Brandy & Bullets

Murder, She Wrote #4

by Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain

Jessica Fletcher must catch an artistic killer in this entry in the 'USA Today' bestselling 'Murder, She Wrote' series.

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.

Librarian's note #1: the first 15 books in the current Jessica Fletcher / Donald Bain 'Murder She Wrote' series are #1, Gin & Daggers (1989) with a 2nd edition in (2000); #2, Manhattans & Murder (1994); #3, Rum & Razors (1995); #4, Brandy & Bullets (1995); #5, Martinis & Mayhem (1995); #6, A Deadly Judgment (1996); #7, A Palette for Murder (1996); #8, The Highland Fling Murders (1997); #9, Murder on the QE2 (1997); #10, Murder in Moscow (1998); #11, A Little Yuletide Murder (1998); #12, Murder at the Powderhorn Ranch (1999); #13, Knock 'Em Dead (1999); #14, Trick or Treachery (2000); and #15, Blood on the Vine (2001).

Librarian's note #2: there is an earlier MSW series by James Anderson and David Deutsch. Novelizations of TV episodes. This original series has 4 volumes: #1, The Murder of Sherlock Holmes (1985); #2, Hooray for Homicide (1985); #3, Lovers and Other Killers (1986); and #4, Murder in Two Acts (1986).

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Crime, Tv, Thanksgiving

275 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Jessica Fletcher (born Jessica Beatrice MacGill, and writes under the initialed J.B. Fletcher) is a fictional character from the US television series Murder, She Wrote.

In keeping with the spirit of the TV show, a series of official original novels have been written by American ghostwriter Donald Bain and published by the New American Library. The author credit for the novels is shared with the fictitious "Jessica Fletcher." When the first novel in the series, Gin and Daggers, was published in 1989 it included several inaccuracies to the TV series including Jessica driving a car which she could not do as she never learned to drive. Due to fans pointing out the errors, the novel was republished in 2000 with most of the inaccuracies corrected.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. A nice little story, with fewer of the flaws of earlier entries. These books are better than TV; there's connectivity which is often missing in an hour less commercials. The mind sees Angela Lansbury anyway! Everyone in Cabot Cove was excited when it was announced that a local landmark, Worrell Mansion, would become an artist colony for writers, musicians, and the like. Those opposed to change contacted the Mayor, but our noted author was supportive - a tourist attraction she thought. As the Creativity Institute developed, it took on aspects of a spa, with pampering aromatherapy and warm relaxing pools. To assist the artist community, psychiatric and hypnotic guidance was offered. But soon there were two suicide attempts, one successful. And Jessica's friend, screenwriter Norman Huffaker, who was staying there to obtain help with writers' block, mysteriously disappeared. Murder? What's going on? Jessica decides to spend a weekend. You will enjoy one episode; she gives a lecture at the institute on mystery writing - favourite authors, plotting, character development. A good read and I learned something! (January 2019)

[EuroHackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was a serious disappointment, mostly because its the first mystery set in Cabot Cove and yet the story had very little to do with the town itself. The local town mansion has been sold by the absentee heir, and it is turned into the Worrell Institute for Creativity, a supposed artists colony designed to help nurture fledgling artists of every stripe: writers, artists, composers, dancers, etc. A group of super-sketchy psychiatrists run the facility, where people start killing themselves, including a long-time friend of Jessica's, which draws her into the fray. Honestly, that would've been interesting enough without making it into some sort of super-sekrit CIA mindcontrolling experimental colony gone awry. Having read this book before, I'd obviously blocked that bit out of my mind, and for good reason. It is too much ridiculousness. I'm glad I started in the middle of this series, because these first few books have been eyeroll-inducing. Bleh.

The good part of this book is that novel-only Cabot Cove is slowly coming to life. This is the introduction of Mara's Luncheonette, which replaces Loretta's Beauty Parlor as the hub of activity and gossip central. This is also the introduction of Jake's Taxi Service, which ferries Jessica around town since she doesn't drive. Charlene Sassi has opened her bakery as well. We're introduced to Sybil Stewart, the town's mayor, and a poor substitute for Sam IMO. Her character is a bit of a contradiction, an oily politician who opposes Jessica at every turn and yet is still considering charming by her. Yuck.

