MADISON AVENUE SHOOT

The fictional mystery writer who’s allegedly co-authored this title finds her zillionth body.

Jessica Fletcher’s nephew Grady has a history of unfortunate jobs. His latest, with a Manhattan payroll company in the advertising industry, gives him an ulterior motive for encouraging a visit from his famous aunt. He’s hinted that Jessica might be interested in doing a commercial for Permezzo, an international credit-card company that’s already lined up food-channel cook Stella Bedford, industry-exposé author Anne Tripper and mystic Lance Severson. Reluctantly agreeing, Jessica meets her fellow celebs along with ad-agency hotshot Betsy Archibald, Permezzo president Antonio Tedeschi, Stella’s manager Jimbo and all the others needed to make a TV commercial. The clash of personalities on the set shows that only Jessica is ready to do a professional job. After Grady’s son Frank, who was eager to see the shoot, is accused of smashing some expensive lights, angry Betsy has several nasty encounters with crew members. While searching for Frank, who’s gone missing, Jessica and Grady discover Betsy, killed by a nail gun. Jessica’s experience with the volatile group has left her with a slew of suspects the police are ignoring in favor of Frank. Her sleuthing leads to a number of hidden motives and finally the truth.

Yet another in the long-running series (Murder She Wrote: A Slaying in Savannah, 2008, etc.) based on the equally long-running TV program. Reliable light reading for TV-deprived fans.