Jessica Fletcher Books in Order
Browse the Jessica Fletcher mysteries by Jon Land in order, with quick summaries, series background, and help finding the best place to start.
Last updated: July 11, 2026
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Jessica Fletcher books in publication order
17 books
A Date with Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2018
Jessica Fletcher looks into a friend's suspicious death and uncovers a shady dating service with money, secrets, and more than one victim around it. The deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes that the killer may already be watching her.
Manuscript for Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2019
Jessica receives an explosive unpublished novel from her publisher just before his apparent suicide. Following the manuscript's clues pulls her into a deadly political conspiracy that reaches far beyond New York.
Murder in Red
by Jessica Fletcher
2019
When Jessica Fletcher's friend dies after a routine procedure at a new private hospital in Cabot Cove, she suspects more than malpractice. Her search for answers exposes a darker scheme before more people wind up dead.
Murder In Season
by Jessica Fletcher
2020
Christmas has come to Cabot Cove, and Jessica is busy with family plans and the town parade while her home nears completion. Then a reporter and a centuries-old local mystery turn the holiday into another dangerous case.
The Murder of Twelve
by Jessica Fletcher
2020
Stranded in a hotel during a historic blizzard, Jessica Fletcher finds herself trapped with a wedding party, twelve uneasy guests, and a killer. The snowbound weekend turns into a tense closed-circle mystery.
Debonair in Death
by Jessica Fletcher
2021
A murder in Cabot Cove's art and treasure trade puts one of Jessica's favorite local women under suspicion. To clear her name, Jessica joins forces with Michael Haggerty and uncovers a case much bigger than it first appears.
Killing in a Koi Pond
by Jessica Fletcher
2021
After a writers' conference, Jessica visits an old college friend at her grand South Carolina home. When the friend's wealthy new husband turns up dead in the koi pond, Jessica faces a house full of possible enemies.
Death on the Emerald Isle
by Jessica Fletcher
2023
Jessica's speaking trip to Belfast turns into a detour through Northern Ireland when she agrees to deliver paintings for a neighbor. Once a family member turns up dead, old secrets and local tensions come to the surface.
Killer on the Court
by Jessica Fletcher
2023
Jessica expects a quiet beachside visit with Grady, Donna, and young Frank, but Donna soon finds her boss dead on a tennis court. With the small community locked down, Jessica has to solve the case before the family getaway is completely wrecked.
A Killer Christmas
by Jessica Fletcher
2024
Cabot Cove is ready for Christmas until a missing man returns to stop the sale of his family home and soon after a prospective buyer is murdered. Jessica is not convinced the most obvious troublemaker did it.
Fit for Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2024
Evelyn Phillips draws Jessica into concerns about an older friend's charming young yoga instructor neighbor. When the man is found dead in his weight room and Evelyn becomes the top suspect, Jessica starts pulling apart the performance.
Murder Backstage
by Jessica Fletcher
2024
Jessica joins Emma MacGill and friends in Edmonton for a musical review starring a beloved entertainer. The vacation ends when a hotel bartender, who also works backstage at the theater, is found dead.
A Body in Boston
by Jessica Fletcher
2025
A lecture trip to Boston includes dinner with Harry McGraw, until a young woman stumbles into the bar covered in blood after finding her boyfriend's corpse. Jessica is soon balancing Harry's blackmail case with a murder that hits closer to home.
Snowy with a Chance of Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2025
After a bad fall leaves Jessica stuck in a wheelchair, she passes the time watching a strange new neighbor create risqué snow sculptures. Then a blizzard hits, the man is found dead in the yard, and Jessica has to investigate from her window.
The Body in the Trees
by Jessica Fletcher
2025
Autumn tourists come to Cabot Cove for hiking and foliage, but one of them never comes back from the woods. When the missing woman is found tangled high in a tree, Jessica learns she brought a dangerous secret to town.
A Killing in Real Estate
by Jessica Fletcher
2026
Cabot Cove is split over a luxury hotel proposal when a powerful developer is found dead in the woods. Jessica suspects the apparent heart attack was murder, and the town's battle over progress suddenly gets personal.
Murder Most Trivial
by Jessica Fletcher
2026
A pub trivia win sends Jessica, Seth, Maureen, and Mort to Los Angeles for a televised tournament. Before the games really begin, a crew member is murdered and Jessica has to solve a case surrounded by cameras and mystery-show lore.
