I got a laugh out of this article about a game that is being developed based on "Murder She Wrote."  The full article is on Gamezebo http://www.gamezebo.com/features/special-editorials/murder-she-wrote-developer-diary-1  Here's the first paragraph:

"I was lucky enough to be chosen to produce the game based on the classic TV series "Muder, She Wrote" because I'm from a town just like Jessica Fletcher's. Like Jessica, I know what it's like to live in a lovely, sleepy little town in New England: to be part of a close knit community that cares for each other; to feel so safe that you never need to lock your doors at night; to constantly keep finding murder victim after murder victim in every garden, behind each white picket fence and at each ice cream social you attend."

Unfortunately, I've started gaming.  I should have retained my "nose in the air" attitude that adults don't play games :)  I only hope this one is good.  I always liked Jessica when she stayed in Cabot Cove and everybody around her died.  .

This is only slightly connected, but does anyone else miss books with older main characters?  I have always enjoyed them, even when I was much younger. 

Has anyone else had this experience?  I am reading a book and assume that the character is a fairly mature woman, only to discover that she is relatively young (early 30s perhaps).  I don't know if this is me or if it's a product of older authors trying to relate to a younger crowd.

(My current book has a character with blue-white eyes and I'm still trying to figure out that one!  I assume she is not mean non-bloodshot eyes.)

I love older characters too. Have you read either the Mas Arai series by Naomi Hirahara (70 year old Japanese gardener) or Colin Cotterill's Dr. Siri Paiboun (Laotian national coroner, who is 72 I think.) Love both of those. Miss Marple used to be my favorite, even when I was a teenager.

I haven't had the experience you describe about mistaking the main character's age...it seems like with a lot of the newer series, the first thing you get is some form of recitation about the protagonist whereby you know by the end of chapter one that she is "a 37-year-old-divorced-childless-former advertising executive-who-went-to Wellesley-but found true-happiness now-that-she got rid of her loser husband and bought a-craft-shop-in-a-small-town-who loves ice cream, collie dogs and the color green and whos best friend is named Gina.'  Or something like that.

Cheryl

I like Jo Dereske's Miss Zukas mysteries, the Southern Sisters mysteries by Anne George, and Gladdy Gold mysteries by Rita Lakin