Nelly Knows Mysteries: A Fatal Engagement

Nelly is the town of Babelton's local newspaper's beloved advice columnist. She is played by the lovely Pascale Hutton, who fast talks and sweet talks her way through solving the small town murder after she stumbles upon the body. The new to town Detective Michael is played by Hutton's When Calls The Heart husband Kavan Smith. These two are gold together. Nelly is not only observant, but knows the town of Babelton (and everyone in it) like the back of her hand. She's positive, upbeat and dogged which convinces DetectiveMichael to eventually throw in the towel and try to work with her instead of compete with her.

My favorite two scenes take place in Helen's diner between Nelly and Michael...in the first Michael joyfully eats pancakes for dinner and in the second we are told the story of the death of Nelly's childhood sweetheart and fiancé in the explanation of how her positive outlook is a choice. That was the most humanizing part of this relatively lighthearted mystery. I liked the colors and I loved the jazz music that accompanied the mystery. It came across as a little campy and I loved it.

It looks like this might be the start of a new series and I for one would tune in for more. This is a recommendation from me to Hallmark mystery series fans.

This was the second new Hallmark mystery I've watched this year where there seemed to be a stronger focus on the romance aspect between the leads. Jazz Ramsey being the other. Definitely more of a RomCom than a straight mystery. I got the feels from some of the earlier Aurora Teagarden movies. I enjoyed this and thought that the ending was twisty in a way that wasn't fully predictable. The reasoning behind the motive was a bit weak though and I'm still not entirely clear on how they tied it all together. Still, I'd watch this as an ongoing series. One of the better films I've seen Hallmark Mystery attempt this year.

Pascale and Kavan - these two, love their chemistry it's obvious they are good friends, so happy we get another movie with them together.

And it was a pleasant surprise this was a mystery.

But... Nelly is an annoying busybody, the character is or has been played too over the top I don't understand how she has any friends. Still maybe she was created that way so that we the viewer would get to know the other characters.

Also why did Nelly go into the different crime scenes fingering everything without gloves hello isn't this Police101.

And I get this is Hallmark and it all has to appear to be chaste and we are suppose to believe the unbelievable but no man ever goes to a cafe to drink milkshakes.

It was an okay film I didn't mind whiling away a couple of hours watching this. And I do hope this becomes a series because there is potential.

What I liked:

• Tight script that was quick witted and pretty funny
• Great set design!

• Fun secondary characters. This was actually one of the best parts.

• Loved the old school feel throughout. Very 1950s vibe in dialogue cadence and style.

• Mystery was decent. Not the best but kept me guessing.

What I didn't like:

• Romance was meh. More like a friendship which was fine but even there it was lacking a bit.

• Musical score could have been better. The closing song was perfect for the vibe and wish they used more of that throughout

Overall this was a really fun mystery which I feel is a bit underrated based on its current score. Solid 8 on the Hallmark cozy mystery scale for me. Definitely different feel from most cozy mystery offerings.

Nelly has a lot of energy. She is very social and pokes around and is admonished by the policeman investigating. Such fun ensues! Since she is a confidante of many in her small town, she has an advantage. The cop eventually tolerates the way she pops up at crime scenes. Nelly is an advice columnist for the local paper but she spends a great deal of time tracking down leads for the whodunnit in this movie. So many red herrings. They must work hard to ferret out the unlikely criminals. Kavan and Pascale are the lead actors and have great chemistry! Really enjoyed this movie!!! Can't wait to see the next one in this series!