Le indagini di Hailey Dean - Omicidio, con amore

We really like the actors & characters in this Hailey Dean series. Kellie Martin is well suited to the role! We like the policeman Giacomo, the pizza loving investigator buddy, and the new boyfriend forensic investigator. Some of the other series are not wellcast, but this one works well!

In Hallmark movies and TV shows, there is a tragic and unnecessary epidemic of fake eating. You know what I mean: actors having something delicious in front of them. They bring it right up to the tip of their mouth, are about to partake, and then boom, the director cuts to the next camera and somehow the actor has magically finished!

In Hailey Dean Mysteries, there are no smoke and mirrors. Viv Leacock as Fincher Garland, is the real deal. He takes us on a journey, chowing down on an eclectic mix of culinary delights, everything from sublime burritos to salty snacks, and we enjoy every savory second of it.

Over-familiar plots and mis-en-scenes drawn straight out of TV series like Diagnosis Murder and Murder She Wrote (shadowed profiles of killers with gloves presenting a syringes to the camera). Attractive actors (notably all in the 30-40age range) and backgrounds but stereotyped villains (eg., hostile, egotistical and hysterical CEOs and doctors) that are supposed to present red herrings for the viewer. Plethora of poorly-drawn primary and secondary characters that are all trawled serially for "motive" by the protagonist (which of course turn out to be other "secrets" they are concealing. Use your 90mins elsewhere.

Hallmark started yet another series with an amateur women detective in this film A Hailey Dean Mystery: Murder With Love. She's a former prosecutor who has now become a psychotherapist. She's no stranger to police work and procedure. That still doesn't stop the police from being a tad resentful.

As a psychotherapist Kellie Martin as Dean has a plentiful supply of clients. In this case she's helping a young woman get over the death of her mother who was a noted surgeon. At that point she loses her father in a fiery autocrash. Two parents in two separate incidents barely a week apart make the police and Kellie Martin quite curious.

I have to say that Martin in her interpretation of Dean has made this an appealing character. But for the mystery I had it figured almost from the beginning.

The second Dean film and there've been only two was much better than the first one.

I do kind of like this Hallmark genre of the amateur woman sleuth who often interferes in police work, gets chastised for it, but end up being the hero in the end anyway. It's just more Hallmark formula, but I'm OK with it.

What I'm not OK with is ruining these movies with the face of Nancy Grace. I find this person to be absolutely repugnant in every sense of the word and it is noted in this particular movie that her acting skills are not the greatest. I wonder how she wormed her way into this. In summary, while Nancy Grace had a highly successful record in terms of securing convictions as a prosecutor, concerns have been raised regarding her methods and adherence to ethical standards by appellate courts and others in the legal field.

She was reprimanded by the Supreme Court of Georgia for withholding evidence and making improper statements in a 1997 case, but unfortunately this did not lead to disbarment. She was previously a prosecutor in the Atlanta-Fulton County District Attorney's office.

Anyway, I like this movie, I like the character and I like the cast. Production values are pretty good.