone to study the justice system at work for possible use in her writing. People start to drop like flies and Jessica sets out to prove that the man accused of coldly murdering his brother is innocent of the crime.
I really enjoyed the story which was written in line with her other stories. I gave the book a 3.5 stars because there is one part of the book that is just so unrealistic and contrived that I found myself focusing on that more than the story itself. While the characters were great and the story line well thought out, I thought that the authors could have found another way.
While I truly enjoy most of her stories - this one, not as much as I could have if done a little differently.
I really enjoyed the story which was written in line with her other stories. I gave the book a 3.5 stars because there is one part of the book that is just so unrealistic and contrived that I found myself focusing on that more than the story itself. While the characters were great and the story line well thought out, I thought that the authors could have found another way.
While I truly enjoy most of her stories - this one, not as much as I could have if done a little differently.
January 11, 2024
This was a good mystery. It had an interesting plot and good characters. Not a favorite of the MSW series for me but still enjoyable. MSW is definitely one of my favorite series!
January 25, 2020
This was my first read of this book, and I wasn’t sure I would like it. I don’t really care about books set in court, I tend to find the idea quite boring.
However I was pleasantly surprised for how much I liked this one. The court bits were not too many or too long, and they were interesting.
As usual, I love the description of the town, and as usual of the free time activities of our heroine.
Despite liking it while reading, I find myself remembering very little after a couple of months. It didn’t really stick with me and I can barely remember who the culprit was and how the murder took place.
One thing I remember because it is always quite odd, is how the press gets all crazy because she is involved in the murder. Like, I am sure most people don’t know the face of a single author, it seems unbelievable that everyone knows and recognises Jessica, and she is followed by journalists as if she is a big celebrity. I get that sometimes it is needed as plot device, but it is mostly bizarre and it could be avoided without impacting the enjoyment of the book or the plot.
However I was pleasantly surprised for how much I liked this one. The court bits were not too many or too long, and they were interesting.
As usual, I love the description of the town, and as usual of the free time activities of our heroine.
Despite liking it while reading, I find myself remembering very little after a couple of months. It didn’t really stick with me and I can barely remember who the culprit was and how the murder took place.
One thing I remember because it is always quite odd, is how the press gets all crazy because she is involved in the murder. Like, I am sure most people don’t know the face of a single author, it seems unbelievable that everyone knows and recognises Jessica, and she is followed by journalists as if she is a big celebrity. I get that sometimes it is needed as plot device, but it is mostly bizarre and it could be avoided without impacting the enjoyment of the book or the plot.
July 12, 2019
I didn't have a lot of expectations for this book. I love the TV show, but generally books that are based on TV series aren't the greatest. The plot was okay, the kind of camp that I have come to love from the show. Malcolm Mcloon was a great larger than life character and I enjoyed the concept of Jessica being a jury consultant. My issues were more so with the editing and publication. There were sentences that stopped halfway through, missing paragraphs, as well as a few spelling mistakes. They really needed someone to proofread this. There was also one weird character arc that didn't really go anywhere and felt unnecessary. The ending (not of the case but the actual book) also felt very abrupt. They could have concluded one part in particular in less of a rush. Anyway, overall it was relatively entertaining and I will probably attempt to read a few of the others that I found.
February 6, 2021
on the plus side, the author seems a bit more familiar with the show ("Mort" not "Morton," for example); as a minus, I think this needed some more editing. some of that may be because I was reading a digital copy, so words were just transcribed incorrectly ("spumed" instead of "spurned") and there were some misplaced, extraneous commas that may not exist in the paper copies. but there were also story elements, like telling a driver to take 2 hours off and then 2 pages later, after a 15 minute conversation, having the driver waiting outside and ready to go, that an editor should have caught and reconciled. some aspects of the mystery were interesting, even seeing how all the different elements went together. it seems like the series is getting better!
May 20, 2021
This book has a slow start but stay with it cause it dies get better. And once it picks up you won’t want to put down. This is a different kind of murder she wrote, as Jessica goes snd sets in Amon an actual court proceedings and is part of one of the teams! Little do they know what lies ahead of them.
