Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts

These "Murder, She Baked" series of movies will never be mistaken for great movies but they are entertaining, partly because they have to be complete by 85 minutes so there isn't any dragging. And we get to feel that we know the characters.

Plus Alison Sweeney, who plays baker Hannah Swensen, is very attractive and very personable. As in the others there is a murder mystery to be solved but that never really takes the focus off the real meat of these movies. Whether Hannah will end up with Mike the Cop or with Norman the Dentist. At the end of this one Hannah and Mike pretty well seal the deal and start planning an engagement party.

In this one Hannah is facilitating a televised contest of chefs baking desserts when one of them, the local basketball coach, is found dead outside the school. It appears to be murder but who would want to kill the coach? A number of red herrings and other misdirections come to the fore but ultimately Hannah tracks down the real culprit, the one who needed the coach dead.

We found a set of two DVDs at our public library that contains five of the "Murder, She Baked" movies. We are watching all of them at home.

Read one of the actual books - the mother is nothing like that crazy mess of a woman. She is awful. So hyperactive. She distracts from the movie and does not add anything to the movie.

This is the fifth and last entry in Hallmark's Murder She Baked series based on the cosy mystery books written by the very funny Joanne Fluke.

I wish there were more because this was a great cast, wonderful dialogue, good mysteries, decent sets and an overall enjoyable series. It had heat and humor.

"Just Desserts" has a faceless nefarious figure who is bringing harm to the judges of the Eden Lake Baking Competition or Bake-off that Hannah is the spokesperson for. As the judges start to drop like flies, Hannah who herself has suffered an injury and is hobbling around on a crutch finds herself growing suspicious.

Add in some small town high school basketball, opinionated parents and tough coach turned bake-off judge turned corpse...and you have yourself a mystery!

There is also a tv show and tv station producer associated with the bake-off. Has "hop-a-long-Hannah" met her match?

"She's amazing, she's funny, she's strong...I thought if I kept her close, I could protect her..."

Sweet wrap up to the series...I just wish there were more.

"Just like a great cookie recipe...true love delivers every time."

Bakery owner Hannah Swensen (Alison Sweeney) is a judge for the Eden Lake Bake Off at the local high school. Unbeknownst to her, someone caused her accident leaving her hobbling with a crutch. One of the other judges drop out and callous coach Leonard Bishop becomes the replacement. He's not all that happy and gets killed in a seemingly hit-and-run accident. Hannah investigates the incident for herself.

This is the first "Murder, She Baked" movie for me. I've avoided it so far for obvious reasons. I like Sweeney so I gave this a try. She pulls me through the entire movie but I have a question. How is this a series? Why does she keep encountering murders? At least, Angela Lansbury is a mystery writer. That's her in but where's Sweeney's in? She's a baker and crazy murders keep happening to people around her. I would make the final movie/book reveal that she's actually the killer. At least, that would make sense.

Liked it, made me happy because it ended the way I like to see series end

Wish I could get it on Amizon. Watch the other 4 movies everyday. (Thats really hooked) LOl But wish I could get "just Desserts" movie. Wouldn't mind more movies in this series. Love those actors.