The BEST episodes of Murder, She Wrote

Every episode of Murder, She Wrote ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Murder, She Wrote!

Murder seems to follow Jessica Fletcher, a former English teacher and a mystery writer full of charm, zest-for-life, and personality; who happens to become "the investigator" when traveling around the country to promote a series of novels. Murder always occurs when she is present. Even in Cabot Cove!

Last Updated: 9/6/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
Share:
The Days Dwindle Down
star
7.88
163 votes

#1 - The Days Dwindle Down

Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/19/1987

Thirty years ago, Sam Wilson was sent to prison for murdering his boss, Malcolm Jarvis. After finally being released, Sam goes home to his wife and now-grown son who is expecting his first child with his wife, Terry. At Georgia Jarvis' request, Jessica looks into the crime, and through flashbacks, Sam remembers when Jarvis had offered him $10,000 to make his suicide look like murder. While Jessica believes that Sam is innocent, she doesn't believe it was suicide, and asks Sam's son Rod, a police officer, to lend a hand.

Directors: Michael J. Lynch
Watch Now:Amazon
The Legacy of Borbey House
star
7.82
147 votes

#2 - The Legacy of Borbey House

Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/3/1993

A new Victorian house owner is killed in the manner befitting a vampire -- a wooden stake in his chest.

Directors: Walter Grauman
Watch Now:Amazon
Night of the Coyote
star
7.81
180 votes

#3 - Night of the Coyote

Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/22/1992

The legend of a stage coach robber's hidden treasure leads to the murder of an old mining town entrepreneur.

Directors: Jerry Jameson
Watch Now:Amazon
A Christmas Secret
star
7.81
147 votes

#4 - A Christmas Secret

Season 9 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/13/1992

The return of a Gulf War veteran and his reunion with his fiancee is marred by his big secret.

Watch Now:Amazon
Portrait of Death
star
7.75
142 votes

#5 - Portrait of Death

Season 10 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/16/1994

A piece of sculpture does double duty as a murder weapon.

Directors: Vincent McEveety
Writer: Donald Ross
Watch Now:Amazon
Murder in White
star
7.73
140 votes

#6 - Murder in White

Season 10 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/19/1993

A producer staging an adaptation of one of Jessica's novels finds no joy in London.

Directors: Vincent McEveety
Watch Now:Amazon
Murder on the Thirtieth Floor
star
7.67
137 votes

#7 - Murder on the Thirtieth Floor

Season 10 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/6/1994

Jessica is shocked to learn that her editor has taken a flying leap from his high-rise office.

Directors: Walter Grauman
Watch Now:Amazon
Northern Explosion
star
7.67
135 votes

#8 - Northern Explosion

Season 10 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/2/1994

In Canada, a land war breaks out between Native Americans and a mining company.

Watch Now:Amazon
Deadly Assets
star
7.65
147 votes

#9 - Deadly Assets

Season 10 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/23/1994

A mobster is upset when he learns that a petty thief has found an unexpected $900,000.

Writer: Tom Sawyer
Watch Now:Amazon
The Petrified Florist
star
7.65
138 votes

#10 - The Petrified Florist

Season 9 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/21/1993

Was a Beverly Hills florist killed because he was supplying more than flowers for gossip magazine editors?

Writer: Donald Ross
Watch Now:Amazon
Trial by Error
star
7.65
188 votes

#11 - Trial by Error

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/12/1986

It's a bad day for the jurors when Jessica is the foreperson of the jury hearing the case of a man claiming self-defense in the death of an enraged husband.

Directors: Seymour Robbie
Watch Now:Amazon
The Phantom Killer
star
7.64
140 votes

#12 - The Phantom Killer

Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/24/1993

A media tycoon may have been killed by a literary agent who seems as substantial as smoke.

Writer: Tom Sawyer
Watch Now:Amazon
No Accounting for Murder
star
7.61
155 votes

#13 - No Accounting for Murder

Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/22/1987

Grady Fletcher is in big trouble when his boss, a specialist in tax shelters, is found dead and he is the main suspect.

Directors: Peter Crane
Watch Now:Amazon
Killer Radio
star
7.60
165 votes

#14 - Killer Radio

Season 9 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/14/1993

The prospective owner of a radio station in the prairies is killed before the sale goes through.

Directors: Peter Salim
Watch Now:Amazon
Witness for the Defense
star
7.59
198 votes

#15 - Witness for the Defense

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/1987

Jessica goes to Quebec to testify at the trial of a friend who is accused of killing his wife and burning his house.

Directors: Seymour Robbie
Watch Now:Amazon
Film Flam
star
7.58
130 votes

#16 - Film Flam

Season 11 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/19/1995

Jessica sets out to prove that the death of a young movie buff is murder.

Writer: Donald Ross
Watch Now:Amazon
Dead to Rights
star
7.57
141 votes

#17 - Dead to Rights

Season 9 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/21/1993

Jessica knows her former researcher is a congenital liar, so why should she believe her now?

Writer: Tom Sawyer
Watch Now:Amazon
Nan's Ghost (2)
star
7.57
81 votes

#18 - Nan's Ghost (2)

Season 12 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/9/1995

Jessica is trapped in the rat-infested dungeon of an ancient Irish castle, but uses her ingenuity to get rescued and find the treasure and a murderer.

Watch Now:Amazon
Murder Takes the Bus
star
7.53
259 votes

#19 - Murder Takes the Bus

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/17/1985

Bus trips are not always as relaxing as they should be. In this case, one passenger had a one-way ticket.

Directors: Walter Grauman
Watch Now:Amazon
Murder, She Spoke
star
7.50
194 votes

#20 - Murder, She Spoke

Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/10/1987

During a short black-out in the studio where Jessica is recording a book for the blind, the studio co-owner is murdered.

Writer: Si Rose
Watch Now:Amazon
A Virtual Murder
star
7.46
176 votes

#21 - A Virtual Murder

Season 10 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/31/1993

Jessica is fascinated by a demo of a VR game based on her book, but, while playing it, she thinks she sees a real murder.

Directors: Lee Smith
Watch Now:Amazon
Something Foul in Flappieville
star
7.46
46 votes

#22 - Something Foul in Flappieville

Season 12 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/15/1996

The puppets are dancing to a different tune, much to the dismay of the young designer.

Watch Now:Amazon
Curse of the Daanav
star
7.45
152 votes

#23 - Curse of the Daanav

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/7/1988

Seth's family is touched by an ancient curse attached to the history of a ruby.

Directors: Walter Grauman
Watch Now:Amazon
The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel
star
7.45
147 votes

#24 - The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/18/1988

The airplane her late husband bailed out of in 1952 has finally been found -- with a body inside.

Directors: Vincent McEveety
Watch Now:Amazon
The Secret of Gila Junction
star
7.45
83 votes

#25 - The Secret of Gila Junction

Season 12 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/5/1995

People in a sleepy Arizona town, are threatened by a truck- stop bandit and suspicious treasure hunters.

Writer: Jerry Ludwig
Watch Now:Amazon