Un meurtre sous les projecteurs

These "Murder, She Baked" series of movies will never be mistaken for great movies but they are entertaining, partly because they have to be complete by 85 minutes so there isn't any dragging. And we get to feel that we know the characters.

Plus Alison Sweeney, who plays baker Hannah Swensen, is very attractive and very personable. As in the others there is a murder mystery to be solved but that never really takes the focus off the real meat of these movies. Whether Hannah will end up with Mike the Cop or with Norman the Dentist. At the end of this one Hannah and Mike pretty well seal the deal and start planning an engagement party.

In this one Hannah is facilitating a televised contest of chefs baking desserts when one of them, the local basketball coach, is found dead outside the school. It appears to be murder but who would want to kill the coach? A number of red herrings and other misdirections come to the fore but ultimately Hannah tracks down the real culprit, the one who needed the coach dead.

We found a set of two DVDs at our public library that contains five of the "Murder, She Baked" movies. We are watching all of them at home.

Some accidents befall some of the judges of the Eden Falls bake off contest, one of whom is Alison Sweeney. But it's the murder of the local high school basketball coach who was one of the judges that gets law enforcement involved.

Of course it's their detective Cameron Mattison who is officially assigned to the case, but there's no way he's going to stop Alison Sweeney from getting involved. Especially after she is victimized twice. The first time one of her basement stairs is sabotaged. The second however is when Mattison's break line on his vehicle is tampered with.

It turns out the coach definitely had an unsavory side to him as they investigate.

Sweeney with her investigative instincts is able to parse out the responsibility for who did what. In that way the murder is solved.

Mattison is in a dilemma. He's exasperated over Alison's interference, but at the same time, he's falling for her big time.

Will that last? Tune in to this Murder She Baked film and the next one to find out.

Two soap veterans, Allison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison, star in "Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts." This series follows the usual Hallmark mystery pattern: attractive people, idyllic town, murder. romance but no sex.

In this film, Hannah (Sweeney) hosts a TV baking show contest and investigates when the judges start being knocked off.

My problem with all of these Hallmark mysteries is that I usually spot the murderer five minutes in. This episode was no exception.

Pleasant enough for what it is.

Sorry, I'm not much of a writer. It was so good all the way through. This series of movies is my favorite.

Why can't I find the dvd to buy? I have the other 4, but need this one.

Bakery owner Hannah Swensen (Alison Sweeney) is a judge for the Eden Lake Bake Off at the local high school. Unbeknownst to her, someone caused her accident leaving her hobbling with a crutch. One of the other judges drop out and callous coach Leonard Bishop becomes the replacement. He's not all that happy and gets killed in a seemingly hit-and-run accident. Hannah investigates the incident for herself.

This is the first "Murder, She Baked" movie for me. I've avoided it so far for obvious reasons. I like Sweeney so I gave this a try. She pulls me through the entire movie but I have a question. How is this a series? Why does she keep encountering murders? At least, Angela Lansbury is a mystery writer. That's her in but where's Sweeney's in? She's a baker and crazy murders keep happening to people around her. I would make the final movie/book reveal that she's actually the killer. At least, that would make sense.