Also on the upside, Mort seems more like the Mort of the TV show. He's still speaking Mainish instead of NYC, but at least he's not Amos Tupper in disguise. He and Seth play a surprisingly small role in this story, considering it is set in Cabot Cove.

The inconsistencies I noticed in this book are the following:
*Jessica claims that she is a faithful player of the Maine lottery.
*Jessica says that she lived in big cities as a young person and intimates that she "retired" to Cabot Cove.
*Jessica doesn't have any teaching experience and is uncomfortable lecturing in front of large groups.
*Jessica claims to have been born in Farn, New Hampshire.
*Jessica says that she originally went to college intending to major in meteorology, but that the math intimidated her and she became an English major instead.
*Mort appears to be single. Whatever happened to his ex-Marine wife, Adele?

In the excerpt from the next novel in the back, Jessica claims that she's never jogged a day in her life. Really?! *sigh*

The first book I ever read in this series was #11, A Little Yuletide Murder, which was also set in Cabot Cove (which is the reason why I picked it up, in fact). I certainly hope the first ten books aren't all growing pains to get to the point of that consistency!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It makes me laugh that I enjoyed this book so much because it's the first time that I have read a book based on a TV show. I love the show Murder, She Wrote and I finally gave in and decided to read on of the books written by "Jessica Fletcher." It was quite good!

Jessica Fletcher narrated the story and I always enjoy spending time in Cabot Cove.

The one little mistake that I found was that at one point Jessica says she is nervous about teaching a seminar because she is not a teacher. Eh hem... as anyone who has ever watched the show knows.... Jessica Fletcher is a retired English teacher!

The mystery in this book was quite good and I enjoyed it.

[Ta || bookishbluehead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica is at it again. In the fourth novel in the ‘Murder, she wrote’ series we follow the story of a writer's retreat that's being opened in Cabot Cove. Much to the dismay of some of the locals. Jessica is initially not opposed to the idea and welcomes the creative minds in their mids, but after some strange incidents and suicides, she decides to take matters into her competent hands and solving the riddle behind the institut.

These books are giving me such a cozy feeling. This is the first book in this series that's mainly set in Cabot Cove and I was so excited to see more of the town and its residents. Sadly the main focus lies on the mansion and the retreat and we don’t get a lot of Cabot Cove itself.

The mystery surrounding the retreat and the suicides was pretty mild and easy to solve, I think. There weren’t some crazy reveals and everything fit together, so it wasn’t too hard to crack the case, but it was still fun to watch Jessica sleuth around.

[Amanda McGill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the perfect series if you are lying on the beach, by a pool, or even curled up at home during a storm.

Brandy and Bullets was the first book in the series that was set completely in Cabot Cove (Jessica's hometown). The previous novels were located in other cities (London, New York and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands). I enjoyed seeing how Jessica interacted in her hometown and getting to meet more of the townspeople.

