La Recette du Crime

I suppose the title of the "Murder, She Baked" series of Hallmark movies is a take on the old "Murder She Wrote" series. Here Alison Sweeney is a small town baker, set in Minnesota (filmed in Canada). She runs a bakery that everyone in town raves about.

One morning her usual expected delivery of milk is late so she runs down the block to see what's up. She finds her long-time friend, who delivers the milk, is slumped in the truck's seat, gunned down.

Soon a detective from out of town shows up, he and she reluctantly start to share insights and clues, and eventually romantic glances.

All in all a fairly typical clean and entertaining Hallmark movie, but without what my wife and I call "the Hallmark kiss" about one minute before the end. The movie is well-acted and written such that several characters seem to be suspects but when the real murderer is revealed it is quite a surprise.

We watched it at home, streaming on Peacock.

Hannah Swensen again becomes involved in a mystery in "Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery."

Hannah (Alison Sweeney) is at it again, running her bakery and cafe in Eden Lake, Minnesota, with her mother trying to set her up with men and encouraging her to glamour up. This time mom interviews her to a new dentist in town, Norman Rhodes, a charming man. But having seen subsequent episodes, I know how it winds up.

When her childhood friend Ron, who delivers dairy to the shop, is found dead, Hannah is determined to find out the identity of the culprit. Because Eden Lake isn't used to murders, it brings in Detective Mike Kingston (Cameron Mathison) from Minneapolis.

Hannah doesn't appreciate Mike's arrogance, since she feels that she knows the people in town and can help him. However, she pushes ahead. Then there is another murder, this time of a wealthy man who is suspected of being a loan shark.

Pleasant enough, and I'm assuming this is the first episode. I like Alison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison, both soap stars of long standing who have strong fan bases. Also it was nice to see Susan Hogan from "Night Heat" after thirty years.

Hallmark deliberately keeps these movies on the bland and homey side because of the demographic they want to attract. I'll watch anything that's a mystery but I'd be lying if I said there was anything particularly special about any of these mysteries. Hallmark is like Lifetime - you take the movies for what they are and don't expect anything else.

Dreadfully observant baker Hannah Swensen finds the body of her childhood friend when he is late delivering milk to her bakery. The town of Eden Lake is shocked by the murder, no more so than Hannah herself. They call in a big city Minneapolis detective, Mike Kingston, to help on the case. Hannah is endearingly curious and can't keep herself for poking around for clues. Meanwhile, Hannah's mom is trying to fix her daughter's life...including finding her a husband.

Funny, great chemistry...just an endearing series that I can't say enough wonderful things about.

(Still my favorite Hallmark mystery series: Hannah Swensen's Murder she Baked, Aurora Teagarden Murder Mysteries, and Mystery 101...they are a whole tier above the rest.)

I like the series very much. Each episode reminds me a little of Jane Austen's novels in terms of the some of the characters and plots. For example, Hannah's mother conjures up Emma and her over-the-top neurotic Romanticism. There is a Pride and Prejudice sexual tension thing going on between Mike and Hannah. Mike is also haunted somewhat by a previous relationship, just as is Edward Ferrer in Sense and Sensibility. And Hannah's mother reminds me of the ditzy Mrs. Bennett in P&P and her inability to completely accept her daughter as-is. I also like the way Hannah and Andrea are close, as are Elizabeth and Jane in P&P. It's a kind of survival mechanism against their mother's pushiness. And Hannah's involvement in murder and mystery tracks with the morbid curiosity of Catherine, the heroine in Northanger Abbey. Just some thoughts for any JA fans out there...!

I absolutely love Hannah Swensen and the Murder She Baked Mystery Series. The curious and observant single baker Hannah is endearing and her chemistry with both Mike and Norman is spot on. Her mom is fabulous as the meddling mother...along with her serious Eden Lake police officer brother-in-law and co-conspirator sister.

I'd love to try some of her baked goods and I was inspired to read the books this series was based on.

My three favorite Hallmark Mystery Series remain: Hannah Swensen's Murder she Baked, Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, and Mystery 101.