Murder, She Wrote: Martinis & Mayhem

Jessica is in San Francisco to promote her latest novel. As part of her tour, she visits the Women's Correctional Facility to speak with some of the inmates about keeping a journal. She is struck by a beautiful blonde woman who asks whether or not she's ever falsely accused one of her characters in one of her novels. This leads to an interesting side debate. When Jessica leaves the facility, she discovers that the blonde woman has slipped her journal into Jessica's bag, and she begins to read it out of curiosity.

Turns out the beautiful blond is Kimberly Steffer, who was infamously convicted of her husband's murder three years earlier based on a purely circumstantial case. There aren't many who believe Kimberly is actually guilty of the show more crime, and Jessica soon finds herself among those ranks. She starts digging around a bit and is almost thrown off the Golden Gate Bridge for her troubles. With the help of her friend, Scotland Yard Inspector George Sutherland, she is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and set Kimberly free.

This was a 'new' read for me. It was impulsively readable, and better than the last couple in the series, though I wouldn't exactly call it good. The resolution of the murder mystery was just a little OTT and eyeroll-inducing. Everyone, including Jessica, fawned over Kimberly to such a degree that I was half-convinced that she'd done it, and that would be the big reveal: she'd framed herself and was trading on her looks to try to gain her freedom. Frankly, that would've made a more interesting story, and would've made a lot more sense than the three-man conspiracy trio that *did* do the deed.

This book marks a new chapter in the George and Jessica relationship. I understand that the rights holders didn't want Jessica to actually be in a relationship (and forbid kissing in the novels), the awkward exposition here is the result. There is a lot of uneven intimacy in this book, including the fact that George goes home with Jessica at the end and stays as her houseguest! Meanwhile, not a kiss to be seen, and they seem to be unsure of their feelings for each other. It's really, really awkward. I'm glad these rules were eventually relaxed because this is no way to write a romantic undercurrent.

Speaking of romance, one of the inconsistencies in this novel is the fact that Jessica proclaims that she started her writing career writing basically teenage/YA romance and it went over like a lead balloon, hence switching to murder mysteries *shakes head* Other booboos include:
*Since when is Jessica famed for her iced tea?
*Jessica has never jogged a day in her life?!
*Does Jessica have any Cabot Cove friends, other than Seth and Mort? Because nobody else has made an appearance, and the two of them vs George makes a seriously weird love triangle *shudder*

On the upside, there is a sly bit of meta on page 185:

"Joan Fontaine," I answered matter-of-factly. "Or Vivien Leigh. Of course, I'd be pleased if Angela Landsbury played me in a film version of my book."

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Cabot Cove, Maine's most famous mystery author, Jessica Fletcher, is excited about promoting her new book in glamorous San Francisco. She can't wait for drinks and dinner on Fisherman's Wharf, a ride on the cable cars, and a romantic rendezvous with Scottish policemen George Sutherland. She doesn't know that solving a murder may be penciled into her agenda.

Actually, a visit to a woman's prison is already on Jessica's schedule, and afterwards she finds a mysterious diary slipped into her bag. Its poignant contents make her suspect a beautiful inmate has been unjustly convicted of killing her husband. Soon Jessica, always ready to right a wrong even if she attracts dangerous attention, is questioning witnesses throughout the Bay area, show more from a restauranteur in a Sausalito mall to a female impersonator in the Castro district. But death is waiting on the Golden Gate Bridge - and Jessica may find out how risky love can be. show less