by Doward Wilson
Welcome to another new murder mystery from the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel! Based on a book written by Al Roker of The Today Show fame, and crime/suspense author Dick Lochte, Morning Show Mystery: Mortal Mishaps is the story of Billie Blessings. She is a chef, owns a restaurant, has authored a cookbook, and is a segment host on the Wake Up West Coast morning TV show.
When her network boss is murdered with a cyanide-laced cake supposedly from her restaurant, her friend and head chef is arrested. Determined to clear him and her restaurant’s reputation, she starts her own investigation. Ian Jackson is the lead detective on the case and her old high school flame. As the investigation proceeds, Billie becomes the chief suspect and is in danger of being arrested at any moment.
Billie is played by Holly Robinson Peete, Ian is played by Rick Fox, and Al Roker has a cameo appearance. I was not familiar with either of the stars or, for that matter, the rest of the cast, but I felt that they all worked well together and did a very credible job in this mystery movie. The background and sets were perfect and didn’t distract from the main story. The murder plot was very well written with twists, turns, and red herrings, with a completely surprising ending.
I really enjoyed getting to know the cast. I found their performances excellent and I am looking forward to seeing more of them. Al Roker and Dick Lochte have two more books in this series, The Talk Show Murders and The Midnight Show Murders. I am looking forward to seeing if they make this into a series. I am also interested in reading the actual books because in them the lead character is a man. I feel like Hallmark has done another outstanding movie for all us mystery buffs and I hope we see many more of them!
Editor’s Note: Many may remember Holly Robinson Peete from the TV show 21 Jump Street and Rick Fox can be seen as a reoccurring character on the show Greenleaf.
You can check out KRL’s reviews of other mystery movies on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel in our mystery section. You can also check out the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel website to learn more and check out their schedule for more new movies coming soon.
I’m really enjoying most of their new mysteries and would like to read this one!
Thank you, Doward! This is something that I will definitely be checking out. I think I’d like to read the books, too, but my TBR list is so long that God only knows when I’ll get to it! It means a lot when someone you trust is doing a review!
I would like to watch this Hallmark movie.
Thanks so much for telling us about these cable TV movies. This one sounds terrific, Doward.
I liked it this one and Darrow and Darrow I really hope they make both of these a series cause morning show was good