A Question of Murder by Donald BainDonald Bain's 'Murder, She Wrote' series based on the television show of the same name continues it's winning formula in 'A Question of Murder'.
This time around we find mystery writer Jessica Fletcher attending a murder mystery weekend, as a celebrity author, located in an old mansion which is now running as a hotel. A stage play spanning the whole weekend takes place, where someone is murdered and the guests must form teams and try and figure out the mystery. However, when the actor playing the victim in the play is murdered on stage in real life, all eyes (even the lead police detective's) fall to Jessica to uncover the murderer before the weekend is over.
As usual there is a range of different characters, many of which serve as possible suspects, others to aid Jessica in her investigations. Some of them simply serve their purposes, while others are genuinely fun characters, such as Jessica's fellow author GSB Wick who writers supernatural themed mysteries set in the deep south and manages to keep her identity a secret, never giving away her full title, only ever being refereed to as Georgie.
Although there is nothing new here if you have read any of the previous books in the series, 'A Question of Murder' is still an enjoyable mystery, which is easily read in a couple of days, or I'm sure in a few hours if you wanted to read in in one sitting. Bain manages to weave a clever mystery or two into the book, which if you are observant, you will have sussed out before Jessica's reveal at the end. The clues are there, just as they are in the TV series, and as the book is told in first person, you find yourself beginning to think like Jessica.
Also in this book, because it is also featured in the storyline, the author challenges the reader to answer a mystery author/book question at the beginning of each chapter, with the answers to these questions being located at the back of the book. It's an interesting idea and just thrown in for a bit of extra fun, which if you are a die-hard murder mystery fan you should should enjoy.
Overall, this is any enjoyable book, aided by the many twists and turns which makes you want to not only read on but also try and make sense of as you do. There are a couple of unanswered questions left at the end, however none of them major although this doesn't happen very often in the 'Murder, She Wrote' novels, occasionally because of word-counts and the likes, it does happen on occasion, such as this. However it won't spoil your enjoyment of the book, which comes highly recommended to 'Murder, She Wrote' fans and/or murder mystery fans alike.
This time around we find mystery writer Jessica Fletcher attending a murder mystery weekend, as a celebrity author, located in an old mansion which is now running as a hotel. A stage play spanning the whole weekend takes place, where someone is murdered and the guests must form teams and try and figure out the mystery. However, when the actor playing the victim in the play is murdered on stage in real life, all eyes (even the lead police detective's) fall to Jessica to uncover the murderer before the weekend is over.
As usual there is a range of different characters, many of which serve as possible suspects, others to aid Jessica in her investigations. Some of them simply serve their purposes, while others are genuinely fun characters, such as Jessica's fellow author GSB Wick who writers supernatural themed mysteries set in the deep south and manages to keep her identity a secret, never giving away her full title, only ever being refereed to as Georgie.
Although there is nothing new here if you have read any of the previous books in the series, 'A Question of Murder' is still an enjoyable mystery, which is easily read in a couple of days, or I'm sure in a few hours if you wanted to read in in one sitting. Bain manages to weave a clever mystery or two into the book, which if you are observant, you will have sussed out before Jessica's reveal at the end. The clues are there, just as they are in the TV series, and as the book is told in first person, you find yourself beginning to think like Jessica.
Also in this book, because it is also featured in the storyline, the author challenges the reader to answer a mystery author/book question at the beginning of each chapter, with the answers to these questions being located at the back of the book. It's an interesting idea and just thrown in for a bit of extra fun, which if you are a die-hard murder mystery fan you should should enjoy.
Overall, this is any enjoyable book, aided by the many twists and turns which makes you want to not only read on but also try and make sense of as you do. There are a couple of unanswered questions left at the end, however none of them major although this doesn't happen very often in the 'Murder, She Wrote' novels, occasionally because of word-counts and the likes, it does happen on occasion, such as this. However it won't spoil your enjoyment of the book, which comes highly recommended to 'Murder, She Wrote' fans and/or murder mystery fans alike.
