We are so excited about our latest
Murder, She Wrote novel,
THE GHOST
AND MRS.
FLETCHER. Many readers have told us they like to see Jessica Fletcher
solve
mysteries in her home town. They enjoy reading about a slice of small-town
America,
and this story will please them as it takes place in Cabot Cove, Maine.
(Yes, we know
it’s been derided as the murder capital of America, but it’s still the same
charming
village you’ve always loved, complete with a roster of eccentric characters
familiar
from the TV show together with an assorted number of newcomers.) This time
out, an
ailing Cliff Cooper says he’s dying and insists upon dictating his last will
and
testament to Jessica Fletcher: Real estate agent Eve Simpson is to sell his
house
and give the proceeds to Cliff’s grandson who lives in Alaska. Sounds
simple enough,
but as always, nothing goes according to plan. While Eve is stuck with
trying to
market a white elephant of a house, chock full of thousands of books and
suspected of
being haunted, Seth Hazlitt, Jessica’s good friend and Cabot Cove’s favorite
physician, suspects foul play in Cliff’s demise. Jessica is caught between
the two
and has to juggle their competing needs while an ambitious medium and a pair
of
pixilated twins pull the tale in different directions, much to the confusion
of
Sheriff Mort Metzger.
There are a total of forty-four
Murder, She Wrote books available and two more in
the
pipeline. So Jessica Fletcher is still solving murders all these years
since the
television show aired the last installment of its twelve seasons in 1996.
Just in
case you didn’t realize, each book in the series is an original murder
mystery and
not a novelization of any of the episodes.
Don has been writing the series for twenty-six years and we’ve been working
together
on the books for fifteen years. So it gives us great pleasure to announce
that this
and future books will have three names in the byline on the cover: Jessica
Fletcher,
Donald Bain, and Renée Paley-Bain. Jessica Fletcher, of course, is the
fictitious
character brought so beautifully to life by Dame Angela Lansbury whose
picture graces
the cover of every book in the series. Ms. Lansbury, who is soon to
celebrate her
90th birthday, is too busy singing, dancing and acting on stage to have time
to write
mysteries. Still, she tells us that “Murder, She Wrote” fans often thank her
for the
books, and she responds with a hearty “You’re Welcome.” Like her fictional
counterpart, Dame Angela is a gracious lady, friendly and warm. We were
lucky enough
to see her on Broadway in “A Little Night Music” and in “Blithe Spirit.”
Which brings us back to the other spirit, the one in
THE GHOST
AND MRS.
FLETCHER. Jessica is convinced that there is no such thing, but she’s
never one
to discount someone else’s beliefs. Is this ghost just a made-up story to
delay the
sale of the house? Or is it a restless soul counting on Jessica Fletcher to
unravel
the mystery of its death. We hope you’ll read the book to find out.
Donald Bain, Jessica Fletcher’s longtime collaborator, is the author
or
ghost/author of more than 80 books, many of them bestsellers. Among his
books, the
airline comedy, Coffee Tea or Me?, published almost 30 years ago, together
with its
sequels sold more than 5-million copies worldwide and was the basis of a
television
movie-of-the-week.
Bain is a graduate of Purdue University and received its highest award for
his work
in educational radio and television. (He was designated a Purdue
“Distinguished
Alumni” for 2003.) He went on to work professionally in broadcasting in
Texas and
Indiana, and co-hosted more than 200 shows in New York with Long John Nebel,
then
king of late-night talk-radio.
A public relations executive for McCann-Erickson and American Airlines, Bain
also was
a consultant to Pan Am for the introduction of the 747, the takeover of
National
Airlines, and a national campaign to promote air travel. Two of these
projects earned
Silver Anvil awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). In
1985,
with his wife, he co-founded Hyphenates, Ltd., which has provided editorial
services
to a wide variety of companies.
Bain has worked for over 30 years as a professional jazz musician, has
taught at the
college level and has written myriad magazine articles. He is a member of
Sigma Delta
Chi, the Writer’s Guild of America, the Authors Guild, the National Academy
of
Television Arts and Sciences, and the Mystery Writers of America.
Don Bain is married to Renée Paley-Bain, also a writer, and who collaborates
with him
on the “Murder, She Wrote” series. He has two grown daughters and four
grandsons.
Website
With husband Donald Bain,
Renée collaborates on the "Murder, She
Wrote" series
of original mystery novels. Don began writing the books in 1989. Renée
joined him in
2001. As of Spring 2015, there will be 43 books in the series and more to
come. Renée
is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers
(IAMTW), the
Mystery Writers of America (MWA), the Sisters in Crime (SINC), the Romance
Writers of
America (RWA), and the Authors Guild.
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In the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series—make room for
Jessica
Fletcher as she cleans house to catch a killer who hasn’t got a ghost of a
chance.
Jessica’s friend, Eve Simpson is the town’s premier real estate agent and
has
recently taken on the task of selling one of Cabot Cove’s oldest properties—
the
Spencer Percy House, built in 1805 by a sea captain for his young wife. Its
current
occupant, Joe Cooper, a crusty former carpenter, is convinced he’s about to
die and
wants the house sold so he can give the proceeds to his grandson, who spent
much of
his youth there.
But Eve’s got quite a challenge on her hands. Not only is the building in
deplorable
physical condition, it is also rumored to be haunted.
When Joe’s deadly premonition becomes a reality, Dr. Seth Hazlitt is not so
sure the
man died of natural causes. As Jessica tries to get to the bottom of Joe
Cooper’s
death, a medium hired by Eve attempts to rid the house of the alleged
apparition. But
if Jessica isn’t careful, she may be the one who joins the ranks of the
dearly
departed.
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