A review by underwater_reader
A Time for Murder by Jessica Fletcher, Jon Land

3.0

I've read several of the MSW books before, all of the previous ones have been penned by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain. This was my first Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land. I have to say, I'm probably biased, but based on this one, I am more of a fan of the Donald Bain ones.
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this one, I did, for the most part! There were several positive aspects to this installment. The first thing that I really enjoyed was that this was a dual-murder mystery and we get to flashback to twenty-five years prior to seeing how Jessica and Amos teamed up and solved their first murder. It was entertaining to attempt to solve two murders at once and to see how each one fed the other. It was enjoyable to see Jessica as a teacher. It was heartwarming to get moments of Jessica with Frank and Grady and to see how she came to move to Cabot Cove and to live in her amazing home at 698 Candlewood Lane.


As a megafan of both the television show and the book series, it was also neat to see the characters refer back to prior murders that took place for those of us who have been watching and reading for a while now.
The book overall was well-written despite the fact that there were a few glaring grammatical and spelling errors, but honestly, I tend to find at least one of those in every cozy mystery that I read. And really, who am I to talk, just read any of my reviews to see me call the kettle black. The characters felt true to the show as well as the previous books that I have read. Jessica spoke and acted like Jessica and there were the same "Maine-isms" tossed in ayuh that I'll just never get. I was able to solve one of the murders, but couldn't get a hand on the other one, which made the book compulsively readable right up to the end.
Now, speaking of the end, let's get on to the things I didn't so much like about this book. Not giving away any spoilers, I just have to say that a certain aspect of the ending felt entirely unbelievable and totally forced. It felt like something that was more akin to an action movie starring The Rock than a cozy mystery. It was excessive, far-fetched, and a little too inconceivable, even for an installment of Murder, She Wrote, which admittedly did have some "wait, whaaaat?!" moments over the years (remember the episode where the dog was the murderer!)
Now, I know I said earlier that Land seemed to have a good handle on how Jessica spoke and acted, but there was one moment that made me pause, stop, re-read, and grow furious. About 75% of the way through the book:
"She was taller than I, and I'd forgotten how strong she was, given she'd once pushed my car from a snow drift while I stayed behind the wheel working the gas pedal."
As if that wasn't enough blasphemy for any MSW fan, literally the very next page has Jessica and Wilma talking about how Jessica bikes all over Cabot Cove and...NEVER DRIVES! This is like that Monk book where he drinks milk all over again!!!
Overall, all things considered, I did enjoy this book and I will be reading more of the Jon Land MSWs that come out. This book is scheduled to be released on November 26, 2019.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for a preview copy. In exchange, I have given an honest review.