Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe

The main issue with this movie was that the lead character was an utterly vile human being. Yes, murder mystery detectives do tend to be nosy busy bodies but she took takes biscuit (excuse the pun). The way she got involved in other people's private affairs and stuck her oar in where it didn't matter was unbelievable. The icing on the cake was her visiting a recently widowed lady, bringing her her dead husbands favourite cakes and asking for a family secret BBQ sauce recipe, whilst she snooped through her mail. Her exchanging recipes at a funeral also was just a tad insensitive!!! The kitchen where she works should also be shut down. So many health and saftety violations with all the staff wearing zero protective gear and quite happy to nibble whatever they like. One lady chomped on half a cupcake and then put the rest back with the others!! Utter tosh

I think we all have a secret fantasy to show up the police at their job. A movie like Murder She Baked: A Deadly Recipe plays right into that. Also playing into that fantasy were such shows as Murder She Wrote, Mrs. Wainthropp Investigates. And who more than Agatha Christie did that when she created Jane Marple?

Alison Sweeney of Days Of Our Lives has created an interesting character in Hannah Swenson, owner of a small town bakery who likes to dabble in police business. She probably gets away with a lot because like Jane Marple her instincts are right. And she bakes such delicious goods no one wants to incarcerate her especially the cops who love her delivery of them to the station.

But Sweeney is involved in a bad one. Someone murdered the chief of police in the parking lot of the police station. Ty Olsson who plays the victim was not loved by his staff, is in a campaign for re- election, has a messy personal life, and on top of that is getting close to an auto theft ring that's been plaguing his town. So there's a lot of people who have motives.

With Cameron Mathison as one of the deputies who likes Sweeney's instincts and her in general, but gives her some kind of official cover for her own investigations while warning her of the consequences of interfering with police business the two make a good team.

I have to say in the end the motive for the slaying was truly bizarre and the perpetrator a pitiable figure. I can't say more other than the perpetrator gives a great and subtle performance.

My first exposure to this series of which this is the fourth film made for the Hallmark Channel. Sweeney's character is a winning and an interesting one.

Allison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison star in "Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe" on Hallmark channel. In this mystery series, Sweeney plays Hannah Swenson, who owns a bakery, The Cookie Jar, in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and she has a penchant for solving mysteries.

This time, it's the town sheriff who has been murdered, and his deputy, Hannah's brother-in-law, is a suspect.

Hannah gets to work trying to clear her brother-in-law, but as she does so, she finds herself in danger.

All My Children's Cameron Mathison plays Mike, a police officer, who is crazy about Hannah. He has some competition, but it looks like he's winning.

This was slow, but okay, with decent acting. The leads are pleasant. One thing I noticed was that not everyone had a Hollywood figure - I guess it was the bakery influence. It's a good influence.

For trivia buffs, the director is Kristoffer Tabori, a former actor who is the son of Viveca Lindfors and Don Siegel. Viveca had a stage and film career, and Don Siegel? He directed the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

There is a huge mistake about how the car thieves stole the cars. They didn't have the keyless system, they used a slim Jim to gain access. Also, the alarm would go off if the door is opened without having the key they came with the car. Another thing, it doesn't matter if they used the access point to override anything, you can't use another key to start the car. Whoever wrote the story line needs to do better research for the movies.

Things are heating up in the little town of Lake Eden, and Hannah (Alison Sweeney) is caught in the middle. Sheriff Grant (Ty Olsson) is up for reelection, and Hannah's brother-in-law, Bill Todd (Toby Levins), is running against him. This is causing quite a bit of friction in the department. While no one likes Grant, he is throwing his weight around and making people more miserable than normal.

Hannah finds herself involved in yet another murder when the sheriff is found dead in the street, her brother-in-law deputy (who was running against the sheriff in the upcoming election) is accused, and a killer is on the loose.

Detective Mike Kingston can be annoying with his repetitive "Hannah, let me do my job! I got this! Don't get involved!", and he knows she isn't going to listen. It's not long before she starts snooping and comes up with the goods. It's cheesy ( I love cheesiness) but fun. If you're looking for something full of overt darkness and cynical world views and realistic police procedurals, then this isn't for you. If you want something light frothy, engaging and enjoyable, then look no further.