The Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For

Cast chemistry; low key however a good mystery. liked how crossword puzzle was woven into plot line. Is a romance starting? Yep

hope there are more Crossword Puzzle Mysteries and soon. do not find info on this...

Tess Harper (Lacey Chabert) is the crossword editor for a New York newspaper. She discovers that someone may be hiding clues to a string of art thefts in the crossword puzzles the paper publishes. The police think she's a crank. However, they change their opinion when one of Tess' colleagues at the paper is murdered.

I know I haven't rated A Puzzle to Die For very highly, but honestly, it's not as bad as I feared it would be. There's a reason I don't watch Hallmark films - they usually don't appeal to me. But this one, the first in The Crossword Mysteries series, really isn't half bad. There's a certain charm to the production that I enjoyed. Plus, there were several aspects of the mystery that had me engaged. Finally, I find it impossible to watch Chabert and not be drawn in by her screen presence - and that incudes her role in the dreadful Lost in Space. Sure, she's not going to win an Oscar, but she's solid enough in this movie.

So, if A Puzzle to Die For isn't half bad, that means it's not half good also. For starters, without naming names, I found some of the acting weak. And, I found way too much of the dialogue childish. There are several groan-including scenes where grown humans say the most ridiculous things. Finally, I really didn't care for the ending. I found it completely unbelievable.

Finally, even though I've only rated this a 5/10, I can see myself checking out the other films in the series. While this one may not have completely worked on me, I see enough promise to watch more of The Crossword Mysteries.

Edit: Since I finished writing this last night, I can't stop thinking about this silly film and how much fun I actually had watching it. I'm thinking I may have been too hard on it with my preconceived bias against Hallmark films. As a result, I think a bump in the rating is deserved.

6/10.

The concept of solving a murder with a crossword puzzle is interesting and could work but the first episode has weak points. The mystery of "who dunnit" pulls you in bc of the intellectual connection between Lacey and Logan. However a romantic chemistry is definitely lacking. Maybe it's a slow start? My main concern is the writing, it feels awkward. May lines don't feel authentic or even appropriate. I'd like to see a more fluid natural flow in the scenes especially the interaction between leading characters. The series has promise if the writing improves. Enjoyable for a mystery movie but needs work.

The reliable Hallmark pairing of Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliot team up again for the first in what I am sure will be many 'Crossword Mysteries'.

This is good engaging stuff, with nice performances from both the two leads.

I think people have been a bit harsh on it. It's not trying to be anything more than a fairly light-hearted murder mystery, if you accept it as such you'll enjoy it.

Not a bad movie..,.clever plot...well acted...well produced. But again the Canadian inferiority complex screams from the screen. The film was shot mostly in Toronto. I recognized many areas. But it is set in New York City. Why do Canadian filmmakers do this time and time again. If American filmmakers want to shoot in Canada and disguise Toronto as New York, fine. But this was a Canadian produced and Canadian tax supported production. So why wasn't it set in Toronto? Can you imagine Australia doing this? Or India? Or any other country? It is craven and embarrassing. Films should be a window on the country that produces them. What is the point of a Canadian film industry if it does not showcase Canada?