For the Love of Jessica Fletcher by Barbara Early

LUCY BURDETTE: I love this essay from Barbara Early about Jessica Fletcher's history--she's now writing for the Murder, She Wrote series--it's fascinating! 

BARBARA EARLY: Murder, She Wrote recently celebrated a birthday. Fall of 2024 marked the 40th anniversary of the first episode hitting the airwaves. I suspect what initially attracted viewers was the star power: a Hollywood legend like Angela Lansbury taking the lead role, William Windom playing the loveable yet curmudgeonly small-town doctor, and a likeable Tom Bosley (after his fatherly role on Happy Days) assuming the equally likeable, if sometimes bumbling, role of sheriff of a small, picture-perfect coastal community in Maine. Guest stars abounded, drawing from Lansbury’s friends from the silver screen: Ernest Borgnine, June Allyson, Milton Berle, Kathryn Grayson, Jane Greer, Buddy Hackett, and so many more, as well as a host of television regulars and future names, like George Clooney, who was just starting his acting career.

But beyond the star appeal, Murder, She Wrote was revolutionary. Yes, there had been female detectives on television shows before, but most had a certain--what shall we call it--jiggly quality about them. Even if they were intelligent and capable, those attributes were coupled with also being young and sexy. And then here comes a fifty-something English teacher-turned novelist-turned amateur sleuth, and America—and the world—ate it up, with the series finishing among the top 15 shows in 11 of its long 12-season run.

It's hard not to think of Jessica as a pioneer paving the trail for those who followed. While cozy mysteries have existed since the Golden Age of Mystery in the 1920’s and ‘30s, I wonder how much of the explosion of the sub-genre in the ‘80s and ‘90s might be attributed to Jessica’s popularity. And without her, how would the mature female sleuth on television have fared? Would there be a Vera? An Agatha Raisin? A Harry Wild? A (Whitstable) Pearl Nolan?

Forty years later, new viewers and old are still finding Jessica on multiple cable channels and streaming services. There’s talk of a movie in the works, and NECA just released an action figure, complete with miniature typewriter. Of course, I bought one! And I was ecstatic to be offered a chance to write the sixtieth—yes, that 60—entry in the Murder, She Wrote book series. Along with Jessica Fletcher, of course. (wink, wink) 

For those fans of Terrie Farley Moran’s Murder, She Wrote books, don’t worry: she’s not done yet! It just seems that Jessica has been so busy discovering dead bodies that it’s taking more than one author to keep up with her! 

For my first entry in the series, I wanted to set it in that beloved town of Cabot Cove in the wintertime, with Jessica recovering at home from an accidental fall: lots of friends and neighbors stopping by, a copious amount of tea, and just a hint of Rear Window.

But don’t worry: the victim was only visiting, so no need to change that population sign on the road into town. Again.

Whether she’s a cop, a private eye, or an amateur, who is your favorite female television sleuth and why?

In a nod to Rear Window, this newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series finds Jessica Fletcher coping with an injury that leaves her homebound—and a murder just outside her window!

Jessica Fletcher has taken a nasty spill on the ice, leaving her in a wheelchair for several weeks. She tries to work on her latest manuscript but finds herself distracted by a new neighbor moving in across the street. There’s good reason for her to be distracted, because soon after unpacking his sparse belongings, Mr. Rymer is out in the front yard, building somewhat risqué (read: naked) snow sculptures.

While Cabot Cove debates whether the sculptures are a protected form of art or a public display of lewdness, someone starts destroying them at night. Rymer doesn’t seem upset. He just makes new ones. No need to get the police involved over a little snow, he says. Especially when there’s plenty more of it and a blizzard in the forecast.

The morning after the storm, Jessica looks out the window to see a new sculpture across the street—and the body of Mr. Rymer half-buried in the snow. Can Jessica catch a cold-blooded killer from her chair by the window?

Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder by Jessica Fletcher, Barbara Early: 9780593820049 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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Bio: Barbara Early earned an engineering degree, but after four years of doing nothing but math, developed a sudden allergy to the subject and decided to choose another occupation. Before she settled on murdering fictional people, she was a secretary, a schoolteacher, a pastor’s wife, and an amateur puppeteer. She and her husband live in Western New York State, where she enjoys cooking, crafts, classic movies, campy vintage television, board games, and spending time with her two granddaughters. Before teaming up with Jessica Fletcher, she wrote the Vintage Toyshop Mystery series and the Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries (as Beverly Allen).