Election time arrives in Cabot Cove and with it an unusually heated race for the mayor's office. The incumbent candidate, Sam Booth, finds his campaign contested by two rivals, and trouble really begins when a new arrival in town, Annie Mae Chapman, accuses him publicly of having fathered her five children. Can Jessica smoke out the truth behind the scenes?
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Always Second Best: When city council members approach Jessica to run for office as Mayor, she graciously refuses. Then they ask Seth Hazlitt if he wants to run just out of desperation.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: In a party, a woman approaches Jessica and ecstatically claims to be a fan of hers.Woman: You are J.B. Fletcher, the mystery writer, aren't you?
Jessica: Yes!
Woman: I'm sorry to bother you ma'am but I'm a great fan...
Jessica: Oh (smiles)
Woman: ...of your house.
(Jessica's smile evaporates as Seth gives him a Meaningful Look). - Borrowed Catchphrase: Jessica uses Dr. Hazlitt's common answer "A-yah" at the end of the episode.
- Mayor Sam uses Seth Hazlitt's reference to him as a Mayor who does nothing as his actual campaign slogan.
- Call-Back: Ideal Molloy tried to seduce Sheriff Metzger by calling him to help her get the cat out of the tree. This pretext is the same one Eve Simpson used during her liaisons with one of Sheriff Amos's previous Deputies.
- Chekhov's Gun: The feelings of the various citizens about out-of-towners gentrifying Cabot Cove and Sam Booth's tendency to keep everything the same play important roles in the solution to the mystery.
- Convicted by Public Opinion: Nobody gives Mayor Booth much chance to defend himself against Annie Mae's charges.
- Continuity Nod: Dr. Seth Hazlitt is continuing to do his daily jogs after a popular book described him as being "a cross between a Leprechaun & a curmudgeon." He even wears the exact same jogging attire.
- Loretta's beauty parlor is still a hotbed of gossip. Coreen also continues to listen in on the talk. Oh, and they continue to refuse to acknowledge that they're gossiping.
- A Deadly Affair: Mrs. Thornton shot Annie/Anne in a rage over her affair with her husband.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When Annie Mae Chapman steps out of the bus, the nearby men whistle and oggle at her.
- Double-Meaning Title: "Town father" is a common term for an important politician in an area, and Annie Mae claims Mayor Booth is the biological father of her five children.
- Gossipy Hens: The entirety of Loretta's clientele. This proves helpful in investigating this episode's murder as a lot of the key information they needed to solve the mystery came from these women.
- Saying Too Much: Jessica realizes Mrs. Thornton knows too much when she calls Annie Mae "Anne Mitchell". Only Jessica and Sheriff Metzger had found out her real identity.
- Skewed Priorities: Two residents who drop by to tell Jessica about Annie Mae's murder say how horrible it is...because now no one will re-elect Sam Booth.
- Take That!: In-universe. When the election results came in, Jessica and Seth inquire how many votes Eve Simpson got. When they learn she got six votes, Seth quips that he didn't realize Eve had five friends (meaning the sixth vote is Eve's).
