Jessica Fletcher is in Paris doing a tour of fashion shows in order to publicize the French edition of her novel ‘Runway to Murder’. When a fashion designer is attacked at a pre-show reception that Jessica is attending — and when that fashion designer is subsequently found dead — Jessica investigates!
Just the facts:
Click on the text below to reveal spoilers.
Click to reveal the victim
It was Edmond Faragere, head of a fashion house!Click to reveal the killer
It was Denise Naveau, the seamstress at the fashion show!Click to reveal the weapon
It was a gunshot from a gun belonging to Kim Huan, the attacker at the reception!Click to reveal the location
It happened while the victim was sitting in the diver’s seat of his car, shortly after he got in at 6:30pm!Click to reveal the motive
It was revenge and greed! The killer felt she was being used by the victim and wanted to keep all the money from their shady jewel smuggling partnership for herselfClick to reveal the major clue
It was the fact that the killer had a key (number 37) to the victim’s apartment!Cast of characters (in order of appearance):
- Yuji Okumoto as Kim Huan, a Vietnamese illegal immigrant whose wife died in a fire while working in a sweatshop. This is Okumoto’s third and final appearance on MSW, but his only credited role; he previously appeared in an uncredited role as Detective Ishimini in two Season 7 episodes: “The Great Twain Robbery” and “Suspicion of Murder“.
- David Garrison as Dan Morgan, a representative of Jessica’s publisher.
- Ellia Thompson as Carrie Quinn, a fashion model who had previously helped Jessica with research on her book. This is Thompson’s second and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “Ship of Thieves“.
- Natalija Nogulich as Denise Naveau, a seamstress at the fashion show; also a former model and Edmond Faragere’s former lover. This is Nogulich’s second and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “The Classic Murder“.
- James Sutorius as Paul Vaughn, fashion show organizer and owner of a fashion line. This is Sutorius’s fifth and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “School for Scandal”, “Weave a Tangled Web“, “The Committee“, and “A Death in Hong Kong“.
- Maureen Mueller as Thea Vaughn, fashion designer and Paul’s wife and business partner. This is Mueller’s second and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “Final Curtain“.
- Francois Guetary as Edmond Faragere, owner of a rival fashion house, Thea’s lover and Carrie’s fiance.
- Bettina Spier as the Invitation Checker at the pre-fashion-show reception.
- Clifford David as Claude Faragere, Edmond’s step-father and fashion house owner.
- Daniel Markel as Rick Evans, a fashion photographer and Carrie’s ex-boyfriend.
- Francois Eric Gendron as Insp. Marc Gautier, who is on the scene to investigate the attack at the reception.
- Frank Bruynbroek as a Detective working with Insp. Gautier.
Final thoughts and other trivia:
One unique/unusual thing about this episode is that it starts with a cold open prior to the opening montage that shows viewers the sweatshop fire and Kim Huan vowing to avenge his wife’s murder.
For fans, like me, who watch Murder, She Wrote over and over, the obvious comparison to make is between this episode and the other MSW episode to feature the world of Paris fashion: Season 4’s “A Fashionable Way to Die“. After so many years since either of these aired, I find it fascinating to see how differently these two episodes depict the fashion world — and also how much fashion tastes have changed between 1987 and 1995. The fashion show in 1987 emphasized glitz and glamor, while the show in 1995 was much more bright and emphasized the chic and elegant.
And finally, I wanted to take a moment to document the proposed bookcover for the J.B. Fletcher novel that is at the heart of this episode:
Murder, She Watched 