Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle (2003)

Sometimes the best way to solve a case is to work backwards, so with that in mind, I’m starting Murder, She Wrote with Jessica Fletcher’s very last mystery, The Celtic Riddle. I’m not proud to say that I’ve never seen an episode of the long-running CBS series, though strictly speaking this one is a movie, but I’m also not sure I’ll be playing catch up with its 264 episodes any time soon. (This is where I plug British mysteries, which remain a bingeable six to eight episodes per season.) Happily, Ms. Fletcher’s last bow doesn’t require one to be immersed in the Murder, She Wrote universe, and it’s easy to pick up just where our detective is about to leave off.

The case initially comes to Jessica (Angela Lansbury) by way of an invitation. She arrives in Ireland for the reading of a will and is surprised to learn that Eamon Byrne, a man she had only met a few times, has bequeathed to her a small but picturesque property called Rose Cottage. The move provokes the ire of Eamon’s wife, Margaret (Fionnula Flanagan), and elder daughter, Fiona (Geraldine Hughes), who also resent his gifts to other non-family members, like the groundskeeper (Sean Lawlor) and the business associate (Andrew Connolly). They are further angered when everyone is given a second opportunity to partake in Eamon’s riches. Each person is given a clue that they will need share in order to find the final part of their inheritance.

Convincing everyone to work together proves to be an impossible task. Their general animosity towards one another is enough of a hurdle, but when people start turning up dead, it really puts a kink in things. Oddly, no one else seems shocked or worried about the mounting bodies, except for Jessica who’s seen enough of this to know it’s not a coincidence. The police inspector (Timothy V. Murphy), however, isn’t inclined to believe the little old lady with an overactive imagination when she cries murder, leaving it up to Jessica to sort this out before she gets killed.

She finds a kindred soul in Eamon’s younger daughter, Breeta (Sarah-Jane Potts), who inherited nothing of material value but who shares her father’s passion for Irish myths and puzzles. Breeta’s knowledge is the key to finding the family treasure, and the two are eager to solve the riddle together, but Breeta’s relationships with her boyfriend, Paddy (Cyril O’Reilly), and the gardener, Michael (Joe Michael Burke), threaten their progress.

A few guest performances make this marginally Irish-themed mystery enjoyable. I loved Potts’s sweetness, and she fills Breeta with a joy that is pure and easy to embrace. Flanagan also radiates a certain vibrancy, but hers is that of someone digging into her part. She dominates every scene she’s in as the greedy, haughty widow, stopping just short of parody even as she wails about contesting the will and pulls desk keys out of her bra. On the other side of the spectrum is Lynn Wanlass, who plays the maid, Nora. Wanlass is striking in her timidity and plain creepy with her vampire eyes. What made less of an impression was Ireland itself, which pops in for a few cameos. I had hoped for more exterior shots, but the film relies on the suggestion of Ireland instead, filling the gaps with Celtic music and some Irish dancing in a pub.

Highlight for spoilers: The Connemara mug gave it away. Why else would you focus on an ugly prop? Charles McCafferty (Tegan West), Eamon’s associate, orchestrated the family’s downfall and wanted the treasure for himself. Eamon’s illegitimate son, he was adopted by abusive parents and wanted the Byrnes to share in his suffering. He manipulated the business so that it would lose money and then killed the others so that he could get the inheritance. He killed John, who knew where the treasure was hidden, then Michael, who saw John’s murder, and finally Nora, who was his aunt and a liability.

