This book toured with Great Escapes Book Tours.
I was in the hospital on my assigned date.
Today, I am posting the review I should have posted on that day.
Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder
Cozy Mystery
60th in Series
Setting – Maine
Publisher : Berkley (March 18, 2025)
Language : English
Hardcover : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593820045
ISBN-13 : 978-0593820049
Digital ASIN : B0D7G8TTLR
In a nod to Rear Window, this newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series finds Jessica Fletcher coping with an injury that leaves her homebound—and a murder just outside her window!
Jessica Fletcher has taken a nasty spill on the ice, leaving her in a wheelchair for several weeks. She tries to work on her latest manuscript but finds herself distracted by a new neighbor moving in across the street. There’s good reason for her to be distracted, because soon after unpacking his sparse belongings, Mr. Rymer is out in the front yard, building somewhat risqué (read: naked) snow sculptures.
While Cabot Cove debates whether the sculptures are a protected form of art or a public display of lewdness, someone starts destroying them at night. Rymer doesn’t seem upset. He just makes new ones. No need to get the police involved over a little snow, he says. Especially when there’s plenty more of it and a blizzard in the forecast.
The morning after the storm, Jessica looks out the window to see a new sculpture across the street—and the body of Mr. Rymer half-buried in the snow. Can Jessica catch a cold-blooded killer from her chair by the window?
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Jessica was all set to escape the winter weather and head off on a Mystery Lovers Cruise, but as she stepped out her front door, she slipped on a patch of ice and went down hard. She had no broken bones, but sprained both her ankles, subluxated her patella, sprained her right wrist, and gave herself a mild concussion. Refusing to stay and rehab at the hospital, her friend Dr. Seth Hazlitt sets up a home health aide and a power wheelchair so she can recover at home. At home, where she notices a new neighbor right across the street. A new neighbor who appears to enjoy building snow sculptures – scandalous snow sculptures.
While the jury is still out as to whether the sculptures are art or just attention grabbing someone decides to take action on their own and destroys them under the cover of darkness. But the guy just builds a new one each day. Jessica has a bird’s eye view out her window. At least until a wild blizzard strikes and she can’t even see across the street. The next day, she sees a new sculpture has been built, but finds the “artist” has met his demise – and left buried in the snow.
Can Jessica track down the killer watching out the window from her fancy wheelchair? Or will the killer crash through that window and put her in a deep freeze?
I especially enjoyed the theme, similar to the movie Rear Window. Jessica wasn’t quite as confined as photographer L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies, because her curious nature and the view drive this story.
Jessica Fletcher is a determined woman. She is not happy at first about having a stranger in her house, but she quickly discovers her home health aide has the desire to become a writer, and they bond over that. I loved how Jessica’s neighbors and friends dropped by with food, to visit, or just in time for dinner. Jessica does become quite comfortable tooling around in that wheelchair after her hilarious training session. I could relate and was laughing out loud because years ago I, too, had a motorized chair and just recently received a motorized scooter to get around to all my family events. The author described that way my initial training went to a tee. Jessica took herself out across the street a time or two to meet the neighbor and his visitors. She also called a taxi that could accommodate her chair and traveled to town and residents’ homes searching for information. A few injuries were not going to keep Jessica Fletcher down.
The mystery was filled with twists and red herrings. It was a delight to follow along as Jessica strived to make sense of what she saw out her window and the clues she followed around Cabot Cove. I did tie one relationship together before our protagonist, but I didn’t understand it fully until the end. There were some fishy things happening around Cabot Cove, and I enjoyed trying to solve them all.
The best thing about this series is that readers can pick up each book on its own. You can get to know the stellar recurring cast and the new characters in town for the story easily, then sit back and enjoy a classic cozy mystery unfold that will keep you on your toes. Jessica has been joined by several different co-authors, the latest being Barbara Early with Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder, but each author keeps the integrity the series started with. Sixty books in and it is still going strong. Book 61, Murder, She Wrote: A Body in Boston, written by Terrie Farley Moran, will be released on July 1.
Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder is a marvelous addition to this long-running series. Ms. Early does the characters justice and then some. I am so excited to see what she plans for Jessica and her friends next.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Berkley, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
If you missed Barbara’s Guest Post from her Great Escapes Book Tour, you can read it here.
About the Authors
Barbara Early earned an engineering degree, but after four years of doing nothing but math, developed a sudden allergy to the subject and decided to choose another occupation.
Before she settled on murdering fictional people, she was a secretary, a schoolteacher, a pastor’s wife, and an amateur puppeteer. She lives in Western New York State (Go Bills!), where she enjoys cooking, crafts, classic movies and campy seventies television, board games, and spending time with her granddaughters.
Before teaming up with Jessica Fletcher, she previously wrote the Vintage Toyshop Mystery series and the Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries (as Beverly Allen).
Author Links
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Purchase Links –
Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org – Penguin Random House
You can find all 61 books in the Murder She Wrote Series HERE.
Also written by Barbara Early
Written as Beverly Allen
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.”