I love Hannah Swensen's Murder She Baked mystery series...it has been my favorite on the Hallmark channel, but if I am honest I miss the old Eden Lake (aka the old sets). It had a very small town feel and this new reboot is sleeker, shinier with a bigger city feel which unfortunately makes it less personal or "cosy" as the books they were based on intended.
This was a great mystery and gave a lot more face-time between Hannah and her fiancé Mike than "Sweet Revenge", which was the first film in this new reboot. I still miss Hannah's sister Andrea and her husband...and I have not warmed to this younger sister Michelle.
Don't let my critique be misconstrued, I am loving having Hannah Swensen back on Hallmark with fresh mysteries. I love Alison Sweeney as Hannah Swensen. She and Cameron Mathison have wonderful on screen chemistry and I was more than thrilled to see them both back for more. I am still completely enjoying Barbara Niven as Hannah's quirky and yet laser focused mom (she is still beating the dentist drum!). She adds a lot of comedy to the series...and she is beautiful to boot. I am glad they have so many returning characters...including my favorite character Norman played by Gabriel Hogan. He continues to be Hannah's best wingman and good friend. His and Hannah's search for Patches was great.
Hannah and Norman discover a skeleton, uncovering a 25 year mystery. In an unusual twist, Mike actually encourages Hannah to investigate the cold case and in a sweet way even helps her...causing him to walk a thin line between that and his job which falls under the scrutiny of his boss...and eventually creates a strain in his and Hannah's relationship.
I thought Mike's encouragement of Hannah's investigation seemed really out of character as he has always been a bit overprotective of Hannah in that regard. In the past he has always wanted her to leave it to the police, including him. (Selfishly, I did enjoy them working together as it gave them so much on-screen time together...even if it was out of character. Let's hope the cat tree warms Hannah's heart.)
I am excited to hear there will be more Hannah Swensen to come and I cannot wait. This was a good solid mystery and I recommend it to cosy mystery fans, fans of Alison Sweeney, Cameron Mathison and Barbara Niven. Better than Sweet Revenge...but not quite as good as the original pre-reboot series. I have hope however, I know the cast is fantastic and I think the writers are going to get the series back to being my absolute favorite on Hallmark!
