A Sprinkle of Deceit: A Hannah Swensen Mystery

This is the latest in the Hannah Swensen Murder She Baked series. I am not going to say that I don't miss Mike and Norman, because that wouldn't be true, but I am warming to Chad and the slow build of their romance. I confess, I was starting to get annoyed by Chad not trying any of Hannah's baked goods, I can't imagine how she feels about it.

In this entry Hannah caters a reunion party at a Bed and breakfast for her sister Michelle's detective boyfriend Lonnie's high school reunion. One of the attendees ends up dead in her own home after the party. For the first time Hannah is willing to stay out of it, until Lonnie becomes the police's primary suspect. Then in true Hannah Swensen fashion, she is all in diving in dumpsters and everything.

Hannah has a new venture, she has opened a new bakery and is getting into the coffee business, which seems smart for a businesswoman. The small town of Lake Eden is becoming more of a metropolis...loosing a lot of the small town charm that I loved and that made the show special. That is a little sad for me. I, like a lot of other viewers, was confused a bit by the radical change in Hannah's mother, who was always very squeamish and against Hannah's involvement in murder and it's detection...and who is now a private investigator herself? I don't hate it and Barbara Eden is great. Her role is and always has been hilarious. So, while it seems strange (the metamorphosis her character has taken), I love her so much I am willing to let it pass.

I know that Hallmark lost the actor who played Mike to another network, which is a shame because he and Alison Sweeney had great chemistry, but I love Victor Webster. I thought he and Alison Sweeney had great chemistry in the Wedding Veil series and I am looking forward to them smoking up the screen in Hannah Swensen's Murder She Baked.

I was really glad Hannah's sister Andrea is back on the show....but where is the rest of her family. I think it's odd we aren't seeing her with her husband and child.

All of that sounds like a lot of criticism, but I am being very critical because I am a huge fan of the Hannah Swensen series. In fact my three favorite mysteries on Hallmark have always been Hannah Swensen's Murder She Baked, Aurora Teagarden (the original, not the reboot), and Mystery 101. After I said all of that, I do have to say I liked this one better than the last and am hopeful that it is only going to get better and better. I do recommend it to Hallmark mystery fans, I think you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Hannah's mother ruins this movie to the point it's almost unwatchable. She's too over the top. She acts ridiculously and is not funny at all. She is given way too much screen time - to the point you wonder who the star of the movie actually is. She distracts from the plot of the movie. Hannah and the mystery should be the focus. I also wish Norman was in the movie. I felt Hallmark missed the opportunity to make him a bigger part on the series now that Mike is gone. Norman would have made a great crime solving side kick to Hannah. Less mom and more Hannah/storyline please. Was looking forward to this movie and was really disappointed.

Hannah is at it again, this time trying to clear a cop friend, Lonnie, of murder. After driving a woman home from a reunion, she winds up dead. As the last person to see her, he's the main suspect.

I love Allison Sweeney and take the series for what it is, a Hallmark cozy mystery series. A lot of time is given to Hannah's crazy over-the-top mother, played by Barbara Niven. She has become a private eye, and now she is an actress, having been discovered when an actress in a commercial she and Hannah are watching being filmed walks out.

I'd say it's too much, but she is very funny.

I like that Hannah's two sisters are involved in the bakery, and that Hannah has extended her business to brew her own coffee.

With Mike gone, it looks as If Hannah is going to have it involvement with the new DA, played by Victor Webster.

Enjoyable.

A really refreshing HS movie. The mystery storyline was really well paced and unfolded really well with the developing chemistry between Hannah and Chad. Hannah continues to delight with her good-natured determination to solve the mystery, which in this movie gets more personal as it involves her little sister. The extra screen time given to Hannah's mom and sisters really made it for me. They add just the right touch of sweet humour to the show without taking away from the plot. I think having UK writers on this was a cool move and I hope they stay on board. I can't wait for another sweet piece of the Hannah Swenson pie!

This is the same formulaic movie that Hallmark churns out. But that's why they're enjoyable. I do have to agree with another reviewer that the mom ruins the movie. She is so pushy, bossy, annoying...you name it. I absolutely adore Barbara Niven and she's better than this.

It's different with Cameron Matheson being gone. But with his move to a rival network, they had to bring in another "love interest". Victor Webster is a great replacement. Not sure if they'll become romantically involved but he makes a good DA.

I'll continue to watch the movies but please tone down the mom. I do like the sisters, too.