Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery

My wife and I have watched many of the Hannah Swensen mysteries and this one, to me, seems a bit weaker and more silly than the others. However, my wife commented to me, "They are all silly."

But the real question is, does it entertain? And it does, a bit, but mostly in very silly ways.

Alison Sweeney is, of course, Hannah Swensen and she acts a bit like a teenager. The reason, she has a keen interest in the handsome, single District Attorney and in his presence just can't hold it together. She keeps waiting for him to ask her out.

The mystery here is twofold, a man has been arrested for several home burglaries and he is about to go to trial. But another burglary happens and Hannah wonders if it is a copycat and, if so, why?

Second, a film crew is in and using Hannah's bakery as their set for a popular cooking show, the host is Connie Mack who, it turns out, can't really cook but was chosen for her screen presence. Then on day two of shooting they came in and find her young producer dead in the restaurant. Is this connected to the trial, or just random?

So, as usual, Hannah and her friends look for clues and devise a plan to try to catch the new burglar in the act.

Again, as a story and as a movie it isn't that good but it does have a bit of entertaining value. Especially if it is free, like we found it streaming on Peacock.

(Trivia - Connie Mack, born in 1862, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins, losses, ties, and games managed in Major League Baseball history. There once was a stadium in Philadelphia named after him.)

Why do Hannah and Chad act like they've never talked to each other before, when they went on a date at the end of "A Sprinkle of Deceit?" It seems the continuity between episodes is lacking here.

Also, why make Hannah's mother into a psuedo-private eye? It doesn't work...it just makes the series more gimmicky and less palatable. I stopped counting how many times I rolled my eyes through this one and the prior two movies.

And what happened to the sister who is married to a cop? They usually give her at least some quick screen time.

Why the change in bakery location? Does it add to anything? I think not.

Sorry...I think they are running out of ideas. Probably would do better if mom were written out of the script.

Another poorly written Hallmark mystery and as usual it's the script and dialog that are the problems. Barbara Niven's affected Dolores Swenson character is over the top and dumb, she's not funny. She played a similar snooty character in a holiday movie and her character was also dumb. Her character should be dropped or toned down.

And Hannah not Dolores is the lead and Hannah should be solving the crimes. I enjoyed the series more when Cameron Mathison played the detective, you don't need a DA. I don't know why Mathison left the series or if his character was written out. It's never been a great series, but it was less annoying in past movies.

I like all of the actors in this movie & I used to really enjoy the Murder She Baked movies. However, in the Hannah Swensen movies, I find that Delores has changed from being a loving, somewhat ditzy mother, adding some comic relief, to being annoying. She's disrespectful to Hannah, calling out her wardrobe quite publicly & nastily. She's self-absorbed & irritating.

Despite liking Vistor & Alison, I don't see any romantic chemistry between them. Also, it's pushing plausibility to have Hannah 'helping' a DA.

If the next movie isn't an improvement on these last two, I will not watch future movies.

Having read many poor reviews I braced myself for something truly terrible. Guess what - it was another decent instalment of Murder She Baked (cannot get used to new name).

I don't mind Chad, because I never really cared for Mike. Even though I still find it odd that he's doing more police work than actual police.

Alison took a trip to the Oz world and it works for the better.

Hannah's mother was her usual self, nothing over the top. New sister is still new to me and sticks like a sore thumb.

The real star is Norman (as usual). He's smart, cute, and not just Hannah's admirer. I'd watch a Dentist Mystery!

Still don't like Lake Eden turning into a big city, and Cookie Jar is almost as big as Starbucks now.

The case itself was OK. I've seen better, but still it was a solid 6-7. Thanks to Norman I'm giving it an 8.