Released: 2003
Dir: Anthony Shaw
Writer: Rosemary Anne Sisson, Bruce Lansbury
Cast: Angela Lansbury, Fionnula Flanagan, Sarah-Jane Potts, Tegan West, Cyril O’Reilly, Lynn Wanlass, Timothy V. Murphy, Joe Michael Burke, Andrew Connolly, Geraldine Hughes, Sean Lawlor
Time: 83 min
Lang: English
Country: United States
Network: CBS
Reviewed: 2019

Hailey Dean Mystery: 2 + 2 = Murder (2018)

Technically, two plus two does not equal murder, but something is not adding up when a teacher goes missing. Hailey Dean (Kellie Martin) finds herself embroiled in another criminal case that hits close to home, this time at her niece’s school. She attends a fundraising performance organized by Naomi Sacks, who fails to turn up that night or in the days following. Surveillance footage, however, shows she was at the school on the night of the performance, and Hailey and team try to figure out if Naomi was targeted by someone she worked with or by real estate interests who wanted to buy the school’s property.

The investigation immediately targets her stalker ex-boyfriend, Jeff Adkins (Carey Feehan), but Hailey’s observations also land several teachers on the suspect list. Naomi’s coworker, Janine (Ellen Ewusie), was passed up for promotion, and she seems not at all bothered by the fact that Naomi might be murdered. Two other teachers, Mary (Samantha Cole) and Nicholas (Chad Riley), also have ever-changing alibis, none of which can be accounted for. Meanwhile, Rob (Brent Stait), the friendly janitor, goes on my list because the janitor always knows the secrets. As the investigation continues, a left field suspect appears. Hailey’s old acquaintance, Clyde (Chad Lowe), a real estate developer, would rather the school not meet its fundraising goals so that it will close and he can scoop up the land.

Clyde is more than an acquaintance or a suspect though. He’s also best friend to Hailey’s murdered fiancé, Will, and seeing him reminds her that she still has a lot of grief to process. But shit’s hard, and she’s finding it difficult, especially since learning that she, not Will, was the killer’s target. I was hoping we’d get some solid leads on this case, but this film doesn’t dig into that. I guess we’ll just have to keep waiting, which is fine because we get to see her relationship with her coroner boyfriend, Jonas (Matthew MacCaull), unfold in the meantime. It’s been awhile since I saw the previous films and had forgotten about Jonas, but damn, what a man, the best amongst all the Hallmark detective boyfriends. He is not the possessive, condescending type, and he loves that his girlfriend is smart as hell, but what most impresses me about him is that he doesn’t try to compete with Will. In fact, he wants Hailey to keep a special place in her life for her fiancé and understands that he won’t be part of that.

This storyline has always been my favorite part about the series and is the reason why I look forward to watching each new movie. The cases are never anything explosive and are comparable to all the other ones on Hallmark Mysteries, but unlike Garage Sale Mysteries or Aurora Teagarden, this show is saturated in sadness and loss. It’s not for everyone, and if you’re coming to this channel for its sunny, Marple-esque tones, you won’t find them here. The series even goes down the spooky slasher route every now and then, like the opening scene where Naomi is snatched from a dark construction zone illuminated by an eerie green glow. Where there are moments of levity though, like Fincher’s (Viv Leacock) quest to find Atlanta’s best taco truck, Hailey does her best to bring them back down. It’s not all sun, but it is true to her character.

Highlight for spoilers: The one person I didn’t suspect turns out to be the guilty party. The principal, having stolen the renovation money and then losing because of his online gambling, killed Naomi when she found out and told him she was reporting him. He then killed Jeff Adkins because he had the gambling receipts that would prove his guilt.

Released: 2018
Dir: Michael Robinson
Writer: Michelle Ricci
Cast: Kellie Martin, Giacomo Baessato, Viv Leacock, Matthew MacCaull, Emily Holmes, Andrew Airlie, Chad Lowe, Keith MacKechnie, Tom Butler, Hilary Jardine, Brent Stait, Ellen Ewusie, Samantha Cole, Chad Riley, Carey Feehan
Time: 83 min
Lang: English
Country: United States
Network: Hallmark Movies and Mysteries
Reviewed: 2019

Eat, Drink, and Be Buried: A Gourmet Detective Mystery (2017)

So this is how it ends. The Gourmet Detective rides off into the sunset, never to be seen or heard from again. I hope Hallmark will bring it back, but if not, at least the show left on a high note. Probably the best Gourmet Detective yet, this film has everything you want and expect from a series that has consistently excelled in both acting and storytelling. The characters continue to reveal new things about themselves, and this latest mystery is an intriguing tangle of clues and suspects.

