Aurora Teagarden : Un bébé sur les bras

Another entry into the Aurora Teagarden mystery series on Hallmark. Hallmark is more popular than ever; in fact, I'm watching it now.

Martin, Aurora's boyfriend, played by handsome Yannick Bisson, is thrilled when his niece, her husband, and their new baby show up for a visit. Aurora (Candace Cameron Bure) is happy to have her stay in the house while she and Martin go out. Now, I should point out this is a house where three dead bodies were found previously.

When they return, all hell has broken loose. The niece is gone; the baby's father is dead, and they find the baby in the shower.

Unraveling this one leads Aurora to private adoptions, illegal adoptions, midwives who charge big bucks, nosy neighbors, and the search for Martin's niece.

All these movies are okay - harmless, family-friendly fun and sometimes the mysteries are pretty good. This wasn't hard to figure out, but it beats watching the depressing news any day of the week. And millions have found that out.

This Aurora Teagarden film features the titular librarian investigating another crime in Lawrenceton. The plot is fast-paced and complex, but all the moving parts do not make for a more interesting story. There are plenty of red herrings and much to speculate about. And the characters are interesting. But there is little drama until the very end of the film.

This is not a bad mystery, but it is only average, especially when compared with some others in this series.

There is at least one scene in the movie where the baby is being put to sleep and Aurora and her mother use a blanket to cover him instead of a baby sleeper bag. Babies, esp. newborns, are not to be covered up with a blanket due to the possibility suffocation. I am surprised, and concerned, that this was overlooked. The movie itself is a typical Hallmark movie mystery, easy to watch and no worry about language or content.

Two things about this Aurora Teagarden story. First she spends minimal time at the library and none at all with her mystery book club. Secondly she makes several false starts in trying to figure this business out before she gets it right in the final half hour.

Candace Cameron Bure is back as our mystery solving librarian and her relationship with Yannick Bisson is going good and strong. But the two of them really play fast and loose with an obstruction of justice charge. In fact they conceal the presence of a person of interest in the case and get him shot later on because of it.

It all starts when an old friend of Bure's Sarah McKillip arrives with a husband and a baby and Bure agrees to put them up. Later on McKillip disappears, the husband is killed and she's left with the baby. And a mystery to solve.

It all has to do with black market babies and the intricate lengths people will go to avoid the lengthy adoption process.

But in the end Bisson and Bure decide that their babies will be done naturally.

Regina, the long-lost niece of Aurora's boyfriend, Martin, turns up with a baby. Before Martin has a chance to reconnect with Regina, she disappears leaving a dead husband, Craig, on Aurora's front porch and her baby, Hayden, hidden in Aurora's bathtub. Aurora and Martin's investigation leads them to Regina and Craig's home in the neighboring town of Corinth, where Craig's parents and Regina's neighbors express bewilderment when told of Regina's newborn baby. Aurora works on balancing her relationship with Martin with her efforts to solve the murder of the baby's father and the disappearance of his mother.

In first look at the storyline ( baby etc)I thought this would be a poor entry, but it's quite intricately plotted with enough twists and turns. It's a departure from a murder in traditional murder mystery fashion usually in this series. I found it great fun with some good humour such as Aida and the librarian arguing over who tends to the baby.