Customer Reviews

Murder, She Wrote: Three Strikes and You're Dead

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I once heard a joke about a man named Leroy who knew everybody and apparently he was related to Jessica Fletcher because she has friends everywhere. In this entry in the "Murder She Wrote" series Jessica is visiting friends in Mesa Arizona and has plans for a wonderful vacation. Part of her itinerary involves taking in some minor league baseball because Ty Ramos, the foster son of her Mesa friends plays for the local AA team. Problems arise however because Ty plays shortstop as does Junior Bennett who just happens to be the son of the team owner and the tension on the team rises to a fever pitch when the manager replaces Junior with Ty late in the championship game.

Junior is an obnoxious and rotten character and you can see his death coming from a mile away just as you will be able to figure out that Ty is going to be the chief suspect. Subtlety is generally not one of Mr. Bain's strong suits but that hardly detracts from these stories once you are used to it. Jessica as you can imagine, jumps right in and starts trying to prove Ty's innocence and her sniffing around soon begins to pay off. Just her mere presence helps Ty in court because the judge just happens to be a huge fan of her mystery books. In the end it all boils down to who had access to the an aluminum baseball bat that was used to kill Junior but Jessica still has to do a lot of thinking because at one time or another almost everyone involved seems to have had that bat.

This is a highly enjoyable book but unfortunately it sometimes fails to draw the reader into the story the way it should. As usual Mr. Bain does an excellent job of portraying the characters and the setting but it seems that Jessica just happens to bumble into the solution for this case rather than getting the job done with her considerable detective skills. While she does have to put her deductive skills to work she wouldn't have solved this one without some plain old good luck. There are really just too many coincidences in this story for it to be considered one of the best books in this series, but it is still a very good book and one that no fan of the series will want to pass up. As an added bonus the author finally seems to explain why Mort Metzger's wife has a different name on TV from the one she has in the books. That disparity was a mystery truly worthy of the attentions of the astounding Jessica Fletcher.

Hudson County, New Jersey Family Division Superior Court Judge Jack Duffy and his wife Meg are in Mesa, Arizona to watch their foster son Ty Ramos play shortstop for the Rattlers, the local AA minor league team. Their friend Jessica Fletcher is also in town visiting the Duffys and rooting for Ty. Jessica learns that Ty and the owner's son Junior Bennett have competed for the shortstop position all season. With the championship on the line Ty pinch-hits for Junior. Though he hits the winning homerun, owner Harrison Bennet is irate with manager Buddy Washington.

That night as the team celebrated their triumph, Ty and Junior get into a public fight at the dinner. The next day Junior is found dead as someone swung for the fences using his head as a ball. Sheriff Hualga arrests Ty based on circumstantial evidence including his juvenile past on the streets of Jersey City. While the Judge and his wife are in shock, Jessica cannot believe this capable in control young man lost his temper and in a fit of rage killed his rival. She plans to not only prove otherwise, but to uncover the culprit.

The latest Murder She Wrote mystery takes the heroine out of New England to Arizona where she becomes embroiled in a local baseball murder case. The story line is fun to follow as a lighthearted cozy that fans of the series will value. Jessica is her usual logical self as she unpeels secrets beyond homicide in her attempt to exonerate Ty. The plot is the usual stuff in this long running series yet remains enjoyable light reading.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoyed THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE DEAD and did not want it to end. I like the series and hopes Mr. Bain sends Jessica to my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. I bet Jessica would find it an enjoyable trip, regardless of the murder. If you have time to read a book this year, make sure one of the books is this one. Even if you don't like "brainless entertainment." It is good old-fashioned fun.

Amanda

I enjoy the MSW series because they do a good job setting each
location, where the stories take place. Three Strikes takes place
in Arizona and as the title indicates, is about baseball, in this
case minor league baseball. Climbing the ladder to get to the
"show" means, "doing whatever it takes", to some people, even if
that means murder. A good story and it is an easy 2 day read. Enjoy.

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.

Great installment in this series. Fun mystery, with a great setting in Arizona and an inside look into the world of minor league baseball. This book is very entertaining.

I have read almost all of the books in the "Murder She Wrote" series and this is one of my favorites. Fan of the series will definitely like this book, but new readers would also enjoy it.

Loved the book, arrived quickly and in excellent condition.

Love murder she wrote have all the books and dvds, Very smooth read yet holds your attention and makes you want to read more

Another excellent book by Mr. Bain. Twists and turns, never new what was coming. Thanks again "Jessica" your the best.

Jessica Fletcher attends a baseball game while visiting friends in Mesa, Arizona. They have a foster son who plays shortstop for the Class A Rattlers, and he wins the game with a pinch-hit walk-off homer. Although Ramos, from the Dominican Republic, shares playing time at short with the owner's son, he eventually wins the league MVP. He is also charged with murdering his rival, Junior Bennett, who had been playing only because of his dad's orders. Jessica is sure that Ramos is innocent and proceeds to investigate. As usual, she outwits the cops in the process of solving the case. She proves. of course, that Ramos did not commit the crime. Although the baseball aspect of the book is far-fetched, the detective work of Jessica adheres to the formula for her successful television and mystery novel appearances.