It’s a simple case of murder, as far as these things go, and the killer must be one of several family members. Our detectives, Maggie Price (Brooke Burns) and Henry Ross (Dylan Neal), once again find themselves involved in the investigation due to Henry’s connections when the couple, together now for three months, are invited to the birthday party of Henry’s friend, David Weston (Garry Chalk). During the festivities, David, the owner of a centuries-old family publishing house, has his son and step-son reenact a duel from family lore, but the reenactment turns deadly.

Doug (Chris McNally) shoots Ken (Toby Levins) by accident, or so it seems. He’s made no attempts to hide his dislike for his step-brother since his father married Ken’s mother years ago, and now David’s recent decision to hand the business to his step-son has increased their hostility. But the Weston boys are not the only ones holding grudges; the Weston daughters are also at war. Felicity (Vanessa Walsh) and Angela (Brittney Wilson) can’t be in the same room without clawing each other’s eyes out. (Not really though; none of this King Lear nonsense.) Both are suspects – Felicity as a possible accomplice to her brother Doug, and Angela, along with her husband, Colin (David Paetkau), for financial reasons. Everyone is shifty AF, whether they’re hiding affairs or just looking at each other wrong. When other family members start falling victim to unexplained accidents, it seems there might not be any Westons left.

They’re not the only ones with a problem, however, and Maggie and Henry have their own issues to work out, though none as deadly. Maggie, for good reason, resents Henry’s secrecy about his past when she’s been generous about hers. A little spat over his upcoming birthday could turn into something more serious and threatens to doom the romance. An unexpected appearance by Henry’s father, Jim (Bruce Boxleitner), forces the couple to talk things over though.

The quality of the show’s writing and acting is best reflected in the development of Maggie and Henry’s relationship. When I started the series, I didn’t like the Gourmet Detective at all. I found him condescending and felt that Maggie could do just as well without this bloated male ego. However, each episode added a new layer to the characters, and we got to see the couple cycle through different types of partnerships, first as adversaries, then as reluctant collaborators, then as supportive colleagues, and finally as romantic partners. Burns and Neal are both excellent and take us through their characters’ growing pains. The former radiates poise and calm, and I’m inclined to side with her whatever the situation. Neal, on the other hand, takes on a trickier part, but he deftly navigates Henry’s faults and charms, revealing a side to him that is not all vanity. Had the series continued, I would have liked a regular role for Jim because in this story, he showed that Henry also used his bluster to hide feelings of hurt and anger.

There are a lot more stories Gourmet Detective could have told, and can still tell…hello, Hallmark. I haven’t mentioned the Maggie’s colleagues much, but I enjoyed their larger presence in the last two movies. Not only do we get to see Maggie working with the junior detectives, but her captain (Samantha Ferris) gets to do more than stand around giving orders from her office door. I like that there are two women running the operation, and that rivalry and pettiness isn’t part of the picture at all.

Highlight for spoilers: Colin the Killer. Contrary to his claim that he was operating a robust food business (frozen meals, protein powder, the like), Colin was actually losing money, a lot of it. He wanted to kill Ken and his father-in-law so that Doug would be in charge of the company, betting that Doug would then sell it and give Angela part of that money. He cut Felicity’s brake lines because she got suspicious after hearing that the business was up for sale, which she knew to be false.

Released: 2017
Dir: Mark Jean
Writer: Becky Southwell, Dylan Neal
Cast: Dylan Neal, Brooke Burns, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Mark Senior, Ali Skovbye, Samantha Ferris, Shannon Chan-Kent, Brenda Crichlow, David Paetkau, Brittney Wilson, Garry Chalk, Vanessa Walsh, Chris McNally, Toby Levins
Time: 83 min
Lang: English
Country: United States
Network: Hallmark Movies and Mysteries
Reviewed: 2019