This is the fifth "bookend" show, and the fourth supposedly based on one of Jessica's novels. Since each of the four has involved a different main character, it implies that Jessica does not use a series character in the vein of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot or Jane Marple.
Jessica Fletcher only appears as the narrator in this episode, providing a frame story describing one of her novels. These types of episodes had become relatively common by this point in the series, as a way of providing an overworked Angela Lansbury a bit of a break.
This is the second and last appearance of Bill Maher on Murder, She Wrote (1984). His first appearance was in Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble (1989) as a slimy media promoter.