by Doward Wilson
Hallmark’s newest entry in their movies and mystery channel is the three-part Chronicle Mysteries. Recovered, The Wrong Man, and Vines That Bind are the new episodes starring Alison Sweeney as Alexandra ‘Alex’ McPherson and Benjamin Ayres as Drew Godfrey. Alex returns to her small town summer home in Pennsylvania to investigate cold cases for her true crime podcast. Drew is the local newspaper editor for the Harrington Chronicle who is tasked with assisting Alex with her investigations by the newspaper’s owner.
Alison Sweeney is best known for her twenty-one year stint on NBC’s soap opera Days Of Our Lives and for playing Hannah Swenson in Hallmark’s Murder She Baked film series based on Joanne Fluke’s books. Benjamin Ayres is a Canadian actor best know for his role as Dr. Zach Miller on the CTV series Saving Hope.
In Recovered, Alex is investigating a twenty-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of her friend Gina DeSavio, a waitress at the local country club. Gina’s car was found wrecked after leaving her shift at the country club, but no body was ever found nor had anyone heard from her in twenty years.
As Alex and Drew continue their investigation another death occurs, this one involving one of the last people to see Gina. There is lots of action as the investigation heats up to the final moments when a twenty-year-old murder is uncovered that is tied to Gina’s disappearance.
In The Wrong Man, Alex is investigating the death of a young woman lawyer whose body was just discovered in the woods. Her husband, Mike Thurman, had been tried and acquitted for the murder sans the body, but suspicions still follow him. Mike approaches Alex asking her to find his wife’s real murderer and clear his name completely. Drew, in the meantime, is investigating a new river shipping company with mob connections. When their investigation ties the shipping company mobster to the murdered lawyer, Alex and Drew work together to get all the clues figured out.
In the third installment of the Chronicles Mysteries Vines That Bind, Alex, Drew, and other staff members are in nearby Macklin at a friend’s winery. They are investigating the death of the winery’s owner which the police have ruled as accidental, but they think is murder. As the investigation proceeds, the winery’s older son is shot dead, and the second son is arrested for the crime. The suspect list continues to grow as they investigate the farm next door to the winery which has an animal waste problem that is impacting the winery. A former employee and the winery owner’s grand daughter are both suspects, as is a trust fund baby who is an environmentalist in the area. Someone tries to kill Alex which only makes her more determined to solve the case.
I really loved this trilogy of mystery movies. It was nice to see so many familiar faces among the supporting cast, all from other Hallmark mystery movies. Each part of the trilogy had a separate storyline, all of them were extremely well done with complex murder plots and surprise endings. I loved this newest entry in Hallmark Movies and Mysteries lineup. I highly recommend all three of them to any cozy or mystery fan.
You can check out KRL’s reviews of other mystery movies on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, including some very recent ones, in our mystery section. You can also go to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel website to learn more and check out their schedule for more new movies coming soon.
Join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Don’t forget to check out KRL’s new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors!
I loved this series too! I hope there will be a lot more to come.