Leafing Through Pages – Provence – To Die For (Murder, She Wrote # 17)

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Stars: 3 / 5

Recommendation: A cozy addition to the plethora of books under Murder She Wrote series that takes one through the charming world of a little town in France, and also through the dark underbelly of the restaurant world. Enjoyable read even if parts can be skipped.

Provence – To Die For is the 17th novel in the long-running Murder She Wrote series co-written by Donald Bain & fictional writer Jessica Fletcher. It was first published on April 1, 2002. Jessica heads to Provence, France for a much needed vacation and down-time. But a murder of a prominent Chef mars her peaceful trip forcing her to wade through the soup of suspects and mysterious ingredients she meets along.

This is my take on the series of books written by a plethora of authors and Jessica Fletcher (fictional author) based on the 80s and 90s popular American crime drama television series Murder, She Wrote. These books are ghost written by Donald Bain and fictional author Jessica Fletcher for the first 43 books until 2015. Then Donald Bain wrote these with Renee Paley Bain and Jon Land for four more books. After Donald Bain passed away in 2017, Jon Land alone took the baton and continued with Jessica Fletcher for 5 more books until 2020. Starting 2021 the series was picked by Terrie Farley Moran again pairing with the fictional writer Jessica Fletcher. As of 2023, 56 books have been written in this series. They are all written in first person narration.

Jessica is in the middle of another murder much to the dissatisfaction of the local police in Provence. She butts her head in, pushes people around, to find answers despite several warnings from the police. Interesting how stubborn Jessica is shown in this plot.

There is considerable description of all the places that Jessica visits while in Provence. The elaborate chapter on the cooking class was not helpful since we don’t actually see Jessica cooking anything other than prep work. These chapters dulled on a bit on the reader, bordering on boredom.

It is no surprising that Jessica doesn’t get to enjoy her vacation, again pulled into a murder mystery. Her natural curiosity and penchant to dig the truth always brings her in the middle of a mystery. The setting was charming, in a town in France. But at times that chapters dulled.

A cozy addition to the plethora of books under Murder She Wrote series that takes one through the charming world of a little town in France, and also through the dark underbelly of the restaurant world. Enjoyable read even if parts can be skipped.

Spoiler Alerts:

