Picture Perfect Mysteries: Newlywed and Dead

Photographer Allie Adams (Alexa PenaVega) is working her friend Jenna Cole's wedding. Everyone is on edge after a confrontation earlier when Allie's brother and Jenna's ex Greg showed up. Then, the groom Kevin is killed and Jenna accuses Greg. Sam Acosta leads the police investigation with Greg as the prime suspect.

Alexa PenaVega and her husband Carlos PenaVega seems to be long term employees of Hallmark. I remain unconvinced of their acting skills although they are well suited for these roles. The mystery is nothing special but it's good at maintaining suspicions about Greg. His innocence is never in doubt but he gives good guilty faces. This is nothing special. It is blandly uninspired. It is better than most Hallmark mysteries. It's a pretty low bar and it's able to step over it.

This first in a series of whodunits is very enjoyable. A murder occurs in plain view, but the police have few clues. Enter Allie Adams (Alexa PenaVega), the photographer who was filming the wedding reception when the crime took place. When her brother becomes the prime suspect, she starts sleuthing in earnest, despite the protestation of the police detective assigned to the case, Sam Acosta (Carlos PenaVega).

The case and the film proceed at a relaxed pace, aided by some background music that I really enjoyed. The chemistry between the two principals is nascent, as it should be in the first episode. Allie gets plenty of help as she tries to identify the "real" killer. The focus of the police seems to shift whenever they get new evidence. And Sam, who recently moved to Willow Haven from New York, begins to settle in and learn the dynamics of the small town he now calls home.

This movie opens like a 1960's crime drama. Both actors are good. I think the writing is weak. Alexa and Carlos are believable. I just felt the script was a little rough.

The two main actors ususlly are horrible in Hallmark movies, but they actually surprised me in this movie in a good way.

Small-town New England professional wedding photographer Allie Adams (Alexa PenaVega) finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery when the groom is suddenly shot and killed during the ceremonial first dance. Suspicion immediately turns towards Allie's big brother Greg, the ex-boyfriend of the bride. Allie begins her own amateur investigation to clear Greg's name, teaming up with Sam (Carlos PenaVega), the newest detective on the force.

An engaging mystery featuring the husband and wife duo who get to the bottom of this mystery - Alexa plays a photographer with a keen eye for detail and Carlos is the detective who spends most of the time trying to dissuade from following the case.