Murder, She Wrote: Panning for Murder

by Donald Bain and Jessica Fletcher

Book Overview

Jessica's plans to enjoy a relaxing cruise to Alaska are dashed when her friend Kathy Copeland joins her. Kathy's sister vanished from the very same vessel on a prior voyage, and though Wilimena often disappeared on flights of fancy, this time Kathy is convinced of foul play. The Copeland sisters had a notorious aunt'the most famous madam in Alaskan history'who, rumor has it, struck it rich during the Gold Rush. It seems the daring Wilimena has gone...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451224841
• ISBN13: 9780451224842
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Good Mystery Series

Received Murder She Wrote: Panning For Murder, promptly and in good condition. It is a great mystery with my favorite sleuth, Jessica (Angela Lansbury). It is a good mystery just like all of her other ones. I especially enjoyed going on the cruise (vicariously) to Alaska with Jessica and her friend.

Huge Murder She Wrote fan

I have collected all of the Murder She Wrote books to date and re-read them every so often. I find them very 'readable'. This one is no exception.

Another great book in a awesome series.

This is one of my two favorite cozy series. I loved this book even more than usual, if that's possible, as I've always dreamed of going to Alaska. My mom's favorite show was Murder She Wrote and I use to watch with her, so reading the series always reminds me of my mom. I was surprised Jessica wasn't more suspicious of a certain character as it seemed obvious that the person was not as they seemed but as usual the likable of the characters made this book a great read.

murder she wrote book is great

my mom read these book and said it was a great book to read, i have read past murder she wrotes book and they all are great mystery i would recommend book to anybody that lovesa good mystery

Well Hello Dolly!

Sisters Wilimena and Kathy share a famous ancestor but not much else. Wilimena better known, as Willie to her friends is foot loose and fancy free, had had at least five husbands and has been known to disappear for months at a time without telling anybody where she is. Kathy is a reliable soul who has never married and just happens to reside in Cabot Cove, Maine. As this latest entry in the "Murder She Wrote" series begins Kathy along with some other Cabot Cove residents are dinning with Jessica and talking about the famous author's upcoming cruise to Alaska. It just happens that Willie had taken that same cruise a few weeks earlier and disappeared at one of the ports of call. Normally this would be nothing to worry about but this time Kathy is worried because Willie was on that cruise in search of gold. The famous ancestor that the sisters share was a famous Alaska madam known as Dolly and she was reported to have a large stash of gold, which as her next of kin the sisters would be entitled to. Willie was off looking for the gold when she vanished and Kathy is worried. Before Jessica knows what's happening Kathy invites herself along on the cruse so that Jess can help her look for her missing sister. Now Jessica's restful vacation plans turn into yet another mystery for her to solve. As is usual in these books Jessica puts her observational abilities and common sense to work and is soon hot on Willie's trail. She becomes very worried though because she soon finds out that Willie has literally told everyone she met about the gold. Then the dead bodies start to show up and both Jessica and Kathy begin to despair that they will ever find Willie alive. I normally prefer the stories from this series that are set in Cabot Cove because of the delightful cast of characters that inhabit that lovely little town and I wasn't sure if I would care for this entry at all. It didn't take me long though to get completely hooked. Mr. Bain has a unique talent when it comes to describing the scenery of the locations where his stories take place and his marvelous descriptions made me feel as if I were in Alaska on that cruise and I have always dreamed of just such a trip. He also introduces some excellent characters both on the ship and on land that almost made up for the lack of Cabot Cove regulars in this book. Better yet he doesn't hide clues from his readers in this fine addition to this series and a observant reader will start to pick up clues fairly early on that will be of great importance in figuring out just who the villain is. This is in fact probably the best book in this series that isn't set in Cabot Cove and is one of the top five out of the whole series. I am impressed!