It wasn't the greatest mystery, but I still enjoyed reading through to the conclusion.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Christmas covid 19 orders to stay safe, isolate had me going through my stash of old yard sale books I hoped to read sometime. This light, cozy mystery of Jessica Fletcher looked entertaining.
The return to Cabot Cove with a good plot was okay but perhaps watching TV episodes over the years spoiled me. Jessica Fletcher was a great actress that made the series.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica Fletcher is a writer and of course always seems to find a murder mystery, even in the little place called Cozy Cabot Cove, Maine. If you have watched the series Murder she wrote, then you will love all the Jessica Fletcher books.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all the MSW books this was entertaining, light and a good story. I love Jessica Fletcher and all the people that populate her world of Cabot Cove, Maine. In this installment a fancy new art institute is opened up in an old estate in the town. It was touted as a place for artists who were struggling with creativity blockages to relax, unwind and get the juices flowing. Painters, musicians, writers and filmmakers flock to the institute; much to the chagrin of many townspeople who feel that they bring an unsavory element to the town. THEN a rash of suicide and suicide attempts occur and Jessica feels like there must be something more going on. True to her meddlesome nature she inserts herself into life at the institute by running a class and also admitting herself claiming to be struggling with writers block. Naturally the institute is not what it seems and Jessica must face various dangerous situations in order to unravel the mystery. Other than the first book in the series I think this is my favorite thus far - it was paced well and Jessica was dynamic YET acted realistically / true to character.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite show is Murder, She Wrote I have seen every episode and movie and my husband got the complete box set for my birthday so I find this great book and I think it will be like the show, WRONG! I won't go to specific details but I was blown away by how the last few chapters were written. I'm horrified that Jessica would ever do that.

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites. I’ve been reading this series out of order and it hasn’t been an issue for the most part- however, the writing clearly reflects the cultural differences of the 90s and has not aged well in some areas. A case of small town ignorance, one could say. It was annoying reading about Jessica’s internal dialogue regarding her weight/other women’s figures and food. Thankfully the later books haven’t given these things as much thought.

The mystery aspect seemed a bit more unique than other books in this series… until the motive was revealed. Seemed very far fetched and random, but tied up the story decently enough. I also am not a big believer in hypnosis, so I’m sure that impacted my reading experience.

Off to the next one.

[ThundaBunz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! It was a really good JB Fletcher mystery! I was intrigued at the hypnosis aspect. The town of Cabot Cove in Maine has a new Wellness clinic for artists pop up. They the clinic seems to be a good thing but strange things keep happening. Deaths occur in the institute however the deaths although classified as suicides don’t seem to be that. It seems off and now Jessica must turn to her sleuthing methods and get down to the nitty gritty.

All in all I really enjoyed it. The ending felt a tad rushed as it took me a couple rereadings of the last paragraph to understand what had happened. But it was a very good book nonetheless.

[Kate prefers books to people · Rating 3 out of 5]

I laughed a few times reading this.

It's dated. Sooooo dated.

Who decided to throw in random CIA activity with a "royal institute?" No one but me is actually reading these and it's really old, so I'm not going to hide spoilers. If you've ever watched an episode of the show, they all end the same way. Jessica figures everything out and lays out the case in front of everyone in Scooby Doo meets Hercule Poirot (if Scooby and Hercule had a child who was an elderly writer in Maine).

This book has Jessica back in Cabot Cove where a mansion is being turned into a retreat center for creatives called the royal institute. Um, what? (ICYMI, New England isn't known for their love of anything royal but whatever, it's hilarious, so why not?)

Jessica ends up getting offended when a minor politician acts like "creatives" will be having drug fueled orgies, so she speaks out in favor of the institute without planning to do so.

It looks like the institute is actually a therapy center/substance abuse treatment facility, but it's kind of shady.

Then fast forward to a suspicious suicide, followed by another... but there's no body. What could make this weirder? Ah, yes, Jessica undergoes hypnosis. But wait! Did the hypnosis make her depressed/suicidal?


It turns out that suicide #1 was a murder, and #2 faked his death. Jessica's friend was investigating the institute, which is actually a CIA experiment.

But wait! There's more! Jessica gets recognized BY THE PRESIDENT for doing her patriotic duty.

Uh, yeah, ok.

[Candyce Sweet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the "Murder, She Wrote" television show, and I have been enjoying reading the books, too, for the most part. But this book was, in my opinion, not great or really even good. At one point Jessica says she doesn't consider herself to be a teacher. This bothers me because she was an English teacher in high school for years! Maybe it's because I'm also a teacher, and of English to boot, but it bothered me that she says she never really considered herself a teacher. I'm sure the author just forgot that part of her backstory, but it totally took me out of the fiction when I read that, and anything that takes you out of the book is a huge mistake as far as I'm concerned.

