by Coco Ihle

In the third week in October, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries premiered a delightful two-hour non-murder mystery called Darrow and Darrow. It apparently will be an ongoing series with the next episode premiering in January 2018.

Claire Darrow, played by Kimberly Williams-Paisley, is a small town lawyer following in her late father’s footsteps in the law firm he established. She is an idealist and fights for justice regardless of her budget requirements. So when a friend and local donut shop owner is accused of a jewelry store robbery, Claire comes to the rescue. Proving his innocence isn’t as easy as she thought, and it becomes complicated by the sudden arrival of estranged mother, Joanna, played by Wendy Malick, and the talented, funny and charming, opposing council, District Attorney Miles Strasberg, played by Tom Cavanagh, who keeps asking Claire out on dates.

After Joanna’s husband died, she moved to New York City and started her own successful and lucrative law career, but has fallen on hard times. She comes home to ask her daughter if she can join her daughter’s law firm as a partner. Joanna and Claire are completely different people, clash at every corner, and Claire is extremely hesitant about this proposed merger. Add in the fact that Joanna and Claire’s 12 year-old daughter, Louise, played by Lilah Fitzgerald, are very close, and since Louise is finding it difficult to make friends in school because of her perceived nerdiness, Claire is a little uneasy about her mother’s influence on Louise.

This movie will touch you, make you laugh, and maybe even bring a tear to your eye as love triumphs and brings these three generations together as Claire races against the clock to find the real culprit. I’m eager to see the next episode. Hallmark Movies and Mysteries will show the original Darrow and Darrow before the new one premiers, so don’t worry if you missed the first one.

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 movies.

Coco Ihle’s debut mystery, She Had to Know, has autobiographical elements involving two reunited long-lost sisters’ harrowing adventures in Scotland. Coco spent over fifty years searching for her sister and found her in 1994. In her former career, she was an internationally known belly dancer who was privileged to perform in Greece, Turkey, Mexico, Spain, Hawaii, and for appearances with Today Show’s Willard Scott, actors Cliff Robertson and Whoopie Goldberg. She was a magazine staff writer, fund raiser for many charities, and an instructor at Auburn University. A contest won her a spot in the Florida Writers Association anthology, From Our Family to Yours, published in 2009. In 2012, anthology, Novel Writing Tips and Techniques, was published with Coco as a contributing author. Coco is a member of MWA, SinC, FWA, the Alma Society, and Clan Buchanan of Scotland. She lives near Tampa, Florida.