1. Plot Reveals:
   1. Other characters of interest: Martine Devries, owner of the house Jessica swaps with and a friend; Mallory Cartwright, a fellow passenger Jessica meets on train; M. Phillipe Telloir, truffles trader; Madame Arlene, neighbor; Marcel, taxi driver; Madame Marie Roulandet, baker; Captain LeClerq; Lieutenant Thierry; Marius Poutine, Mme Poutine’s husband; John Cartwright, Mallory’s uncle.
   2. Characters surrounding Chef Bertrand: Claire, hotel desk person; Guy Lavande, sous chef; Daniel Aubertin, head chef.
   3. Guests taking cooking lessons with Chef Bertrand: Monsieur Rene Bonasse, a business man; Madame Paulette Franc Poutine; Craig & Jill Thomas, British couple.
2. Sub Plots:
   1. Friends of Jessica Fletcher: Dr. Seth Hazlitt, long-time friend in Cabot Cove, Maine; George Sutherland, senior inspector with Scotland Yard; Morton “Mort” Metzger, Cabot Cove Sherriff and his wife Adele /  Maureen?; Eve Simpson, realtor friend working at Cabot Cove Realty; Sam Booth, mayor of Cabot Cove; Ethan Cragg, Cabot Cove’s chief town elder.
   2. Literary contacts and friends: her publisher Vaughan Buckley of Buckley House, his fashion model wife Olga Buckley and their dogs Sadie and Rose; Harry McGraw, her private eye friend; Matt Miller, her literary agent & his wife Susan; Paulette, Matt’s assistant.
   3. Other Characters appear frequently: Josh, the mailman; Jed Richardson, only bush pilot for Cabot Cove and owner of Jed’s Flying Service, and his wife Alicia; Mara, restaurant owner of Mara’s Luncheonette; Hank Weathers, a homeless war vet; Seamus McGilray, manager of Hill House Hotel; Richard “Dick” Mann, Fire Chief; Charlene Sassi, a baker; Susan Shevlin, travel agent and her husband Jim who is the Mayor of Cabot Cove; Professor Donskoy; Roberta Dougherty, bookstore owner; Richard Koser, photographer, and his wife MaryJane; Barbara DePaoli, Chamber of Commerce’s secretary; Anthon Colarusso, dentist; Beth and Peter Mullin, owners of flower shop Old Tyme Floral; Sam Davis, investment advisor; Jack Decker, publisher of Cabot Cove’s monthly magazine; Peter Eder, Cabot Cove’s symphony orchestra; Bob Daros, owns Heritage Fuel; Tim Purdy, treasurer of chamber of commerce and historian and president of  Cabot Cove’s historical society, also an investment advisor; Pat Hitchcock, Cabot Cove’s popular nurse and teacher?; Gloria Watson, Wendell’s mother; Joseph “Joe” Turco, an attorney; Marcia Davis, costume designer; David and Jim Raneri, owners of Charles Department Store; Ralph Mackin, town attorney; Ed and Joan Lerner, retirees; Brenda Brody, copy editor of Cabot Cove Insider; Doug Treyz, dentist, and his wife Tina; Jack and Marilou Decker, publishers of Cabot Cove Insider; Peter and Roberta Walters, owners of the radio station; Horace Teller, publisher of Cabot Cove News; Doris Sitar, assistant manager at Cabot Cove Savings Bank; Dmitri, owner of local taxi company; Phil Wick, field manager of the phone company; John St. Clair, professor of business law at Cabot Cove Community College; Dr. Jennifer “Jenny” Countryman, Seth’s partner.
   4. Sheriff Metzger’s office staff & other law enforcement: Deputy Andy Jenks; Deputy Jack; Rookie Wendell Watson; Deputy Harold; Deputy Jerry; Alfred Gillo, medical examiner; Judge Kaplan; Marie Poutre, dispatcher.
   5. Jessica Fletcher’s family: Grady Fletcher, nephew that she and her late-husband Frank raise, his wife Donna and child Frank.
   6. We continue to see Mort Metzger’s wife being called as Maureen. But she was named Adele in the TV show…and also in the 50th book, A Time for Murder, she was back to Adele. Not sure when Bain changed it back to Adele since I have a few more books to go before I reach the 50th book, but perhaps the readers made him change it back.
   7. From the 9th book, Murder on the QE2: Mary Ward has been a prominent character in this book. Will she resurface again?
   8. From the 10th book, Murder in Moscow:
      1. There is still no resolution as to who or how Ward Wenington was killed in D.C. and why Vladislav “Vlady” Staritova was killed in Russia. What was the connection?
      2. Alexandra Kozhina disappears at the end of the plot. And will she surface in another book?
   9. In the 50th book, A Time for Murder, Jessica is shown at Hill House, Cabot Cove’s very own Inn due to a fire at her Victorian home at 698 Candlewood Lame. I wonder if the 49th book, Murder in Red, has anything to do with her house getting caught fire which almost killed her.
   10. From the 51st book, The Murder of Twelve:
       1. Author Land gives considerable mystery to Seamus McGilray’s character. I wonder if he resurfaces in a future book.
       2. Towards the end of the book, Mort jokes that Jessica should run for mayor. Hmm…something to look forward to I suppose.
3. Grammatical / Character / Plot / Geographical / Historical / Mythological Errors:
   1. On Pg. 83, it looked like the order that Chef Bertrand gives to Guy is heard by everyone in the class. However, on Pg. 153, Jessica mentions that the Thomases heard the reprimand, not all of them.
   2. On Pg. 160, we see that the waiter comes back to serve Jessica. However, that was the first time he was coming to her table.