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Murder, She Wrote Challenge: Robin (Saturndoo)
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Michelle's Empty Nest, The Challenge Whisperer
(last edited Mar 28, 2023 07:43PM)
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Murder, She Wrote is a series of crime fiction and detective novels by Jessica Fletcher of Cabot Cove. She went to college at the Harrison College in Green Falls, New Hampshire, from where she graduated with a degree in journalism. After graduation, she decided to take up a job as a substitute English teacher. She interned at the Appleton Theater for a while and it was while she was working there that she met Frank Fletcher, a United States Air Force Captain that she went on to marry. They have no children of their own but they adopted Grady their nephew, who they raised as their own after his parents perished in an automobile accident. Following the death of her husband Frank, she wrote “The Corpse Danced At Midnight”, which her nephew found and showed to his girlfriend. She had it published by Coventry House who loved it so much that they published it, marking the start of Jessica’s career as an author. In the course of publishing, she would soon be drawn into the intrigues of a homicide that led her to quit Coventry House. During the intervening period, she published with other houses and did other things including serving in the US House of Representative for Maine. Seven years after the publication of the debut novel, she moved to New York where she went back to teaching Creative Writing and Criminology. While she has established herself as an internationally known sleuth, she still continues to publish novels.
The Murder, She Wrote series of novels by Jessica Fletcher was borne from a TV series by the same name that aired on the CBS Network between 1984 and 1996. Jessica Fletcher the author of the novels and lead character in the series was played by Angela Lansbury. The light-hearted series of novels are cozy mysteries set in Cabot Cove, where Jessica Fletcher the amateur sleuth goes about solving a range of homicides. Jessica is a widowed, childless and retired English teacher that became a successful writer of mystery novels. It all began with a small old Royal typewriter but over time and as she became more successful, she moved to a computer that runs on Windows 3.1. While she has amassed quite the fortune, she loves her small coastal community of Cabot Cove in Maine and never wants to leave. She has never let her success go to her head and has kept in touch with all her old friends that she has known since her teaching days. She counts among her friends multi-millionaires with private planes, as well as homeless people with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Nowadays she works as an amateur sleuth occupied in unraveling homicide cases in her small town. While she prefers to work as JB Fletcher both in her writing career and sleuthing work, she increasingly finds that her personal life and work often overlap.
message 3:
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Michelle's Empty Nest, The Challenge Whisperer
(last edited Mar 28, 2023 07:57PM)
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In order to skip a task, you will need to read any book in the Murder, She Wrote Series. Just list SKIP as the task in your completion post.
message 4:
by
Michelle's Empty Nest, The Challenge Whisperer
(last edited Mar 28, 2023 07:59PM)
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Jessica Fletcher is off to London to deliver the keynote address at a mystery writers convention. She's also looking forward to seeing her mentor, Marjorie Ainsworth, who will be hosting a party at her country estate to celebrate her latest book. Marjorie is the grand dame of mystery writing but she's in frail health.
The routine business trip for Jessica becomes murderous when she discovers Marjorie stabbed to death in her own bedroom.
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book set in London.
b. Read a book with a female MC.
c. Read a book where the MC is a writer.
d. Read the first book in a series.
Prompt #: Book 1: Gin & DaggersBook: A Wedding in Maine
Author: Jen McLaughlin
Date Read: 4/1
Pages: 160
Task: Read a book with a female MC.
How it Fits: female MC: Chelsea O'Kane
Mod
The "USA Today" bestselling "Murder, She Wrote" mystery series continues as Jessica Fletcher learns that Manhattan is murder at Christmastime...
Promoting her latest book brings bestselling mystery writer Jessica Fletcher to New York for Christmas. Her schedule includes book signings, restaurants, department stores...and murder?
It all begins with a sidewalk Santa staring at Jessica with fear and recognition. Behind the beard is Waldo Morse, former drug smuggler and the most notorious citizen of Cabot Cove, Maine. Jessica hasn't a clue as to how he ended up as a street corner Saint Nick, but she agrees to meet him at two o'clock the next day.
Jessica shows up with her camera, but in no time at all Santa is dead. While the police are strangely slow on their feet, and the dead man's wife uncommonly fast on the run, Jessica decides to do what she does best: strategically snoop around and graciously outwit the pros on both sides of the law.
