Past Malice: An Emma Fielding Mystery

I love these Agatha Christie "Who done it" movies!

Really wanted to like this series but this particular episode is pretty bad. Almost turned it off. In particular one of the male leads comes up with this fake accent that is painful to listen to. The writing is quite blase' which is why the actors seem to be just phoning it in for most of the movie. Probably not relevant but Courtney Thorne-Smith doesn't look healthy which is troublesome to those of us who are fans of her past work.

"Is it because I'm a woman?"-Emma "There is no right answer to that."-Jim

Archeologist Emma Fielding gets asked by a friend to come to Chandler Castle...where things aren't quite right with and valuable artifacts that have been found by professor Webster have started to disappear. Did I mention there is also a witches curse? Not afraid of a mystery Emma arrives and shortly after Professor Webster ends up dead...good thing Emma called in her friend and FBI agent Jim Conner.

This is a beautiful home for a backdrop and the story is made interesting with a lot of fun history on local witches.

This isn't my favorite of the mystery series on Hallmark (that is held down by Aurora Teagarden, Hannah Swensen, and Mystery 101), but I enjoy Jim Conner's pursuit of Emma and a bit of their banter. The mystery in this one was decent and enough to probably recommend to mystery fans out there.

This is a good movie to write while you are learning. I don't know why seasoned good actors become wooden characters in these types of dramas? Have a laugh, have a watch. We know it isn't Agatha Cristy.

Celebrated archaeologist Emma Fielding (Courtney Thorne-Smith) is recruited by her former roommate to investigate missing artifacts from a mansion with a supposed cursed history. The mystery deepens when she spots a dead body in a hidden chamber with no obvious entrance. FBI Special Agent Jim Connor (James Tupper) leads the murder case.

It's been a little while since I've seen Courtney Thorne-Smith. The mystery at the mansion reminds me of Scooby Doo. Early on, I was half expecting the ripping-off-the-mask reveal. This may be fine for Hallmark but it's a little too light for a big boy movie. There is next to no tension. There is enough likeability but not much else. This needs to be saved by the romantic chemistry but there is limited heat. It's like a lower level pilot for a second tier TV show. They really need a good hot coupling at the top.