Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Everything was going along nicely. My family and I had narrowed down the suspects to a logical two or three people based on their motives, opportunities, and means. And their ages. The crime occurred 25 years ago. Then out of the blue, the character we never even considered because he looked in his 20s (30 tops) turns out to be the culprit. In unison we said, "What!? Was he 12?" There was no attempt to make the character appear age appropriate. (He would have to be somewhere around 45 if he were the perpetrator.) It was frustrating for us, because it was an intriguing mystery. And even the perpetrator made sense--but none of us even considered him because of the glaring age discrepancy. Very disappointing.

I lost interest pretty quickly in this one. Hannah seemed more like a teenage drama queen than an adult. And how does she keep the bakery going when she's out solving mysteries? Mike was wimpy, and deserved to have the engagement broken. The worst was seeing a patient wearing nasal cannula oxygen while on a ventilator. It's physically impossible - the writers REALLY need to consult someone in healthcare. (ANYONE!) The whole thing fell apart from that moment. Although it was pretty funny to see that Eugene/Ellis didn't have a single IV.

They need to step up their game if this series is to survive.

I loved the previous Murder She Baked/Hannah Swenson TV movies. Not this time. First, how typically Hallmark to wipe previous family members from existence, in this case dropping in a new one as if she had been there all along. I guess this happened in the first movie called "Hannah Swenson Mysteries" but for me it did not hit home at the time.

How about, "Michele, it's so great to have you home after you were away so long getting your college degrees." Or, "Hey, I hear from Andrea last night. She and Bill are settling into their new life in New Hampshire. Bill loves his Deputy Police Chief job." It's just like Hallmark 's Good Witch series that, by the unwatchable final season had dropped, by my count, 4 or 5 family members. Does Hallmark think everyone is a newcomer to a series that had been on for many years?

I was also very disappointed in Hannah's behavior. In her obsession with playing detective, she wass oblivious to the position she put Mike in with both his professional ethics and his place in the police department's hierarchy. The only reason I rated this as high as a "5" was in the probably vane hope that Hallmark will clear up these issues in the future.

The mystery is fine - some new topics covered. I totally relate to the Swensen family dynamic, but the situation between Hannah and Mike is really dragging out - maybe Delores is right and Hannah should be with Norman after all! I feel like they're too old to take so much time if Hannah really wants to be with Kingston. Andrea and Bill are again missing here, which loses several dimensions with them having links to the main characters plus a young family as well - they need Hannah to be a mum to fill this void, or Norman to be a dad, or both, either together or with different spouses. Hope they make more episodes.

Watching this was like greeting an old friend, or putting on your favorite slippers - it just felt right. So glad Hallmark brought this series back! Happy to see Cameron Mathison back on Hallmark, and Alison Sweeney was fantastic as always. They have a chemistry together that has always been evident in these films, and no less this one. All of the supporting actors are back, with Barbara Niven stealing every scene she was in. The movie had a new take on the mystery, with more of an historical murder to solve, and was very engaging. Looking forward already to the next one (which Hallmark has already announced)!