Chronicle Mysteries: Vines That Bind

5/10 - too many characters muddled up what could have been a good mystery

This third Chronicle Mystery has Alison Sweeney checking out a more current mystery than in the two previous films. This involves shooting from a distance and the police are labeling it a hunting accident like what Dick Cheney had.

But with her two trusty aides Benjamin Ayres and David Colette helping Sweeney has her doubts and says so on the air. It all has to do with some land where grapes are grown for wine and the fact that it is being polluted.

Hopefully we will see more or it's back to the bakery for Alison Sweeney.

Not the worse show on Hallmark but the writers kept inserting rightwing rhetoric with phrases like "stand her ground" when a woman holds gun on them, and; "rich man making the world better for me." (The old trickle down economics.) Nepotism prevails. "On the rope" hanging phrase and several others.

As for Sweeny it's good to see a very full figured woman as opposed to those skinny fake snobs. One who never lost that child bearing figure. Although her face seems to show no emotions, you can tell she is struggling with middle age.

Also it's a very white world they live in. The ending is very predictable.

There are all those significant looks and cryptic comments by Drew. Certainly looks like he is interested. The situation makes for some positive sparkle.

The story is a decent murder mystery. There are several possible suspects and even more interested parties. So many of them are tied together through one relationship or another. There are some clues for the viewer and some red herrings. I didn't figure it out much ahead of the reveal.

I am not a huge fan of amateur detectives, but I usually check out different series. I was glad to see that Alex isn't a total amateur since she is part of the newspaper and has her podcast series about cold cases. And she has to two guys watching over her even if that doesn't keep her totally safe. At least she isn't reckless about it like some of them are.

With having now watched three Chronicle mysteries, I feel confident in saying that we can expect to see well thought out mysteries from this TV franchise. Along with an intriguing mystery in each episode, the show has established four or so main characters, their habits and quirks, and their comfort and respect for one another.

I am pretty much watching "Chronicle Mysteries" for the first time back to back with watching "Murder, She Baked" for the first time.

It is genuinely fascinating to watch Alison Sweeney in both shows. I feel like I am watching identical twins. Both may look alike, but they are both completely different personalities, and you would never mistake Hannah for Alex.

I would agree that the cast of secondary characters got a bit confusing in this episode--particularly their relationship to each other. I don't find that to be a flaw, though. Most good murder mysteries are complicated puzzles that, midway through, would definitely benefit from a page or two of flow charts!

My favorite part of this episode was the interplay between the four main characters, the teasing, the concern, and their intuition of what each other were thinking.