The Cases of Mystery Lane: Death Is Listening

Probably a bit weaker than best Hallmarky mysteries - mystery wise. But I enjoyed this film a lot because of two leads and super cozy setting.

We meet Birdie and Aldon again, they are true crime fans, and have a chance to meet their hero. Except they don't: the author of a well-known true crime podcast is killed. Officer Air Quotes is on it, but even the Cases are helpful.

I'm not gonna ask why Birdie is allowed to skip work and go helping police. Or how does a mouse make a hole in one single page of a newspaper. Or why a police officer outsources most important tasks to a couple of civilians... Anyways I really enjoyed this installment. Love mysteries that don't revolve around the female lead and a police officer and the whole will they - won't they thing.

Listen I am not expecting Masterpiece Mystery quality from Hallmark, but I have rewound this movie more times than I can count since attempting to follow the plot. In addition to the putative murder mystery, there are about 5 subplots going on: each spouse is hiding a significant secret, there is some crazy tempestuous mother- daughter dynamics, and then some sort of frenemies situation. Hands down however the MOST annoying part of this movie is the MAN CHILD male lead, followed quickly behind by the incessant beating of the HEY WE ARE NERDS drum by both leads. I really wish Hallmark mysteries would return to adapting successful mysteries series rather than attempting to produce original scripts.

First things first, a little diatribe: Paul Campbell used to regularly be in films where his comedic chops were allowed to flourish. Look at his earlier Hallmark films circa 2013. These days, he's in seemingly a half dozen movies a year and is only funny in maybe one of them. Let Paul Campbell be funny again! Like this film!

He and his co-lead have great chemistry, just like the first film. Not to say that it's perfect - some gags and dialogue fall flat, in my opinion. But overall they are great together and you can tell they think so too. They also present sort of a unique romantic dynamic I haven't seen elsewhere. The story never puts them at odds relationship wise, and while this might be unrealistic, for these films it is endearing.

They support and love each other. The drama in this film focuses almost wholly on the mystery at hand. Which is frankly a bit refreshing.

The mystery itself - which I won't get into here - wasn't as intriguing as the first film's mystery was. That being said, there was quite a bit of charming quirkiness and twists. Which is to say that it still was pretty good.

I just watched the second movie and do not understand some of these reviews. I found the movie fun; it was a new twist on a mystery movie. I love the characters' on-screen chemistry, and their relationship seems genuine. It is light-hearted rather than a heavy "suspense" type of movie. The way the couple go about getting clues and getting at their suspect is excellent. I especially loved the "Salsa Teachers" in this movie. I would love to see Mystery Lane turn into an ongoing series of movies. I think this type of mystery movie is one that the Rom-Com lovers would immensely enjoy. This is almost like a Mystery Comedy. Something completely new for viewers. Maybe Hallmark is going to start a new category! This movie could be shown on all the other Hallmark channels rather than just the Hallmark Movies and Mystery channel. Please make more Hallmark! I am eagerly waiting on #3 to come!

I enjoyed watching the second entry of the Mystery Lane Mysteries. The quirky detective couple are a fresh spin to the Hallmark mysteries and I love "Officer Air Quotes." The story was engaging starting with a cold case murder. There are a lot of familiar faces as usual which I always love. I like that they have a serious murder mystery but manage to inject humor into it. The main characters are flawed and relatable. There's no super slow burn love story because it's about a couple navigating the challenges of being a couple. That's a definite breath of fresh air. I'm looking forward to the next one.