Un meurtre sous les projecteurs

Some accidents befall some of the judges of the Eden Falls bake off contest, one of whom is Alison Sweeney. But it's the murder of the local high school basketball coach who was one of the judges that gets law enforcement involved.

Of course it's their detective Cameron Mattison who is officially assigned to the case, but there's no way he's going to stop Alison Sweeney from getting involved. Especially after she is victimized twice. The first time one of her basement stairs is sabotaged. The second however is when Mattison's break line on his vehicle is tampered with.

It turns out the coach definitely had an unsavory side to him as they investigate.

Sweeney with her investigative instincts is able to parse out the responsibility for who did what. In that way the murder is solved.

Mattison is in a dilemma. He's exasperated over Alison's interference, but at the same time, he's falling for her big time.

Will that last? Tune in to this Murder She Baked film and the next one to find out.

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.

Two soap veterans, Allison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison, star in "Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts." This series follows the usual Hallmark mystery pattern: attractive people, idyllic town, murder. romance but no sex.

In this film, Hannah (Sweeney) hosts a TV baking show contest and investigates when the judges start being knocked off.

My problem with all of these Hallmark mysteries is that I usually spot the murderer five minutes in. This episode was no exception.

Pleasant enough for what it is.

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."

Sorry, I'm not much of a writer. It was so good all the way through. This series of movies is my favorite.

Why can't I find the dvd to buy? I have the other 4, but need this one.