Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Watching this was like greeting an old friend, or putting on your favorite slippers - it just felt right. So glad Hallmark brought this series back! Happy to see Cameron Mathison back on Hallmark, and Alison Sweeney was fantastic as always. They have a chemistry together that has always been evident in these films, and no less this one. All of the supporting actors are back, with Barbara Niven stealing every scene she was in. The movie had a new take on the mystery, with more of an historical murder to solve, and was very engaging. Looking forward already to the next one (which Hallmark has already announced)!

I love Hannah Swensen's Murder She Baked mystery series...it has been my favorite on the Hallmark channel, but if I am honest I miss the old Eden Lake (aka the old sets). It had a very small town feel and this new reboot is sleeker, shinier with a bigger city feel which unfortunately makes it less personal or "cosy" as the books they were based on intended.

This was a great mystery and gave a lot more face-time between Hannah and her fiancé Mike than "Sweet Revenge", which was the first film in this new reboot. I still miss Hannah's sister Andrea and her husband...and I have not warmed to this younger sister Michelle.

Don't let my critique be misconstrued, I am loving having Hannah Swensen back on Hallmark with fresh mysteries. I love Alison Sweeney as Hannah Swensen. She and Cameron Mathison have wonderful on screen chemistry and I was more than thrilled to see them both back for more. I am still completely enjoying Barbara Niven as Hannah's quirky and yet laser focused mom (she is still beating the dentist drum!). She adds a lot of comedy to the series...and she is beautiful to boot. I am glad they have so many returning characters...including my favorite character Norman played by Gabriel Hogan. He continues to be Hannah's best wingman and good friend. His and Hannah's search for Patches was great.

Hannah and Norman discover a skeleton, uncovering a 25 year mystery. In an unusual twist, Mike actually encourages Hannah to investigate the cold case and in a sweet way even helps her...causing him to walk a thin line between that and his job which falls under the scrutiny of his boss...and eventually creates a strain in his and Hannah's relationship.

I thought Mike's encouragement of Hannah's investigation seemed really out of character as he has always been a bit overprotective of Hannah in that regard. In the past he has always wanted her to leave it to the police, including him. (Selfishly, I did enjoy them working together as it gave them so much on-screen time together...even if it was out of character. Let's hope the cat tree warms Hannah's heart.)

I am excited to hear there will be more Hannah Swensen to come and I cannot wait. This was a good solid mystery and I recommend it to cosy mystery fans, fans of Alison Sweeney, Cameron Mathison and Barbara Niven. Better than Sweet Revenge...but not quite as good as the original pre-reboot series. I have hope however, I know the cast is fantastic and I think the writers are going to get the series back to being my absolute favorite on Hallmark!

Everything was going along nicely. My family and I had narrowed down the suspects to a logical two or three people based on their motives, opportunities, and means. And their ages. The crime occurred 25 years ago. Then out of the blue, the character we never even considered because he looked in his 20s (30 tops) turns out to be the culprit. In unison we said, "What!? Was he 12?" There was no attempt to make the character appear age appropriate. (He would have to be somewhere around 45 if he were the perpetrator.) It was frustrating for us, because it was an intriguing mystery. And even the perpetrator made sense--but none of us even considered him because of the glaring age discrepancy. Very disappointing.

I lost interest pretty quickly in this one. Hannah seemed more like a teenage drama queen than an adult. And how does she keep the bakery going when she's out solving mysteries? Mike was wimpy, and deserved to have the engagement broken. The worst was seeing a patient wearing nasal cannula oxygen while on a ventilator. It's physically impossible - the writers REALLY need to consult someone in healthcare. (ANYONE!) The whole thing fell apart from that moment. Although it was pretty funny to see that Eugene/Ellis didn't have a single IV.

They need to step up their game if this series is to survive.

This one so much better than the previous 2021 Sweet Revenge. Sweet Revenge lacked chemistry between Sweeney and Mathison. BUT the chemistry is back and Norman is back to being his usual wingman persona. Norman in Sweet Revenge was very awkward. I still am not fully onboard with a new dark haired sister named Michele. I prefer Andrea and would love to see her back as well as some of the other characters that we saw on The Murder She Baled series. However, I am Really looking forward to seeing more installments of Hannah Swenson movies and seeing how the chemistry deepens with Mike and Hannah, will they continue as a couple or not.