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book set in New York City.
b. Read a book with an alliterative title where the first letter of multiple words is the same.
c. Read a book where someone dresses up in any kind of costume.
d. Read a book with a skull on the cover.
Prompt #: Book 2: Manhattans & MurderBook: Hitches, Hideouts, & Homicides
Author: Tonya Kappes
Date Read: 4/4
Pages: Listened to audiobook--default edition is 177 pgs
Task: alliterative title where the first letter of multiple words is the same.
How it Fits: words in title start with "H"
Mod
Jessica is on vacation in St. Thomas in the Caribbean when she discovers the corpse of hotel owner Walter Marschalk. The island police suspect a hot-tempered ex-employee, but cool-headed Jessica sets out to discover who's the real serpent in Eden.
The water's lovely; the scenery's gorgeous, but trouble is waiting for Jessica in paradise.
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book where the MC lives on or vacations at a beach.
b. Read a book published in the 1990s.
c. Read a book with one single person on the cover.
d. Read a book where the author's first and last initial are found in CARIBBEAN.
Prompt #: Book 3: Rum & RazorsBook: Who Is Vera Kelly?
Author: Rosalie Knecht
Date Read: 4/15
Pages: single person on the cover.
Task: one single person on the cover
How it Fits: one woman on cover
Mod
Cabot Cove in Maine has a cozy country luncheonette, but not much high culture. Mystery author Jessica Fletcher is the only writer in town, but the renovation of the local Worrell mansion into an art colony may bring scores of artistic people to C.C. No one, however, expected a creative killer.
The posh retreat offers struggling artists a European spa, psychiatry, and even hypnotism. But soon the retreat begins to look like a health hazard. In quick succession, a suicide attempt and a brutal murder arouse the sheriff's attention - and Jessica's. When an old friend mysteriously disappears, Jessica fears a twisted genius is at work writing a scenario for murder - and putting Jessica's own life in peril.
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book set in a small town {your interpretation}.
b. Read a book with a character who is an artist of any kind.
c. Read a book where the MC visits a spa.
d. Read a book with a 4 in the page count.
Prompt #: Book 4: Brandy & BulletsBook: Ax To Grind
Author: Tonya Kappes
Date Read: 4/17
Pages: 224
Task: set in a small town {your interpretation}
How it Fits: Cottonwood KY is a small town where MC is sheriff.
Mod
Cabot Cove, Maine's most famous mystery author, Jessica Fletcher, is excited about promoting her new book in glamourous San Francisco. She can't wait for drinks and dinner on Fisherman's Wharf, a ride on a cable car, and a rendezvous with her visiting Scottish policeman friend, George Sutherland.
But Jess doesn't know that solving a murder may soon be penciled into her agenda.
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book set in California.
b. Read a book that has a character in law enforcement.
c. Read a book where the MC has an alcoholic drink.
d. Read a book where the MC's first initial is found in JESSICA.
Prompt #:Book 5: Martinis & MayhemBook: A Plain and Simple Christmas
Author: Amy Clipston
Date Read: 4/26
Pages: 193
Task: MC's first initial is found in JESSICA
How it Fits: MC first name is Anna
Mod
Jessica Fletcher is off to Boston to help her eccentric lawyer friend, Malcolm McLoon, defend a tycoon accused of fratricide. McLoon had asked her, "Can you help me as a jury consultant?"
Her uncanny sleuthing talents will be important when the two old acquaintances dive into the case with the characteristic vigor each is known for. Even so, Jessica anticipates enough time to take in the charming sights of New England's historic capital.
When the defendant's girlfriend - and his only alibi - is found dead in her apartment, the case takes another turn for the worse. Is someone out to make sure the accused gets convicted? Jessica has her suspicions, and soon - when jurors become victims of deadly accidents - there's even more to ponder. With only her gut feelings at her disposal, Jessica must outwit the tenacious prosecutor determined to get a guilty verdict. She must find the real killer before he, or is it she, finds her!
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book where any character is a lawyer.
b. Read a book set in New England.
c. Read a book with a MPG of Mystery.
d. Read a book with the word GUILTY in the text. {State passage and location.}
Prompt #:Book 6: A Deadly JudgmentBook: Granny Strikes Back
Author: Harper Lin
Date Read: 4/27
Pages: 156
Task: MPG of Mystery
How it Fits: 1st MPG is mystery
Mod
Jessica Fletcher has come to the elegant Hamptons on Long Island's gold coast in New York for a sinfully sweet spell by the sea! Plus, she wants a chance to indulge her secret burning passion: painting.
