Case e misteri - Perizia mortale

The usual from Hallmark - a nice, clean mystery, this time starring Jewel and Colin Ferguson.

I wouldn't call it original, with the meanest man in town named Potter, just as in "It's a Wonderful Life." Jewel is Shannon, in charge of turning a repossessed Victorian mansion into low-cost housing. One problem is that the bank manager (the aforementioned Potter) doesn't like the terms. Then he's found dead.

Plenty of people wanted him dead, so Shannon gets to work trying to sort it out, using her deducting skills.

This has all the qualities of a Hallmark film: it's slow, takes place in a small town, the people are nice-looking, there's no bad language, and no sex.

Pleasant.

This is the best of the three Fixer Upper Mysteries to date. (I am still hopeful that they make more as I really like Jewel and Colin Ferguson together.)

Shannon Hughes is taking a break from renovating Mac's house to do a little charity work converting a mansion into a series of dwellings for those less fortunate. On the first night of work the bank President who was trying to stop the project winds up dead on the property. Not being a popular guy...there are lots of suspects. Don't worry, even with Mac's niece in town, Mac and Shannon will not rest until they find the culprit!

This may not be in league with my three favorite Hallmark mystery series (Hannah Swensen's Murder she Baked, Aurora Teagarden and Mystery 101), but it is still one of the better mysteries on Hallmark and I would really love to see more...Shannon and Mac were just getting started!

This is definitely worth the watch.

I've really enjoyed these movies. I like the background of restoring homes, and even more so done by a strong, knowledgeable female contractor. Girl power! I love the chemistry between the two main characters as well.

In the latest in the Fixer Upper Murder series Jewel Pilcher is given over what turns out to be a Deadly Deed. She's imitating Jimmy Carter and has a bank turn over a piece of property they repossessed for a quick turnaround and repair. It's a charitable contribution, but the head of the bank takes his banking practices from Lionel Barrymore in It's A Wonderful Life. His name is also Potter.

Imagine if Barrymore had been found knifed to death in some property he owned in Bedford Falls? No shortage of suspects there and none here for Jewel Pilcher and her boyfriend mystery novelist Colin Ferguson. I will say you hope the perpetrator gets a good lawyer when all is revealed.

A nice gallery of suspects, none of whom you hope is proven guilty. I think fans will enjoy this.

No matter how you cut it, Hallmark & Lifetime are onto something.

When cable and streaming TV led to a proliferation of channels, old school boomer TV execs assumed tv viewers would want to see things like explicit sex or lots of action.

Au contraire.

In truth, just as women do most of the reading, women do most of the TV watching, and they like murder mysteries, romantic storylines and Christmas storylines.

Murder mysteries with romantic storylines such as this third installment of the Fixer Upper series is precisely what female watchers like. The Hallmark Channel knows their demographic and they cater to it.

As for the production, it's pretty good. Jewel is an experienced actress, while Colin Ferguson is a very reliable actor best known for his many years as the sheriff in the show "Eureka" on SyFy. The rest of the cast is fine, the script is plot driven, and it's a good film.

All three films in the series are good. Thumbs up.