And then there is the resolution of the book and the twist in the plot. I found both to be out of nowhere and somewhat trite. It just felt ridiculous to me. And then Jessica was about to do something so ridiculously out of character and for a ridiculous reason. It's like this book was trying to make me angry. Good news then--it succeeded. It's not a total loss, but very nearly.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this installment of the "Murder, She Wrote" tie-in novel series, Jessica Fletcher finds out that an ultra-exclusive writers' retreat that has opened in her hometown of Cabot Cove may not be the creative haven it claims to be.

This novel eventually takes a pretty wild turn, but if you've already suspended your belief this far, it's a fun enough ride. My favorite thing about these novels are the playful shout-outs that Jessica's "ghostwriter," Donald Bain, sometimes makes to those members of the reading audience who may know a bit about him. In this novel, one of Jessica's friends is mentioned to have written Western novels under a pseudonym, which Bain himself has done in the past (as J.D. Hardin.)

As always, if you like this character, you'll probably like Brandy and Bullets.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these series because they’re only about 300 pages so perfect if you’re looking for a quick read for a week.
This book was SO CREEPY AT THE END. Filled with suspense towards the final chapters when you find out who did it and trust me when I say, do not read this book at midnight if your house makes creepy noises. (Though it would add to the affect of the book....) Overall, I’m continuing this series and I really love the way these books are written. They are witty and charming while still being realistic about horrific murderous events that could possible occur.

[Becoming Shelf-Aware · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars! I really enjoyed this book. The plotline was very interesting - albeit unbelievable. As a work of fiction, I don't expect the plotline to be realistic or believable since I'm reading to escape reality. The reason I marked it down a star is that the ending was too rushed. The typical Jessica Fletcher explanation to close the case was not present, and that was a little disappointing. Definitely a cozy, quick read that could be accomplished easily in a weekend.

[Katey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was all over the place. There was a large passage of time as the book included the construction of the Worrell Institute and everything that happened there. It went from summer, to fall, to Thanksgiving, to a blizzard, to spring. It was almost hard for me to keep track of what was going on.

[Amy Swafford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Murder She wrote television series and watch the reruns all the time. I love the series of books as well. Sometimes the books I think don't follow the characteristics of the show but it is still a good read. That being said I was a little disappointed in the ending for this book. Just not a believable ending storyline.

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is almost exactly the story of one of the tv shows, isn't it. At least very much inspired by it I assume.
It was a fast read and interesting enough. A Jessica in her home town for once, which was nice. Weird that when she's abroad, Mort and Seth are involved much more than when she's back home …

[Maggie Rischard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected more. First time to read a book after falling in love with the tv series. Characters are not well thought out, and many of Jess’s characteristics are not the same. Will give the series one or two more tries. Mystery itself was interesting, but again highly unrealistic if you’re a fan of tv series.

[Juliet Minerva Swift · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another I didn’t particularly love. It was good, but I wasn’t a fan of the whole art centre, and it was a bit far-fetched.
How Jessica tells the story is still so nice and cosy, so that always gives these books that something I like.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another easy read. Plot a bit farfetched but it kept me guessing what was really going on at the artist center until late in the book. Jessica gets involved mostly to find out what happened to an old acquaintance who disappeared suddenly from the center.

[Sarah Jowett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and the first one I have read that takes place at home for Jessica.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is set in Cabot Cove.
I really enjoy these.

[Sonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like these easy to read book every now and again.

[THT Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found this installment a bit far fetched in its conclusion, I can't help but to be charmed as always by Jessica Fletcher and her lifestyle. Still a great pleasure read.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me, 'Murder, she wrote' is the quintessential cozy mystery. If you like the tv-series (like me), you'll enjoy this book (even though the unraveling is a bit far-fetched).

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hum hum hum hum no there's no review for this one.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had never seen the television series, I'd have probably liked this book more. The characters are not faithful to the original and the plot is far-fetched.

[Tomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Farfetched plot. Characters were very stiff. Not a good read.