Where to start with Jessica Fletcher
If you want the TV-era beginning: The Murder of Sherlock Holmes → Hooray for Homicide → Lovers and Other Killers
If you want the first long-running original novels: Gin & Daggers → Manhattans & Murder → Rum & Razors
If you want classic Cabot Cove comfort: A Little Yuletide Murder → The Maine Mutiny → Killer in the Kitchen
If you want the more modern continuation: A Date with Murder → Manuscript for Murder → Murder in Red
If you want the recent books: Killing in a Koi Pond → Debonair in Death → Killer on the Court
Jessica Fletcher sub-series and character series
Murder She Wrote (Jessica Fletcher) books in order
Explore this series
A Date with Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2018Murder She Wrote, Book 50
Manuscript for Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2019Murder She Wrote, Book 51
Murder in Red
by Jessica Fletcher
2019Murder She Wrote, Book 52
Murder In Season
by Jessica Fletcher
2020Murder She Wrote, Book 55
The Murder of Twelve
by Jessica Fletcher
2020Murder She Wrote, Book 54
Debonair in Death
by Jessica Fletcher
2021Murder She Wrote, Book 57
Killing in a Koi Pond
by Jessica Fletcher
2021Murder She Wrote, Book 56
Death on the Emerald Isle
by Jessica Fletcher
2023Murder She Wrote, Book 58
Killer on the Court
by Jessica Fletcher
2023Murder She Wrote, Book 59
A Killer Christmas
by Jessica Fletcher
2024Murder She Wrote, Book 62
Fit for Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2024Murder She Wrote, Book 60
Murder Backstage
by Jessica Fletcher
2024Murder She Wrote, Book 61
A Body in Boston
by Jessica Fletcher
2025Murder She Wrote, Book 64
Snowy with a Chance of Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2025Murder She Wrote, Book 63
The Body in the Trees
by Jessica Fletcher
2025Murder She Wrote, Book 65
A Killing in Real Estate
by Jessica Fletcher
2026Murder She Wrote, Book 67
Murder Most Trivial
by Jessica Fletcher
2026Murder She Wrote, Book 66
Murder She Wrote (Jessica Fletcher) books in chronological order

A Date with Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2018Murder She Wrote, Book 50
Manuscript for Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2019Murder She Wrote, Book 51
Murder in Red
by Jessica Fletcher
2019Murder She Wrote, Book 52
The Murder of Twelve
by Jessica Fletcher
2020Murder She Wrote, Book 54
Murder In Season
by Jessica Fletcher
2020Murder She Wrote, Book 55
Killing in a Koi Pond
by Jessica Fletcher
2021Murder She Wrote, Book 56
Debonair in Death
by Jessica Fletcher
2021Murder She Wrote, Book 57
Death on the Emerald Isle
by Jessica Fletcher
2023Murder She Wrote, Book 58
Killer on the Court
by Jessica Fletcher
2023Murder She Wrote, Book 59
Fit for Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2024Murder She Wrote, Book 60
Murder Backstage
by Jessica Fletcher
2024Murder She Wrote, Book 61
A Killer Christmas
by Jessica Fletcher
2024Murder She Wrote, Book 62
Snowy with a Chance of Murder
by Jessica Fletcher
2025Murder She Wrote, Book 63
A Body in Boston
by Jessica Fletcher
2025Murder She Wrote, Book 64
The Body in the Trees
by Jessica Fletcher
2025Murder She Wrote, Book 65
Murder Most Trivial
by Jessica Fletcher
2026Murder She Wrote, Book 66
A Killing in Real Estate
by Jessica Fletcher
2026Murder She Wrote, Book 67
Author bio
Jessica Fletcher is not a conventional author bio subject, because she began as a fictional character and ended up feeling like a real favorite on millions of shelves. Introduced in Murder, She Wrote in 1984 and played on screen by Angela Lansbury, Jessica became much more than the heroine of a long-running TV mystery. She turned into a literary byline of her own, attached to decades of official novels that kept her voice, habits, and sharp eye very much alive.
In the world of the series, Jessica is a New Englander through and through. She was born Jessica Beatrice MacGill and grew up in Cabot Cove, Maine, later studying journalism at Harrison College in Green Falls, New Hampshire. Before the fame, before the book tours, and before strangers started asking for autographs, she spent years teaching English and building a steady life with her husband, Frank Fletcher.
Writing came later.
After Frank's death, Jessica started work on a manuscript called The Corpse Danced at Midnight. She had no grand career plan at first. Her nephew Grady quietly sent the manuscript out, it found a publisher, and that private act of grief and discipline changed everything. Soon Jessica Fletcher, writing as J. B. Fletcher, was a bestselling mystery novelist who kept stumbling into cases that looked an awful lot like the plots she put on the page.
What readers tend to love about Jessica is that she never behaves like a superhero. She listens. She notices. She asks one more question than other people are comfortable answering. Police officers do not always welcome her, but they usually learn the same lesson: if Jessica says something about a case does not add up, she is probably right. Her manners are part of her method.
The books credited to her show how flexible that formula is. Gin & Daggers gives you Jessica in a classic literary murder setup, far from home and surrounded by suspects. Murder in a Minor Key drops her into New Orleans atmosphere and lets music, place, and personality drive the case. The Ghost and Mrs Fletcher brings her back to one of the series' favorite pleasures, an old house, local rumors, and a death that looks simpler than it is. Later books like A Date with Murder and Killing in a Koi Pond keep the same core appeal while nudging the series into a slightly newer, brisker rhythm.
She travels well.
That matters, because Jessica's stories are as much about setting as they are about clues. Cabot Cove is the emotional center, with its gossip, loyalties, and recurring friends like Seth Hazlitt, Mort Metzger, and Grady. But the books also send her to London, Bermuda, Hawaii, Italy, Nashville, Arizona, Ireland, and plenty of grand hotels, cruise ships, theaters, and colleges. Wherever she goes, the pattern holds: a death that does not sit right, an innocent person under suspicion, and Jessica quietly pulling the whole thing apart.
Her recurring themes are comfort, curiosity, and the hidden mess inside respectable lives. The series likes artists, publishers, professors, politicians, hoteliers, chefs, and small-town pillars who turn out to be less solid than they look. It also likes communities, the way a murder disturbs not just one victim but a whole social web. Jessica understands that better than almost anyone.
In later stories, she still splits her time between Cabot Cove and the wider world, still writing, still teaching from time to time, and still finding herself in conversations that end with somebody saying, usually a bit too late, that she was right all along. That is the real charm of Jessica Fletcher. She makes intelligence look calm, decency look strong, and solving a murder look like the natural extension of paying close attention.
Edited by
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