Roman Noir: Le Venin du désespoir

All I can say is are they ever going to resume Mystery Woman? Samantha Kinsey, a photographer turned bookshop owner turned to a real life crime solver. She is one of those things that remind us of our productive and curious parts of our childhood (Nancy Drew and Shelby Woo anyone?).

What with Sherlock and Elementary garnering a lot of fans and views, I am most certain those whose hunger for a good mystery is never satiated would appreciate Samantha's quick wit and pleasing personality.

The heroine is welcoming, logical, thoughtful and insightful. She's refreshing and a good character for the children of today to look up to. If they ever pick up on Mystery Woman again, I am quite sure they will pick up a following. I myself may just be a part of it!

Samantha Kinsey is the owner of the Mystery Woman bookstore in her small town. As part of the store's ongoing role within the community, Samantha and Philby organise a Mystery Weekend that involves readings and book signings from several famous mystery authors – including the elusive Claire Beckman. During the event though someone apparently tries to shoot Beckman, with only her good fortune meaning the bullet misses her and hits Sam's friend (Assistant DA Cassie) in the arm. The police are called and a gun is found but things are confused when it is registered to a local woman who wouldn't hurt a fly and appears to have no motive. Seduced by the mystery and that the crime happened in her shop Sam investigates.

This was my first pass at this Hallmark mystery series and considering the channel it was on and from, I didn't have great hopes for it but felt confident that it would deliver a solid mystery in a solid, TVM-style manner. And so it was with this lively if unlikely mystery film with a typically unusual detective in the lead – in this case a young woman with her own book store and an eye for the suspicious, it's all a bit "Murder She Wrote: The College Years" but it is OK. The plot is nicely laid out, of course it is full of holes but it will do the job for genre fans and those used to Hallmark mystery tvm's. The tone is light but enough of an air of mystery to make it work and generally the direction is OK – which is more than acceptable for this type of thing.

The cast are all reasonably alright. Martin is cute and, although an unlikely bookstore owner, is fun and lively in the lead role – like I said "The College Years". Williams was a strange find and he didn't have a great deal to do – he wasn't helped by not having a really clear character to work with. Siemaszko was OK in her minor role but Sander was about as stiff as I've seen a person. Support is mixed but does the job; hard to find turns from Browne and Satterfield anything other than forgettable while Broderick is a bit too hammy and obvious.

Overall this is an OK mystery film that should be enjoyed by those who enjoy the films Hallmark shows and produces. It is nothing that special of course but it does the job and is entertaining if you are in the mood. The direction and cast match the material and it was good enough for me to justify trying the Mystery Woman series again if I get the chance.

I will give it another go but ONLY if the director/producer sorts out the soundtrack.

Wholly inappropriate (booming when the 2 women are in the car, so much so that you can barely hear them, and what was the ridiculous whine when the old woman comes in and drops the books?!?).

It as is if the director feels it needs to be there all the time, and it needs to be some clichéd mystery music irrespective of what is going on in the background, and he hasn't bothered to watch it through properly afterwards or he would have realised that not only does it distract, it drowns out the audio on several occasions, all the time having no meaning/relevance to the plot. Appalling first 15 minutes, I gave up.

Remove the soundtrack and start again.

I am really enjoying the Hallmark Mystery Series. This entry, Murder Weekend, I felt was superior to the first "Mystery Woman" entry I saw. First of all, it had the stunningly beautiful, creamy-voiced Beth Broderick as a diva mystery writer. The rest of the cast was perfect for this series, plus the actual mystery was intriguing.

It makes me feel like I need a rocking chair when I see Kellie Martin very grown up now and Clarence Williams III so old! He was an angry young man in my day, and Kellie has been a kid forever. No more. I am delighted to see her in this series and I hope the shows keep coming. I have one gripe - I think that store needs some more customers!

I watched this movie tonight, and I was hooked during the entire two hours! I didn't even get up during the commercials because I was afraid I would miss something crucial to the plot. I didn't expect any of the things that happened. I was so happy to see Beth Broderick in a new movie. She is a brilliant and totally versatile actress, and did an amazing job playing Clare Beckman. The whole "Mystery Woman" series is awesome! When you're watching this movie it really seems like you're there. I don't really know how to sum this movie up without giving anything away----so you have to see it. I was never a big fan of Kellie Martin's but after seeing her in this mini-series, I will definitely start to watch more of her movies when they air.