That was a fun read, although the reviewer seems to think "Jim Ferris" was the name of the actor and not the character. Thanks for pointing it out.

I find Murder by the Book to be one of the most rewatchable Columbos there is. Since I recently went on a spree of finding errors in it, let me make up for it by listing some of the things I like about it:

Most fake alibis (in fiction, anyway) involve the murderer either (a) deceiving the cops as to the time of the murder (as in Suitable for Framing, say, or Bye Bye Sky High), or (b) deceiving them as to his whereabouts at the (correct) time of the murder (as in Fade In to Murder or Butterfly in Shades of Grey). This is the only fake-alibi plot I can think of where the murderer does not deceive the cops as to either of those things, but rather as to the victim's whereabouts when he was killed.

Two minutes of nothing but typing noises at the beginning! Yet it works perfectly, drawing us in to see what's coming next.

The shot of Ken offering a toast as Jim lies dead -- genius.

The shot of the three cops staring after Ken as he arrives at the office for the final confrontation really gives the sense that Ken is caught in a trap.

"Ya gotta admit, I had ya goin' for a while, though, didn't I?"

my favorite line is the last one from the episode..."funny thing is, that was MY idea...who knew that idiot would write it down"

And you've just gotta love the bumper sticker that Ken "The Murderer" Franklin has on the back of his car. What a nut!

By the way, those newer to this forum may not know it, but Ken Franklin apparently sold that Mercedes of his to archictect Elliot Markham. Elliot is the one who murdered Beau Williamson in the episode, "Blueprint For Murder". It's the exact same car in both episodes. The car even still has the exact same license plate. Just a tidbit of delightful info.