Jessica is in Cabot Cove, attending a book reading by fellow author Sibella Stone. Jessica starts investigating when it appears that there is an attempt at Sibella’s life during a dinner party she is hosting.
Just the facts:
Click on the text below to reveal spoilers.
Click to reveal the victim
It was Marian King, Sibella Stone’s assistant!Click to reveal the killer
It was Sibella Stone, the romance novelist!Click to reveal the weapon
The victim was pushed off from a great height!Click to reveal the location
It was at the stairs going down to the private beach at Sibella Stone’s rented house!Click to reveal the motive
It was jealousy! The victim was having an affair with the killer’s husband, and on top of that the killer was afraid that the victim might upstage her professionally.Click to reveal the major clue
The final clue was the spelling of “Minze” on the note and on the cafe specials board!Cast of characters (in order of appearance):
- Christopher Murray as Phil Coile, a local carpenter who is running a smuggling operation on the beach coast near the house that Sibella Stone has rented.
- Ian Ruskin as “Larry” the Smuggler. This is Ruskin’s second and final appearance on MSW.
- Carroll Baker as Sibella Stone, a gothic romance novelist visiting Cabot Cove.
- Jennifer Parsons as Peggy Reed, a woman who bursts into the book reading to announce her car is dead and who later says hello to Seth Hazlitt in town. This is Parsons’ first of two appearances on MSW.
- B. J. Ward as Chairwoman that organized the Sibella’s reading event at the library.
- Yvonne Suhor as Marian King, Sibella’s assistant.
- William Katt as Derek Hartman, Sibella’s husband and publisher. Katt is the son of Barbara Hale (who played Della Reese on Perry Mason) and had previously appeared as Paul Drake Jr. in the 1980s Perry Mason movies.
- William Windom as Dr. Seth Hazlitt, Jessica’s close friend.
- Andrea Roth as Valerie Hartman, Derek Hartman’s daughter who bumps into Seth.
- John David Bland as Colin Burnham, Valerie’s race car-driving British boyfriend. This is Bland’s second and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “It Runs in the Family“.
- David Gail as Monroe Shepard, an employee at the coffee shop.
- Robin Gordon as Sue, a waitress at the coffee shop. This is Gordon’s third and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “The Error of Her Ways” and “Prodigal Father“
- Ron Masak as Sheriff Mort Metzger.
- Louis Herthum as Deputy Andy Broom.
- Erwin Fuller as Mr. Turner (a.k.a. “Old Man Turner”), the owner of the coffee shop in Cabot Cove.
There is also a brief moment in which the caterer for Sibella’s party speaks just before driving off, but the actress playing that part is never credited.
Final thoughts and other trivia:
As always, one of the things I noticed most about this episode is the setting and filming locations. While for the most part it was filmed on set — with the “Jaws Lake” Universal Lot standing in for Cabot Cove — there were at least a few scenes filmed on location in California.
Some notable aspects of the locations above:
- Top left: The Cabot Cove Community Building (previously seen in “A Christmas Secret” and “Final Curtain”) is now the Cabot Cove Library Reading Room.
- Top right: A sign for Loretta’s Beauty Shop can be seen in the background next to the Coffee Shop. This is interesting since Loretta and the beauty shop ladies haven’t been seen since Season 6, and haven’t been mentioned since Season 7.
- Bottom left: The scenes filmed around Sibella’s house were filmed at Point Fermin Park and Lighthouse in San Pedro, California — a location that previously served as the home of the Appletree sisters in the episode “Mr. Penroy’s Vacation“.
- Bottom right: The staircase leading to the beach from the bluffs is purported to be on the same property as Sibella’s house, but from what I’ve been able to see no such staircase exists at Point Fermin. If anyone knows where exactly these scenes with the staircase were filmed, do let me know in the comments!
And finally, given that this episode is the final one of the season, I found it interesting to note that this isn’t the first time a Murder, She Wrote season ended with an episode featuring an author visiting Cabot Cove. In addition to this one, we had “The Skinny According to Nick Cullhane” in Season 7 and “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall” in Season 5.
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