
Mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher - a down-to-earth, middle-aged widow - ferrets out the criminals in idyllic Cabot Cove, Maine, which apparently is the murder capital of the United States for the show's 12-season run. Though while traveling, she uncovers a fair number of killers as well.
Jessica helps an inexperienced sheriff investigate a murder in a small desert town where the government may have conducted dangerous chemical experiments.
A research trip to New Orleans plunges Jessica into the world of the occult, when a businessman dies, and a voodoo doll is evidence.
Detective Charlie Garrett's (Wayne Rogers) high bid on a mediocre painting puzzles Jessica; then, its second-rate artist is found dead.
When Jessica arrives at an ice cream company to get a check for charity, the funds have melted away and the company's co-founder is iced.