Rum & Razors: A Murder, She Wrote Mystery by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain

               I don’t know what it is.  I’m on the third book of the Murder, She Wrote series, and I still can’t hear Angela Lansbury’s voice.  Maybe it’s because the book is written in first person while the TV show is essentially in third, without the ability to hear internal thoughts.  Something like that might make all the difference.

                Jessica Fletcher definitely needs a vacation.  She had a long illness, then had to plug away in order to get her book done.  Now it’s time for Jessica to go off and take some time for herself.  Fortunately, she has two old Cabot Cove friends who have opened an inn on the island of St. Thomas.  A visit there will give Jessica a time to relax and let go of her worries.  Except, as what usually happens with Jessica, that is not at all what happens.            

                It takes a very short amount of time for Jessica to sense the tension happening at the inn.  Her friends, Walter and Laurie, are at odds with the hotel next door.  The animosity is to the point that Walter thinks the hotel is sending spies over to his inn.  Whether this is simply speculation or actual fact is unclear.  What is clear, though, is the battle over a spot called Lover’s Lagoon.  At one time the lagoon was open to everyone, now that is not the case, creating a conflict between the inn and the hotel.

                One wouldn’t think this type of dispute would turn to murder, but when Jessica finds Walter dead, she has to wonder if it might have.  As usual, Jessica decides to investigate Walter’s death.  As she does, she finds out there is so much about Walter and Laurie she did not know.

                In so many ways I feel badly for Jessica Fletcher.  She lives an exciting life traveling and meeting interesting people, but practically everywhere she goes, someone is murdered.  You would think she would start to feel cursed after a while.  Thankfully, Jessica always has her friend Dr. Seth Hazlitt to rely on, as he flew down to St. Thomas when he found out what was going on. 

                You know, I’ve never really known the history of Jessica and Seth’s relationship.  Was he friends with Jessica’s late husband too?  Or did he become friends with her after her husband died?  Was Seth himself ever married?  So many questions.  I’m not suggesting anything sordid happened between them.  I’m just curious.  After watching every episode of Murder, She Wrote, and now reading the books, I have found there are questions I don’t know the answer to.  Maybe I missed them in either the show or the books.  Or maybe they were never answered at all.