For review of all movies and TV shows by Dame Angela Lansbury, go here.
For movies, TV shows and books surrounding actors and actresses who were part of Dame Angela Lansbury’s 80’s and 90’s American crime drama television series Murder, She Wrote, go here on my other blog on LiveJournal and here on WordPress.
Stars: 3 / 5
Recommendation: The setting is wonderful, but cant ignore the droning that goes on in some places. Yet it was a decent read although I am not sure why it took so long for me to complete. A travelogue mixed with mystery certainly has a certain charm for sure !
Aloha Betrayed is the 41st 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 of 2014. In this book Jessica heads the tropical paradise, the island of Maui, to give a lecture on community involvement in police investigations. She inadvertently gets tangled in the murder of a professor who taught at the college she was lecturing.
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 April 2024, 58 books have been written in this series. They are mostly written in first person narration.
Interesting of note that every chapter in the book begins with a quote in Hawaiian language and translated in English along-side. A nice local touch, I must say. The plot also touches on the environmental perils that the Hawaiian islands face, the options that researches are experimenting to provide sustainable environments, using wind energy and above all the idea of agriculture that grows fishes and plants in the same pond, landscaping with drought-resistant plants. Aquaponics and Xeriscaping is explained and explored in the plot.
We hear the story of Maui, the mischievous hero. It reminded me so much of the 2016 American musical fantasy adventure film, Moana, by Disney. Perhaps his book brought the character of Maui to light, but the movie shot it through the roof.
As expected most of the characters from Cabot Cover are not seen in the book, and some only mentioned. This took quite a while for me to finish, mainly because it seemed a lot of droning and less of sleuthing. The plot does touch on the effects of science on environment; and what local Hawaiians are doing to preserve. And we are taken into the Hawaiian legends too – Story about Maui; Story about the ohia tree; Uli the Goddess;
Again the plot ends with some open ended plot points that might surface in future book? One of the characters, Elaine kept saying ‘Oh Bob’ while Bob just says and does the most random thing ever was grating on my nerves after a while.
The setting is wonderful, but cant ignore the droning that goes on in some places. Yet it was a decent read although I am not sure why it took so long for me to complete. A travelogue mixed with mystery certainly has a certain charm for sure !
Spoiler Alerts:
1. Grammatical / Character / Plot / Geographical / Historical / Mythological Errors:
a. On Pg. 64, Elijah Kapule's cab company is called "AAA Taxi". But on Pg. 66, it is mentioned as "Triple-A Taxi".
2. Plot Reveals:
a. Other co-lecturers and professors: Detective Mike Kane; Professor Abbott Luzon and his wife Honi; Grace Latimer;
b. Other characters: Bob and Elaine Lowell; Helen and Marian; Detective Henry Tahaki; Elijah Kapule, a cab driver;
3. Sub Plots:
a. Friends of Jessica Fletcher: Dr. Seth Hazlitt; George Sutherland, senior inspector with Scotland Yard; Morton "Mort" Metzger, Cabot Cove Sherriff and his wife Maureen / Adele?; Eve Simpson, realtor friend working at Cabot Cove Realty; Sam Booth, mayor of Cabot Cove; Ethan Cragg, Cabot Cove’s chief town elder.
b. 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.
c. Other Cabot Cove characters: Josh, the mailman; Jed Richardson, only bush pilot for Cabot Cove and owner of Jed's Flying Service, and his wife Alicia / Barbara?; 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, 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 Thyme 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, and his wife Ellen; 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; Reginald "Reggie" Weems, insurance agent; Richard Jenkins & Sal Marterella, city council members; Jack Wilson, the Veterinarian, and his wife Tobe; Evelyn Phillips, editor of Cabot Cove Gazette; Maniram Chatterjee & his wife Hita, jewelry shop owners; Sanford Teller, runs public relations agency; Lee, postmistress; Loretta Spiegel, owns beauty salon.
d. 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; Officer Edgar.
e. Jessica Fletcher’s family: Grady Fletcher, nephew that she and her late-husband Frank raise, his wife Donna and child Frank.
f. We know the reason as to why Mort Metzger's wife is called Maureen as of the 20th book A Slaying in Savannah. However, I distinctly remember her name being changed to Adele in the 50th book, A Time for Murder. Looks like the confusion is not completely alleviated.
g. I remember reading one of the later books (and couldn’t figure out which one was that) where we see Sam Booth as the mayor of Cabot Cove. However, since I started reading the series from the beginning, looks like the mayor of Cabot Cove is Jim Shevlin. I wonder if Sam Booth surfaces as I remember from way back read.
h. From the 9th book, Murder on the QE2: Mary Ward has been a prominent character in this book. Will she resurface again?
i. From the 10th book, Murder in Moscow:
i. 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?
ii. Alexandra Kozhina disappears at the end of the plot. And will she surface in another book?
j. In the 27th book Coffee, Tea or Murder? we see that Jed's wife is named Barbara. But up until then she was named Alicia. Wonder if Bain will have a backup story for that in future books.
k. From the 30th book:
i. Tom Craig offers Michael Haggerty a book deal to write about his escapades as an undercover British spy.
ii. There is no closure as to who actually kills the person in the first murder.
iii. Will Jennifer Kahn, the alleged jewel thief, walk away free since they could only find circumstantial evidence against her and nothing concrete?
l. From the 37th book: If I ever try the sidecar recipe I will have to post it again referring the 37th book.
m. 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.
n. From the 51st book, The Murder of Twelve:
i. Author Land gives considerable mystery to Seamus McGilray’s character. I wonder if he resurfaces in a future book.
ii. Towards the end of the book, Mort jokes that Jessica should run for mayor. Hmm…something to look forward to I suppose.
Galavant Reflections 