Francesca Quinn, PI

I never wrote a review on IMDB before, but then, I've never watched a Hallmark channel movie that I spent more time on my computer looking at baseball scores, than time watching the movie. I liked Dylan Bruce in "A Novel Romance" and "The Christmas Promise" and Mallory Jansen in "On The 12th Date of Christmas" but if they make this movie into a series, I'll find something else to watch. I read on other comments, that Mystery 101 is cancelled, and possibly Aurora Teagarden too. If that's the case, there are lots of other channels for me to watch, including some without commercials, because I have never lost interest in a Hallmark movie as easily as I did on this one!

This was a bit boring and also fairly convoluted. I can't believe they cancelled Mystery 101, Matchmaker Mysteries and Ruby Herring for something like this, that felt a little bit more like a Lifetime movie than a Hallmark mystery movie. There was plenty of melodrama along the way in this. Amy Groening.was a definite bright spot in this movie, as limited as her role was, she was fun to watch while she lasted. Anyways, this movie got so boring at one point that I began hoping that the main protagonist would turn out to be the killer. Rather that turned out to be the case or not, I will not say.

I must admit that since early 2022 I've been waiting with anticipation for the next Hallmark Movies & Mysteries mystery. This was just not it, unfortunately. I wanted to like it; as it looked like a more serious mystery with a gripping plot. However, there turned out to be so many problems with this story, the main one being that this, yes THIS, is supposed to be the final installment for Mystery 101 without being a Mystery 101 movie. The story begins setting itself up similar to the ending of Mystery 101 and then plays out the scenario of what would happen if a woman broke up with her detective boyfriend, got engaged to someone else, and that fiance was murdered?

We all wanted the ending to Mystery 101, but this is not it. First, the plot is just poor and contrived. You can tell that this movie was not a series unto itself, but was an attempt to conclude Mystery 101 while mixing a new cast of characters for a new series and plot for that new series into it. And it fails. Miserably. Second, add to the convoluted plot a whole bunch of characters who don't want to be here? It's a bit of a disaster. None of the cast acts like they wanted to shoot this film. You don't get any sense that these people can even stand to be in the same room with each other, despite the fact the heroine and the main detective used to date and are slowly rekindling that romance (supposedly) throughout the story. Third, Frankie is obnoxious. She's rude, brusque, abrasive, and just downright unlikable. She'd not funny, and she stays bitter and nasty through the whole thing. She has a couple minute bipolar moment partway through the movie, and is back to her dislikable self by the next scene. Fourth, the ending was pretty much entirely predictable and the reason for it was flawed and foolishly conceived to cover for the fact that it was predictable. Fifth, there are a ton of plot holes in this movie and so many hanging strings left at the end it's a wonder you can actually call it a full movie.

Hallmark, sexy voice overlay is so not working for you! They thought, "hey, let's do the old-timey detective monologue with this Frankie Quinn character. It'll go super well with her 'masculine' image." You know? The kind that Magnum does? Problem is, Frankie does it in the most "sexy" voice she can conjure and it doesn't come across like authentic narration. Instead it feels like she's making fun of the internal monologue. The way that all parodies of old-timey detective shows do. Only thing is, Hallmark didn't intend it that way, so it's just awkward.

I have to say, I'm not a fan of this new series, or these actors in this series. The movie was slow, the plot was convoluted and felt forced, and the characters are unlikable. It didn't flow well, and I have zero interest in watching it again or watching more of Frankie Quinn at all. She was that bad.

What happened to your good shows? Martha's Vineyard; Mystery 101; Aurora Teagarden; Fixer Upper; Emma Fielding; even Garage Sale Mysteries? Why can't you recast if necessary and keep going with plots we actually want to see? Heck, I really wanted another Cherry Springs mystery. But, no, we got Frankie Quinn instead.

If you're looking for a good Hallmark mystery movie like the old days, this is not it. Try Nikki & Nora Sister Sleuths instead. Now, there's a series that has potential.

Hopefully, Frankie Quinn will be a one off.

I was looking forward to this, although wasn't thrilled about getting into another series that would not go anywhere. Loved the Mystery 101 series. Would love to see more of them. Loved the Morning Show Mysteries, Aurora Teagarden, Hailey Dean., Fixer Up. So thought that maybe Hallmark finally had something to show. The female lead was not that believable. She had a few good moments. I watched it twice to see if I had missed something that explained everything. What was the motive behind the first 6 murders. Did this serial killer just start killing people at the school or had this been a pattern all her life? It was mentioned somewhere that the victims were criminals.... what was there crime? What was the purpose of starting in the middle of the story and never explaining the beginning? This might have had potential, but the writing/story was lacking.

First, this movie is SUCH an improvement over"Cut, Color, Murder", and "The Curious Caterer "!!!

I think that it is a teaser for the solving of Travis and Amy's cliffhanger, and I'll bet a lot of Mystery 101 fans do as well.

The script's author has authored the 101 series too.

There's a strong father-daughter bond, a solid friendship between the father of the female lead, and the detective, and now a dead fiance.

Mallory Jansen and Dylan Bruce play their characters well enough, but the chemistry is not as strong as it is between Travis and Amy in Mystery 101.

Mallory's emotions and Dylan's don't seem to click as well. Maybe it's the line delivery.

This is an ok movie to watch more than once. There are lots of twists and nuances to revisit, although the way the background story is told tends to be a bit confusing.

Overall, while there are obvious teasers and parallels to Mystery 101, it can not vie as a replacement for, or take the place of, Mystery 101 as the top HMM Signature Movie Series/Franchise.

Hope Hallmark figures that out!