Killing in a Koi Pond is the 53rd book in the Murder She Wrote book series. This book is co-written by Terri Farley Moran, as have been the last several. I feel this author had provided some new breath into the series and giving it a bit of a different vibe. While the books are still very formulaic, they feel a bit fresher and less repetitive. This book provides the reader with a glimpse of the young Jessica Fletcher when she spends time reminiscing with her college friend, Dolores Nickens. Unfortunately while visiting Dolores in Columbia, SC a murder occurs as is typical in this series. Jessica proceeds to help Dolores through grief and in solving the case.
These two ladies encounter some old-fashioned men, but use a female touch to show the men that they will not be treated dismissively. The book has plenty of Southern charm and mannerisms on display in addition to a bit of the perceived chauvinism. The descriptions of the meals and southern sweets that Lucinda, the cook, creates are enough to make anyone's mouth water and want to head to a Southern comfort food restaurant or cookbook. You cannot help but imagine Paula Deen in the kitchen with Jessica Fletcher when these meals and their preparation are described.
Of course, Jessica uses her intelligence to solve the case and help settle her friend on her road to healing. There are relationships that also need mending and those are addressed and some resolution is provided as well. All in all a good next installment in the series.
I think I especially enjoyed this book as we just traveled to Columbia in the fall to look at the University of South Carolina and I quickly fell in love with the city and cannot wait to go back and visit some of the sites mentioned in this story. I do think a reader who likes reading about different cultures and regions will like this book.
Killing in a Koi Pond by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
great book that incorporates southern traditions with modern strong female characters. this book often shows men treating women as delicate creatures and not taking them seriously. Jessica Fletcher and her friend, Dolores Nickens, show the men how foolish this can be when they best the men at their own game and doing it all while smiling demurely. Jessica is not welcomed in the investigation of Dolores' husband, Willis. In fact the sheriff dismisses her every chance he gets. But as usual in the end, Jessica figures out the whodunit and helps her friend begin the initial healing process. You will enjoy this book if you like southern settings and hospitality as well as a well structured mystery with a variety of characters- some really not very palatable at all.
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Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Library Love #LibraryLoveChallenge Book #12
- Literary Escapes #LiteraryEscapes SC
- Alphabet Soup Author Edition #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge F
- Finishing the Series #FinishingTheSeries2022 Series:9 Book #1
- Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022 Book #14
- Beat the Backlist #BTB2022 #33 co-authored
- Cozy Mysteries #5 Made into a movie or tv show
- Cruisin thru Cozies Travel #1
- Cloak & Dagger #CloakDaggerChal Book #15
- Craving for Cozies Book #15
- Around the Year in 52 Books #29. A book set on or near a body of water
- 52 Book Club #the52bookclub #36 Recommended by a favorite author
- BooklistQueen #booklistqueenreadingchallenge2022 #25. With a Blue Cover
- Bookworm #34 A book that you intended to read on last year's challenge
- Nancy Drew # 45. The Spider Sapphire Mystery (1968) - OR read a book with a lot of blue on the cover
- Nerd Daily #NERDREADING2022 #50 book with a blue spine
- Nerdy Bookworm #NerdyBookwormChallengeXO 8 Book with two authors or more
- OWLS 22 #29 Magical Me: A book with an incompetent character
- PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge # 41. A book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title
- Pick your Poison #14 an author whose name you remember easily
- Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
- Six Shooter Challenge Target # 12 Shot #1
- 52 books in 52 weeks #42 Indubitably Dear Watson
- Unruly Reader Bingo #15 1980s Classic (the tv show )
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