Emma Fielding Mysteries: More Bitter Than Death

She just happened to remember a tunnel system they ran under campus buildings but when the museum was built no one thought to be sure it couldn't be broken into and the square in the floor was left there? And she lifted 2 blocks of flooring up like they we're nothing and yet nothing seemed to support them and no floor joists ran through those spots. What!!!????

Jim Conner scrubs up well in a smart suit, compared with his persona as the scruffy FBI agent of previous mysteries, but then he does have to up the ante if he wants to compete for Emma's affections with the suave archaeologist with the Savile Row rip-off tailoring and the dodgy British accent. Meanwhile, as usual, she is more than capable of fighting off the villain herself leaving the rivals literally on the floor yet dapper as before. The mystery is why Courtney Thorne Smith's Emma would even give Mark Valley's Duncan Thatcher a second glance when she can have James Tupper's Jim Conner - the down to earth real man with a taste for burgers and casual wear rather than the fake Englishman with his tux, faux accent and caviar.

I love this series , I have seen a couple more , and have really enjoyed them.

There is something so likable about the two leads (Courtney Thorne Smith and James Tupper) , such a cute couple.

As a murder mystery whodunnit , it works !

Murder by poison , usual list of suspects , enough clues to help us figure it out, not too complicated.

And that is exactly what this movie is meant to do ..... entertain and amuse us !

And it works , I loved it .

This is the best of the three Emma Fielding mysteries so far, but still not up to the standards of my three favorites (Hannah Swensen's, Aurora Teagarden and Mystery 101). I am enjoying the relationship building between archeologists/professor Emma Fielding and FBI agent Jim Conner. I appreciated this episode because it introduced a romantic rival in fellow archeologist Duncan Thatcher.

There is a special event at the university organized by Emma, bringing in a veritable who's who in the archeological world...at least in North America. Emma has invited her friend Jim Conner to give a talk on antiquity fakes. On the opening night, the key note speaker and president of the organization is murdered as a sub plot, one of Emma's students is trying to become a member of an elite skull and crossbones like organization. One of the initiation activities involves stealing an artifact from the archeology department.

As mentioned this is my favorite of the three Emma Fielding Mysteries, mainly for the romantic developments...but there has always been something slightly awkward about the Courtney Thorne-Smith role and in this episode I found the Duncan Thatcher character to be equally awkward, especially as his accent seemed to come and go. The series is really a recommendation for me unless you are hardcore or have nothing else to watch, but if you are watching the series...more bitter than death is the best.

Borderline unwatchable for all scenes involving Mark Valley whose English accent is so appalling it actually gives me a headache to listen to it.