Madison Avenue Shoot

February 23, 2009
Where Jessica Fletcher goes, murder invariably follows, as shown in Bain's taut 31st mystery to feature the crime-solving character immortalized by Angela Lansbury on the small screen (after 2008's A Slaying in Savannah
). While visiting her ad exec nephew, Grady Fletcher, and his family in New York City, Jessica agrees to appear in a TV commercial as one of several celebrities promoting an international credit card. Betsy Archibald, the creative director of the ad agency handling the shoot, makes the experience uncomfortable for all involved due to frequent tantrums. When Grady's nine-year-old son, Frank, disappears on the set while watching his great-aunt perform, his parents become frantic. Jessica and Grady's search reveals Betsy, dead from a nail-gun wound, but no Frank. Did the boy witness the murder? Jessica at first irritates the police detective in charge of the investigation, but later impresses him as she cracks the case in her typical no-nonsense style.