Newlywed and Dead

Photographer Allie Adams (Alexa PenaVega) is working her friend Jenna Cole's wedding. Everyone is on edge after a confrontation earlier when Allie's brother and Jenna's ex Greg showed up. Then, the groom Kevin is killed and Jenna accuses Greg. Sam Acosta leads the police investigation with Greg as the prime suspect.

Alexa PenaVega and her husband Carlos PenaVega seems to be long term employees of Hallmark. I remain unconvinced of their acting skills although they are well suited for these roles. The mystery is nothing special but it's good at maintaining suspicions about Greg. His innocence is never in doubt but he gives good guilty faces. This is nothing special. It is blandly uninspired. It is better than most Hallmark mysteries. It's a pretty low bar and it's able to step over it.

The latest in female amateur detectives from Hallmark Mystery casts Alexa PenaVega who is a video and still photographer and makes a living recording some meaningful moments for people.

Such as for her latest clients wedding couple Kurt Szarka and Lindsay Maxwell. But marriage is even shorter than one for Britney Spears. Szarka is shot dead on the floor with a small caliber pistol with the sound muffled.

Alexa's wedding work is examined thoroughly by the cops and the lead detective is Carlos PenaVega. Suspicion goes to Maxwell's brother John Kor, but we know that cannot be right.

Let's say that a fresh look at the pictures and video give Alexa and her sidekick in photography Trezzo Mahoro the defining clue. In fact they and the police had a wrong theory of the crime all around.

Nicely done story by a very well cast cast.

Too many quiet moments drag the film down. After all, this is supposed to a fun light mystery....no one is wants numerous quiet moments when nothing happens, such as Sam (Carlos PenaVega) contemplating his chess game all alone and strumming his guitar to himself.

A good cast but they need to write larger parts for Trezzo Mohoro who plays Allie's assistant Noah. He provides great comic relief but we see far too little of him. Also Sunita Prasad is terrific in a smaller part, playing Maya. Also Allie's brother Greg played by Jon Cor is very good & easy on the eyes!

Good editing would have pared this film down to an hour tv show. Hopefully the writing & editing improves with the next one.

This first in a series of whodunits is very enjoyable. A murder occurs in plain view, but the police have few clues. Enter Allie Adams (Alexa PenaVega), the photographer who was filming the wedding reception when the crime took place. When her brother becomes the prime suspect, she starts sleuthing in earnest, despite the protestation of the police detective assigned to the case, Sam Acosta (Carlos PenaVega).

The case and the film proceed at a relaxed pace, aided by some background music that I really enjoyed. The chemistry between the two principals is nascent, as it should be in the first episode. Allie gets plenty of help as she tries to identify the "real" killer. The focus of the police seems to shift whenever they get new evidence. And Sam, who recently moved to Willow Haven from New York, begins to settle in and learn the dynamics of the small town he now calls home.

Small-town New England professional wedding photographer Allie Adams (Alexa PenaVega) finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery when the groom is suddenly shot and killed during the ceremonial first dance. Suspicion immediately turns towards Allie's big brother Greg, the ex-boyfriend of the bride. Allie begins her own amateur investigation to clear Greg's name, teaming up with Sam (Carlos PenaVega), the newest detective on the force.

An engaging mystery featuring the husband and wife duo who get to the bottom of this mystery - Alexa plays a photographer with a keen eye for detail and Carlos is the detective who spends most of the time trying to dissuade from following the case.