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.
"Dead to Rights" may not be one of the best Season 9 episodes, as far as previous episodes go it's not as good as "A Christmas Secret", "The Petrified Florist", "Threshold of Fear", "Final Curtain" and "The Wind Around the Tower". It's not one of the season's worst episodes either, being much better than "Sugar & Spice, Malice & Vice", "Dead Eye", "Double Jeopardy", "The Dead File", "Murder in Milan" and especially "The Mole". To me, it's one of those somewhere in the middle episodes.
The main idea of "Dead to Rights", involving Dana being worth her position primarily down to lust, is not the easiest to swallow. It is also not always easy to root for a pathological liar who tells so many big lies and the outcome of her predicament is very easy to figure out.
Angela Lansbury can't be faulted and neither can the charming support of Molly Hagen, Sam Anderson, Evelyn Keyes and Jeffrey Nordling. The mystery is pretty good, if perhaps taking slightly too long to get to, and the ending is not an obvious one thankfully in a season with denouements that are not that surprising well executed, how it's solved is more satisfying than a lot of latter season episodes.
Production values 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.
Writing is amiable and thought-provoking.
On the whole, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox