Murder, She Wrote: Panning For Murder [Hardcover]

Jessica Fletcher (Author), Donald Bain (Author)

Book Description

Series: Murder She Wrote | Publication Date: September 25, 2007

Jessica's much-deserved cruise becomes a working vacation when her friend Kathy tags along, hoping to locate her sister Wilimena, who vanished from the same vessel. Distantly related to Alaska's most famous madam-a woman who may have struck it rich during the Gold Rush-Wilimena apparently took the cruise to find the treasure.

Now, as Jessica and Kathy investigate Wilimena's disappearance, they learn that she was quite outspoken about her gold claim-and may have attracted the wrong kind of attention. And now that attention has been turned on Jessica and Kathy.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jessica Fletcher is a bestselling mystery writer who has a knack for stumbling upon real-life mysteries.

Donald Bain, her longtime collaborator, is also the writer of more than 80 other books, many of them bestsellers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover (September 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451222202
• ISBN-13: 978-0451222206
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #950,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Hello Dolly!, October 7, 2007

By 

Dennis Phillips "The Book Friar" (Bulls Gap, Tennessee USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder, She Wrote: Panning For Murder (Hardcover)

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!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun times in Alaska, May 20, 2011

By 

donna O. - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Murder, She Wrote: Panning For Murder (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read many of the Murder She Wrote books which have all been very well written and interesting. This particular story, based in Alaska and for some parts on a cruise ship, was not disappointing. Although I found it to be more predictable than some of the others, it kept me wanting to find out what was going to happen next. I did miss the rest of the crew from Cabot Cove, but it was made up for by some interesting and colorful characters. I would recommend it for any true Murder She Wrote fans. Never disappointing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable read, January 30, 2010

By 

Nina (Tulsa, OK, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder She Wrote; Panning for Murder (LARGE PRINT) (Hardcover)

This is a very enjoyable book and the kind of a book you might want to read again and again over the years. It comes to life more if you know the TV characters. I plan to read it again next year. It has an inspiring aspect to it and perhaps one day I will take an Alaskan Cruise as well.