The Search for Peter Kerry

An old friend of Jessica's believes his long lost grandson has been discovered, with the help of a piece of music.

This series has been wonderfully varied, and has seemed inspired by various different films, as soon as I started watching this one, I got vibes of Anastasia, only the role Anastasia is played by a Man.

I think this is a cracking episode, perhaps a less original story than you'd first think, but it's still a terrific watch.

I loved the cast here, I thought the Detective in particular was great, even if he did pinch her scrambled eggs in the final scene.

It made me chuckle how it's yet another friend who's in need of Jessica's help, you have to wonder when the poor Dear can get any writing done.

It's excellent, 8/10.

It surprises me that three previous reviewers did not recognize that this Murder She Wrote story was based in large part on the classic film Anastasia where Ingrid Bergman an amnesia victim is passed off by Yul Brynner as the heir to the Romanoff crown.

Only in this story the Anastasia part is played by Marc Singer, the grandson of William Prince whose aide Mason Adams has supervised a missing persons investigation for 20 years.

Quite by accident Angela Lansbury is having lunch with Michael Beck who was the roommate in college of the grandson and he hears a pianist playing a melody he recognizes as a song written by the grandson.

Here the story does not follow the film though as Beck in the Yul Brynner role is murdered. It seems as though the idea was to make a dupe out of Jessica Fletcher who doesn't dupe so easily.

It's not too hard to figure out who murdered Beck. Still it's a fun story.

Okay starts off well enough with introduction of old college friend, the song in the bar while Danny attempts a hard sell making it obvious that he's a con man or thinks he is anyway. The non stop smoking provided the writers with their clever solution to the murderer. Yet the entire journey - seeking hospital records, accident details, searching & ultimately locating a relative of the victim who died in the decades old car crash was entirely unnecessary. If DNA tests could identify the smoker, the same DNA test could resolve whether or not "Rick" was or was not the long lost grandson without all the drama. A wasted effort...

Jessica Fletcher uses her mystery writer's instincts to investigate murder and intrigue when the heir to a fortune appears after a 20-year absence. An excellent mystery that stars Marc Singer as the possible heir to millions and Michael Beck as the hard smoking opportunist. From the time Singer is introduced as a possible heir you have a strong feeling that a scheme is happening, especially with Beck owing his wife loads of money. But, as always, there's a twist in the tale and it all ends with a hopeful ending.

Have always been quite fond of 'Murder She Wrote'. It is a fun and relaxing watch that makes you think as you try to unwind in the evening. If one wants more complex, twisty mysteries with lots of tension and suspense 'Murder She Wrote' may not be for you, but if you want something light-hearted and entertaining but still provide good mysteries 'Murder She Wrote' fits the bill just fine.

While not quite one of my top 5 favourites of Season 5, "The Search for Peter Kerry" is still a winner and one of the best of the season. It does wonders with a not exactly tasteful, pretty cruel come to think of it, premise and manages to make an entertaining and intelligent episode out of it, with a diverting mystery that manages to be a brain-teaser.

Angela Lansbury is terrific as always as Jessica, and William Prince, Lorna Patterson and Mason Adams all give very good supporting turns. The standouts though are a smouldering Marc Singer and Anita Morris and a sly and entertainingly inept Lane Smith.

Production values as ever are slick and stylish. The music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune.

The writing is thought-provoking, light-hearted and amiable, while the mystery as said intrigues and the solution is not hard to figure out thankfully.

All in all, a Season 5 winner. 10/10 Bethany Cox