In this place where arts flower and artists flock, she finds a sketching class where she can try to make her dreams of da Vinci-hood come true. Unfortunately, that's not what happens. Murder gets in the way.
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book that mentions a famous painter.
b. Read a book where the author's first and last initials are found in FLETCHER.
c. Read a book with a 7 in the publication date.
d. Read a book where the MC pursues a hobby.
Prompt #: Book 7: A Palette for MurderBook: The Game of Silence
Author: Louise Erdrich
Date Read: 5/6
Pages: 271
Task: author's first and last initials are found in FLETCHER
How it Fits: author's first and last initials are found in FLETCHER
Mod
Sounds like great fun! A group of friends from Cabot Cove, Maine, take off for the British Isles to join Jessica Fletcher while she's on a book tour in London. They all end up at an ancient castle in Scotland. Exciting. It would have been a great vacation--except for the ghost. And the murders.
Did we mention that the castle is owned by George Sutherland? The Inspector with Scotland Yard. He's the interesting man Jess met in "Gin & Daggers," the first entry in the series. The last time she was in London. It's located in the town of Wick and has been in his family for centuries.
It's a time of witches, both in the distant past and very current, and it's a time of pitchforks to the heart. Can Jessica rise to the occasion in Scotland?
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book set in Scotland.
b. Read a book with a large building on the cover.
c. Read a book with a witch in it.
d. Read a book where the MC's first initial is found in GEORGE.
Prompt #: Book 8: The Highland Fling MurdersBook: Ophelia After All
Author: Racquel Marie
Date Read: 6/9
Pages: 341
Task: MC's first initial is found in GEORGE
How it Fits: MC first initial is "O"--Ophelia
Mod
Bestselling mystery writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher is invited to travel to London on the grand dame of ocean liners, the "Queen Elizabeth II", as one of seven guest lecturers. She's done it before in these novels - speak on mystery writing. This time she's also written a short mystery play, to be performed one act a day during the crossing. The other lecturers will make guest appearances. Sounds like fun.
During the evening of the day they set sail, a fellow speaker is found brutally murdered. Even before the first act! Now Jessica has just four days at sea to find the killer before she finds more of her colleagues, or even herself, dead in the water!
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book at least partially set on a boat or ship.
b. Read a book where a character is in or goes to a play.
c. Read a book with a mostly blue cover {your discretion}.
d. Read a book where someone is murdered.
Prompt #: Book 9: Murder on the QE2Book: Booked for Trouble
Author: Eva Gates
Date Read: 10/5
Pages: 278
Task: someone is murdered.
How it Fits: Karen Kivas is murdered. She is a HS classmate of MC's mother.
Mod
Mystery writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher visits Moscow as part of a delegation of United States publishers planning to meet with their equivalents in Russia. Intended to be a friendly exchange of ideas. The objective? Assist the publishing industry as it emerges from the Soviet Union era, and help Russia succeed as a new democracy.
But the poisoning of a Moscow publisher, who may have possessed information which could topple the new government, changes everything and places Jess in a dangerous situation. The man was also her new Russian publisher who was planning to translate her mysteries and bring them to a new audience. She turns to the American Embassy for help, only to discover that the United States government may be involved too!
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book set in Russia.
b. Read a book with at least 300 pages.
c. Read a book with a government official in it.
d. Read a book where the MC turns to someone else for help of any kind.
Prompt #: Book 10: Murder in MoscowBook: Grilled for Murder
Author: Maddie Day
Date Read: 12/6
Pages: 304
Task: 300+ pages
How it Fits: 304 pages
Mod
It’s beginning to look a lot like murder...
Jessica Fletcher is planning to spend a cozy Christmas at home in Cabot Cove. This year, she's not on the circuit being interviewed about her latest novel or autographing copies at local bookstores. But when Rory Brent is found shot to death on his farm just out of town, there will be no peace on earth until his killer is found.
Snooping into Cabot Cove's past for a motive, Jessica is determined to deliver the killer before Christmas. The trouble is that the next sound she might hear this silent night may be a scream—her own…
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read any book from a series which has more than 10 works.
b. Read a book with less than 300 pages.
c. Read a book set on a farm.
d. Read a book with snow on the cover.
