Affaire secrète

Not exactly the murders are the axis of story but situations, slices of humor, reactions of characters and Hallmark familiar ingredients , served by lighthearted misteries. A comfortant episode about new hunt of proofs and chain of theories of the same Aurora Teagarden , so charming acted by Cameron Bure.

Given the current climate in this country - unrest, frustration, unhappiness, bad news every time you turn around, Hallmark has come into its own.

After years of being a sweetness and light network of small-town family values and chaste romance, it's in vogue. People want to watch attractive stars they know from soap operas or prime time comedies in light romances and mysteries with happy endings and no bad language.

Though it's obviously geared toward fundamentalist religious parts of the country - you can tell by the Bible and holy water ads - lots of people who fall outside this group are now addicted to Hallmark, people you'd never expect. And who can blame them?

Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery is from 2017, and it's an episode of the mystery series that stars pert Candace Cameron Bure. She plays a librarian and amateur sleuth.

Aurora has a chaste relationship with her boyfriend (Yannick Bisson), and in some of the episodes, lives with her real estate broker mother (Marilu Henner). Aurora runs a mystery club that discusses old unsolved murder cases.

In this particular episode, the police chief falls from a plane - dead - into Aurora's yard.

The stories are okay and inoffensive, the wide-eyed Bure is cute and familiar to audiences who saw her on "Full House."

The only problem I have is with the look of the show - all the women have long hair and sometimes can be hard to tell apart if you don't know the actresses very well. I'm not sure if this is because producers think that people have no sense of style in certain parts of the country or what.

Anyway, enjoyable.

In the last Aurora Teagarden Mystery our librarian sleuth bought a house that turned out to be a cold case crime scene which of course she solved. In this one Candace Cameron Bure first gets a heads up kind of visit from a police captain whom she's never been on friendly terms with. He was looking for Yannick Bisson formerly of the CIA and Aurora's steady. The next day he drops in on Cameron or rather his cadaver is thrown from a plane and lands in her front yard.

Now she's really part of the crime itself and our librarian with the aid of her sidekick Lexa Doig who as a newspaper reporter actually covering the story who can ask needed questions she decides to find out who went out of his way to involve her and more important try to frame Bisson. We learn also just what Bisson did at the CIA and he does have the skills to commit this and other homicides related to this crime.

On a side note Jim Thorburn a detective just returned to the force is trying awful hard to close the case on his own with an unofficial parallel investigation which is aimed at Bisson. You know that Roe Teagarden won't stand for.

The only clue I'll give readers is that this is someone with the skills to kill and the skills to frame.

Fans of the series should be pleased.

The fifth film in the Aurora Teagarden Mystery, based on the book of the same name. Another fine film in the film series, but not as good as the previous one. It all started off well, like usual intentional, that does not bother. Even the mid section stood to the expectation. But only the final event, that twist, that explanation did not convince me. Well, I'm not pointing out how the crime was solved, though the who did and the reason for it was not enough to wrap it up in a style.

So keep it yourself, if you see what happens in the first three minutes of the film. Because that's how all Aurora Teagarden Mystery rolls out. What follows after are the most crucial, in which these films has done so well. As I said, now this series is well settled down. I liked so far how all the characters worked out their differences with our lead, Aurora. In that, her mother, Aida and the police chief, Jack Burns are the only ones yet to come into resolution. But that's the twist, because Burns is the victim here.

His body was dumped in front of Aurora from a small plane while she was in her front yard with Sally. It was a deliberate act, but no one knows why, that's what they have to find out. Aurora, who goes after unsolved crimes, this time it came to her. This is where nobody can stop her, not even her mother. For the first time Aida sided with her daughter by giving some useful information. Except the main ones, most of the characters from the previous films were retained to fill the screen and give a broad view, particularly to make suspenseful. But there were also a couple of new ones added as the story demanded to extend the suspense.

❝You are the only person I know that could have a near death experience and immediately start solving the crime.❞

A few unavoidable clichés. It was how the characters behaved during the probe. Because if it would not have been suspicious enough, the film had not lasted long. Basically, we call that the plot drag, but the polite way to say is, development. Happy to see Martin still hanging around. That looks does not change in the future as well. But this part somewhat discarded the romance sect. The other side of the story was going strong so. It had one fight sequence too. The television fights are not that impressive, but okay. Especially this being a woman oriented tale, that scene was the least expected. But in this kind of thematic, all are possible.

Much improved on the cops' perspective of the crime that Aurora interested in. Mainly because of this was an open case. Lynn was the one who always shining, but they tried to bring Arthur, the Aurora's ex into some actions. The narration kept the mystery moving towards the final section. During the middle, it was a bit slow. And the end twist, not the best one. Since how the story and characters were designed together, there's nothing they could have done it differently. Because you can change the path, but the destination is still the same, which I think let the film down.

Other than the ending, it was a nice film, enjoyable with the beautiful characters and settings. The director's second straight stint in the franchise. His previous one was by far my favourite. This one too a decent one, if you had liked so far of the series. Nice performances, particularly the other librarian had more scope in this. That makes Aurora had worked out with everyone, which makes more interesting how the next film and all the following would roll out. The next one is the final, the remaining books are yet to turn into films. I'm not too far from reviewing that, before my wait begins for the rest.

6.5/10

Aurora (Bure) is having plumbing problems and with the help of her friend, Sally (Doig) they set about fixing it. While checking out the well's pump in the garden, the body of Chief Of Police, Captain Burns (March), falls from an aeroplane... at their feet. Being the compulsively curious amateur sleuth she is, Aurora sets out to track down the cop killer...

Storywise, this isn't as solid as previous instalments of the enthusiast crime solver. In a few scenes, it feels especially contrived. Specifically where the two sisters are concerned. The reaction of Bess Burns' (Cairns) reaction to her husband's death is kind of unbelievable. She doesn't appear to mourn him and at times even sees a bright side to his death. Then there's her sister, Lillian Tibbit (Harvie), who has an episode where she's the complete opposite of her normal personality, This would have been okay had Bess been more realistic. But to have two strange personalities in one story is one too much. This does pull the audiences attention away and out of the story and film.

This though is pretty much the only downside to the movie. The rest of the story is strong and sound. Filled with red herrings and false suspects. Though it shouldn't be too hard for you figure out whodunnit... though you may find yourself changing your mind a couple of times.

There's nothing too interesting in the direction, it's pretty standard stuff. Also, the special effect of the falling body looks cheap and nasty. Luckily it's at the start of the film and over in a couple of seconds.

It's the acting along with the story that will keep the attention of the audience. Just like the previous episodes, the acting is above average and nobody stands out more than anyone else. Everybody has the limelight, allowing the story to take precedence and helps to extend the mystery (there's nothing worse than having some actor or actress walk on screen and you know they're the bad guy or gal).

If you're a fan of the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries you will like this chapter of her life. You needn't have watched the previous episodes to enjoy this film, though you would probably get more enjoyment if you had.