WereColumbo EP1: Murder by the Howl | Murder by the Book Recap

In the premiere episode of WereColumbo, a Columbo recap podcast, we revisit the very first episode of Columbo, Murder by the Book. We break down the pilot mystery starring the wonderfully smug Jack Cassidy, talk through the crime step by step, and admire just how confident this murderer is despite making some… questionable decisions. Along the way we get into mystery-writing partnerships, suspicious champagne toasts, grocery-store alibis, and the many little details that make this episode such a great introduction to Columbo’s world.    But WereColumbo isn’t just another Columbo podcast. Each episode we revisit a classic case and tackle the question television history somehow failed to ask: when exactly should Lieutenant Columbo turn into a werewolf? As we revisit Murder by the Book, we debate the best possible moment for the transformation while appreciating Columbo’s famously rumpled investigative style and the cozy mystery formula that made the series a classic.   This episode contains explicit language and occasional strong opinions about 1970s mystery writers.