Mod
"The challenge rules say: 📘Books must be completed after the task has been posted.
HOWEVER, since it's Christmastime, I will allow all participants to use any books read in the month of December 2023 for any task I post as of today. This will be allowed through the end of this month - December 31st in your timezone. So if you read a book a week ago and it works for a task today, or next week, etc., you may use it."
Merry Christmas 🤶🏻
Prompt #: Book 11: A Little Yuletide MurderBook: Return to Sender/Tonya Kappes
Author: Maddie Day
Date Read: 12/30
Pages: 186
Task: b. Read a book with less than 300 pages.
How it Fits: 186 pgs
Mod
Best-selling mystery author Jessica Fletcher is visiting an old friend's ranch out west. Bonnie and Jim Cook offered, and she said, "Yes."
It's an adventure in the glorious outdoors of Colorado. But she gets caught in a fiendish plot when one of the guests is found stabbed to death. Soon after, the victim's wife is also discovered murdered in a gruesome fashion. Is it revenge? If so, for what?
With the police at a loss, and the rest of the guests on edge, Jessica decides to do some research into the past of some of them. They've been less than cordial. What she discovers may help her crack the case...if it doesn't get her killed first!
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book with a 5-word title.
b. Read a book set in Colorado.
c. Read a book with a rancher it in.
d. Read a book with a character named Bonnie, Jim, or Jessica.
Prompt #: Book 12: Murder at the Powderhorn RanchBook: The Path of the Crooked
Author: Ellery Adams
Date Read: 1/14/24
Pages: 247
Task: 5-word title.
How it Fits: 5 word title
Mod
When one of her mystery books, 'Knock Em' Dead,' is turned into a Broadway play, Jessica is thrilled and hits the Big Apple to help out the production.
But then, as the play is in rehearsals, dead bodies offstage start upstaging the performers onstage! As has happened before, it's up to Jess to drop the curtain on a killer! The show must go on. But will the play and Jessica make it to opening night in one piece?
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book with a mostly red cover {your discretion}.
b. Read a book that has been made into a play or a movie.
c. Read a book where the MC's first initial is found in BROADWAY.
d. Read a book with an apostrophe in the title.
Prompt #: Book 13: Knock 'Em DeadBook: Die for Me
Author: Amy Plum
Date Read: 1/28/24
Pages: 357
Task: mostly red cover {your discretion}.
How it Fits: red cover
Mod
Jessica Fletcher gets spooked in this mystery in the 'USA Today' bestselling 'Murder, She Wrote' series.
It's late October in Cabot Cove and, as Halloween approaches, something strange is in the air. The arrival of a self-righteous, fire-and-brimstone spiritual medium has some townspeople on the lookout for curses and evil omens. Plus, there's a reclusive, eccentric woman who has others whispering that she is a real-life witch. For Jessica Fletcher, the upcoming annual Halloween party has her frantically searching for the perfect costume.
The whole town ends up spooked when the alleged witch is found dead in the graveyard, and everyone at the party is a suspect. While Sheriff Metzger does his thing, Jess takes it upon herself to stir through a witches' brew of motives; she even concocts a scary scheme of her own to make sure a guilty ghoul doesn't get away with murder!
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book where any holiday is celebrated.
b. Read a book where the first letter of every word in the title can be found in SHERIFF METZGER {3-word minimum}.
c. Read a book with a grave or cemetery on the cover.
d. Read a book with a MPG of Cozy Mystery.
Prompt #: Book 14: Trick or TreacheryBook: Frozen Detective
Author: Amanda Flower
Date Read: 2/19/20
Pages: 336
Task: MPG of Cozy Mystery
How it Fits: has MPG cozy mystery
Mod
There's a victim in the vineyard. Or at least in the castle next door!
Jessica Fletcher is visiting Napa Valley wine country while doing research for her next book, and invites her old friend, Scotland Yard detective George Sutherland to join her at a cozy bed and breakfast. Just friends mind you. No sooner do they arrive than they find the valley abuzz over the murder of a waiter at the restaurant owned by infamous ex-Hollywood heavyweight Bill Ladington. Ladington's blatant womanizing and involvement in a bitter vineyard land dispute have already marked him as a dubious character - and a possible suspect.
But when Ladington turns up dead from a supposed "suicide," Jessica knows that a murderer is on the loose. With a little help from George, she must try and bottle up a motive for murder from an extensive list of less-than-vintage suspects!
