by Kathleen Costa
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries shines brightly with several returning and new mysteries to excite their fans. Alison Sweeney is back as Hannah Swensen after a near two-year break, and she’s joined by co-stars Cameron Mathison, Gabriel Hogan, and Barbara Niven to maintain the entertaining continuity. Although the original “Murder, She Baked” title, a nod to Jessica Fletcher’s Murder, She Wrote, was replaced with “A Hannah Swensen Mystery” in the last movie, Sweet Revenge (2021), the premise and main characters are the same along with narratives equating baking to life. There are a few changes with The Cookie Jar having moved to a larger storefront (less intimate in my opinion), the middle sister and her detective husband took the baby and moved away, and the younger sister Michelle, a reporter/photographer, is now Hannah’s roommate. The series still maintains its popularity and Carrot Cake Murder will be well received by fans … another movie is set for later this year. 
Even small towns like, Eden Lake, can be the site of community uproar. The Steiner building, a longtime landmark, has been taken over by a developer and residents don’t want to see it destroyed. Their protest is more vocal, than violent, so they were loud in their excitement when a reprieve is granted by a judge and, for now, construction stops.
Norman Rhodes is a good son and planning a surprise for his mother’s birthday at his friend Eugene Crenshaw’s restaurant with Hannah supplying a favorite dessert: Carrot Cake. But, things don’t go as planned when his mother is a no-show making a last minute decision to go on a seven-island cruise. But, don’t fear, in her absence, the guests had a great time. After the party, due to the late hour, Norman escorts Hannah back to her shop to drop off her wares, but as they pass the Steiner building, they’re rocked by an explosion. They race inside to lend assistance. They smell gunpowder and see smoke, but find no one needing their help. They do find a hole in the wall leading into the elevator shaft and inside … a d skeleton 
The ID on the body indicates it is that of Gerry McDowell, a low rent thief who, after the Landry jewel robbery in 1995, disappeared. His involvement in the robbery is supported by an expensive broach found in the pocket. The statute of limitations has ran out on robbery, and Hannah disagrees the police aren’t considering murder. She, of course, decides to investigate if only to give closure to the victim’s family. Mike Kingston, the head detective and Hannah’s fiancé, agrees to let her move forward, but she can’t push into his bomb investigation. Giving Hannah limited carte blanche on an investigation still has its risks, misunderstandings, and peril, but will Mike’s need to follow protocol and Hannah’s need for answers be a problem? Can they survive … literally and figuratively?
Carrot Cake Murder Earns 5/5 Boxes of Cookies … Engaging, but Misses Just Slightly!
Hannah Swensen Mystery series is the epitome of a cozy mystery. The storyline encompassed many avenues for Hannah, her compadres, and the police to explore, and arm-chair detectives, like me, to ponder: the developer, his plans for the Steiner building, and the contractors, a decades old robbery and the victim’s family and friends, and a shocking revelation about one of Hannah’s friends muddles the picture. Of course, exposed backgrounds, a mysterious key, and curious video clues lead Hannah into trouble with a stalker and a couple of attempts on her life, but it all concludes with a reasonable, yet surprise, arrest. 
It was enjoyable having a new Hannah Swensen movie airing (one more in the works), and fans will be thrilled. I loved the consistencies with setting and characters, involvement of family in research and undercover schemes, and the idea that lips can be loosened with a box of cookies. It does defy some logic, more than I like, for Hannah’s interest in snooping taking over her day, and night, but somehow The Cookie Jar is still a successful business … only in a cozy mystery, I suspect. I was, however, not happy with the final twist in the relationship between Hannah and Mike. No spoilers, but she should know better! I continue to like this series with its clever intrigue, multiple suspects, and a happy ending for some. Only Hannah can use cookies to catch a killer!
The movies are based on Joanna Fluke’s Hannah Swensen Mystery series, but in this case, it is not at all an adaptation. I “listened” to the audio version of this tenth book in the series, Carrot Cake Murder (2008), narrated by the talented Suzanne Toren, and found it totally different from the movie. Sure, some of the same characters were involved and Hannah is as singleminded and prone to trouble when investigating a murder, but cookie talk gets more air time with full recipes (bakers will want the ebook or print copy for this reference), it’s summer, and there’s excitement over a family reunion of almost one hundred arriving in Lake Eden. And you know what happens when a cozy mystery has so many family members gathering together … there’s a murder! A long absent uncle shows up unexpectedly and ends up murdered. Earns 5/5 Carrot Cakes.
Set Your DVR!
Friday, June 2 — The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango
“Constance Bailey is a no-nonsense detective who prefers to work alone. Detective Bailey is sent undercover [at a high stakes ballroom competition] as one of the contestants [to solve a murder]. The only problem? She can’t dance. To convincingly compete, she must team up with charismatic and free-spirited performer Sebastian Moore. But … it’s going to take more than a little fancy footwork to solve this case. Starring Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp.”
Friday, June 9 — Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New
“Young Aurora Teagarden returns home to Lawrenceton after college to pursue her post-grad degree and finds herself embroiled in a mystery involving her friend Sally’s fiancé. Starring Skyler Samuels, Evan Roderick and Marilu Henner.”
Watched the first two and was disappointed in Hannah’s decision at the end, but Mike should have known better. I haven’t read the latest and will be interested in seeing how far it differs as you said.