Emma Fielding Mysteries: More Bitter Than Death

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.

He tried to sound British but it sounded a bit Australian at times as well...? Accent came and went. It took away from the show, especially since the show is about history and artifacts and clearly his accent was not even close to believable.

It's the third episode of Emma Fielding Mysteries. Emma Fielding (Courtney Thorne-Smith) finds herself in another murder mystery when her supportive retiring superior Dr. Althea Harrison is poisoned during a banquet. The suspects include those fighting to take over. FBI agent Jim Conner (James Tupper) happens to be there after he got recruited by Emma for a speech. Meanwhile, her TAs Joe and Carey are growing closer and worked as servers at the party. The group is joined by pompous archeologist Duncan Thatcher with the bad British accent.

This is the best of the three episodes. It helps that the mystery is a fairly standard one. Essentially, someone is killed and all the suspects are in the room. It's classic. It also helps that the younger characters get their own romance. That takes the romantic pressure off the leads. While Tupper and CTS are really pretty people, their chemistry is set at a slow simmer. The younger couple is better and they provide a nice parallel relationship. This is not breaking any new boundaries but it is a very solid movie for Hallmark with the possibility of extending this franchise.

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 .

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!!!????