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book where wine is consumed.
b. Read a book with blood on the cover.
c. Read a book where a character owns or stays at a bed & breakfast.
d. Read a book where the MC eats at a restaurant.
Prompt #: Book 15: Blood on the VineBook: Miss Julia Takes Over
Author: Ann B. Ross
Date Read: 2/23 /20
Pages: 309
Task: MC eats at a restaurant
How it Fits: Miss Julia meets Mr Pickens at a Mexican restaurant where he eats dinner.
Mod
A Funeral in New Orleans. Jessica Fletcher has a writer's conference in New Orleans and can't resist staying an extra week for the annual Jazz Festival. In her short time there, she gets a chance to sample everything the city has to offer-- its delectable food, its wonderful music and, of course, its unique brand of murder and corruption...
Arts critic Wayne Copely is desperately searching for the fabled recordings of New Orleans jazz legend Little Red LeCoeur. But when he hears that his old friend Jessica Fletcher is in town, he's more than happy to take a break from work and give her an insider's view of the festival. Unfortunately, her jazz lesson and his search are tragically cut short when he turns up dead next to the grave of an old voodoo queen. And when the cops pass off the bizarre event as a mere 'accidental death', it's up to Jessica to get to the bottom of it.
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book set in New Orleans.
b. Read a book where a character listens to or plays jazz music.
c. Read a book where the MC goes to a festival of any kind.
d. Read a book published between the years of 2000 and 2009.
Prompt #: Book 16: Murder in a Minor KeyBook: Deep and Dark and Dangerous
Author: Mary Downing Hahn
Date Read: 3/17/24
Pages: 187
Task: published between the years of 2000 and 2009.
How it Fits: Published in 2007
Mod
In her 17th book adventure, bestselling author Jessica Fletcher travels to Provence for some haute cuisine, and becomes embroiled in a culinary murder mystery.
Complete one of the following tasks:
a. Read a book set in France.
b. Read a book where the MC eats a meal.
c. Read a book with a character who is a chef.
d. Read a book with something pink on the cover.
Prompt #: Book 17: Provence - To Die ForBook: The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox
Author: Claire Gradidge
Date Read: 2/1/25
Pages: 369
Task: MC eats a meal
How it Fits: Ch 4 "At supper, we sit six to a table......Dot brings in three big bowls: rabbit stew, cabbage and potatoes boiled in their skins.
Mod
When her old friend Martha decided to get married in Las Vegas, Jessica Fletcher made the trip to watch her walk down the aisle. But what were the odds that she’d be back two years later—to watch Martha stand accused of her husband’s murder?
Jessica’s never been one to gamble, but she’s willing to bet that Martha isn’t guilty. Martha’s husband was a high-rolling Las Vegas local with three ex-wives and plenty of jealous acquaintances. After joining Martha’s defense team, Jessica combs through the man’s past to find the real killer. But as the media attention grows—and Jessica is interviewed by the news anchors of Court TV—the stakes are raised, and Jessica learns how to play for keeps.
Complete one of the following:
a. Read a book set in Las Vegas.
b. Read a book where an interview takes place.
c. Read a book where the MC gambles.
d. Read a book with friends in it.
Hooked on Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox (other topics)Deep and Dark and Dangerous (other topics)
Miss Julia Takes Over (other topics)
Frozen Detective (other topics)
Die for Me (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Claire Gradidge (other topics)Mary Downing Hahn (other topics)
Ann B. Ross (other topics)
Amanda Flower (other topics)
Amy Plum (other topics)
More...
Begins: April 1, 2023
Ends: April 1, 2025
Hello, Jessica Fletcher fan!!
This is an individual challenge where you will have until April 1, 2025 - yes, 2 years if needed - to complete up to 56 tasks, one for each of the books in the Murder, She Wrote series.
You will have 4 tasks to choose from for each book. You only need to complete one to move on to the next book in the series.
Each time you complete a task, you will post it here in YOUR OWN THREAD. Please copy the following example for your Completion Post.
Prompt #:
Book:
Author:
Date Read:
Pages:
Task:
How it Fits:
If you have any questions, please post them in the Q & A Thread.
Challenge Rules:
📘 Standard Rules Apply
📘I will create an individual thread for you prior to the start date.
📘Your first prompt will be posted on April 1, 2023.
📘Books must be completed after the task has been posted.