No sexual references or language so I can recommend this book to anyone who wants a great story to read. Part of a series but they all can be stand alone. If you have the opportunity to read in order you could get the most out of the friendships and town etc
No sexual references or language so I can recommend this book to anyone who wants a great story to read. Part of a series but they all can be stand alone. If you have the opportunity to read in order you could get the most out of the friendships and town etc
December 30, 2024
In this cozy mystery I learned about how murder trials operate and how jury selections happen. From the outside trials may seem to take forever and that’s because one does not see all the behind the scenes happenings. While reading this I was reminded that just because tragedy strikes and your world has been rocked life does not stop, pause or even slow down. Life continues on. This books has many twists and turns with many characters. I truly enjoyed this one.
March 8, 2017
I thought A Deadly Judgment by Jessica Fletcher was pretty good - above average from all the other Murder She Wrote mysteries I read. It has it's twists and turns, which I like. The only possible negative comment I have is that it ended abruptly - who did it. I like that the book had a type of epilogue, but it seemed coldly written.
Like all the other Murder She Wrote books, it's an easy read. I like reading them in between more in-depth and complicated novels.
Like all the other Murder She Wrote books, it's an easy read. I like reading them in between more in-depth and complicated novels.
September 21, 2019
Jessica goes to Boston to help her lawyer friend defend a man accused of killing his brother. The case takes several twist and turns when a witness and two jurors are killed. I enjoyed the story even though there were parts of it that were a little far fetched such as people placing themselves on a jury that they wanted to serve. Jessica is able to discover things that trained investigators miss and she has incredible good luck but it's fun reading these books.
April 30, 2017
Jessica goes to Boston to help a lawyer friend as a jury consultant in a trial involving a wealthy young man accused of killing his older brother. Soon, she's in for more murders than she bargained for, and has to elude a killer who's loose on the Beantown streets.
This was a good story, but the characters were pretty unlikable and the twist at the end really shocked me.
This was a good story, but the characters were pretty unlikable and the twist at the end really shocked me.
March 9, 2021
Jess really steps into it this time. She goes to Boston to be a jury consult on a murder case! What she doesn't know yet is the defendant IS guilty of murder just not the one he's charged with! She's almost run over by a car and has to dodge a few sexual advances! She might never leave home again! It was a great story with a lot of action and great story line.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2019
I first read this around the time that it came out, only I couldn't remember any of it. Found it in a box, so I gave it another read. Some of it was good, some of it (especially toward the end) felt like it dragged a bit. Ending was a bit confusing without a second read, but overall it was entertaining.
April 9, 2021
This is another great Jessica Fletcher story. Jessica travels to Boston to be part of a defense team; in particular, one of the jury consultants. As always, things get a little hairy and Jessica sets out to investigate a few things on her own. She has an ulterior motive of researching jury trials for a possible future novel. However, she may change her mind...
January 14, 2014
Helping her lawyer friend, Malcolm McLoon, defend a tycoon who has been accused of fratricide, Jessica Fletcher finds more trouble than she bargained for when the defendant's girlfriend--and only alibi--is also murdered.
January 1, 2018
I'm really enjoying this series. I like the different locations Jessica visits, to apparently solve different murders, and crimes of the like. I served jury duty one time, and I can see how frustrating the court system can be. On to the next one.
November 6, 2020
This Murder She Wrote book was quite different from all the others I’ve read and I found myself switching between really liking it and not liking it.
I was going to give it 4 stars but the ending made it a 3 star.
I was going to give it 4 stars but the ending made it a 3 star.
February 6, 2021
I love this series and loved this one was set at home in Boston. It made me homesick. I enjoyed the courtroom setting and learning about the legal system behind the scences. This is one of my favorite series.
February 12, 2021
Just another Jessica Fletcher. It’s a bit of a different setting this time, but somehow ended way too fast. Things happened really quickly and there was not as much excitement as usual. Also slightly confusing.
July 9, 2012
A very good book with a little bit too many plot twists at the end, kind of confusing but very well written.
January 8, 2015
Good.
September 1, 2018
Great
I really enjoyed this book. It was her usual but very unusual way of solving the murders. She had never written a book quite like this one even tho she's through
I really enjoyed this book. It was her usual but very unusual way of solving the murders. She had never written a book quite like this one even tho she's through
September 10, 2018
Good till the end
Thought it was a fun and easy read. Didn’t guess the ending at all. Just as good as the tv show!
Thought it was a fun and easy read. Didn’t guess the ending at all. Just as good as the tv show!
October 12, 2018
Read this really quick read
November 17, 2018
I love this series of books. Very entertaining and a fun read.
November 27, 2018
Predictable, but these Murder She Wrote books are like comfort food.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews