by Doward Wilson
Mystery 101: Education In Murder is the fifth installment in this Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Signature Mysteries Movie series. Set in a small college town in the Pacific Northwest, Jill Wagner stars as English Professor Amy Winslow who specializes in mystery fiction. When murders occur, she partners with transplanted urban cop Detective Travis Burke played by Kristoffer Polaha. Also offering his take on events is Amy’s bestselling author father, Graham Winslow, played by Robin Thomas.
Two years ago Amy’s colleague at Elmstead College was convicted of killing another English professor by injecting poison into her inhaler in order to steal a rough draft of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. When a young True Crime writer, Ella Quincy, starts interviewing people involved in the case, she pulls Amy and Travis into reopening the cold case over the objections of the retired detective who closed the original case. As the investigation continues the convicted man’s wife and the husband of the murdered woman come under scrutiny. Then Amy discovers another similar murder that took place five years ago. Are the cases connected? When another murder takes place, the cold case really heats up. Can Amy and Travis find the real murderer before someone else dies?
This particular cast of characters work really well together delivering a wonderful performance throughout the entire movie. The chemistry is really there between Amy and Travis as he makes the move to go out on a real date. We get to see their relationship start to develop as we also see what gets in the way of it. The location scenery is great and the supporting cast is also wonderful to watch.
Our second new addition to Hallmark’s Mysteries and Movies lineup is Ruby Herring Mysteries: Prediction Murder, the third in the franchise. Taylor Cole stars as Ruby Herring, who has been newly promoted at her television station to the Crime Beat. Stephen Huszar is Jake Killian the detective who Ruby works with to solve murders. In the series Ruby’s father John has been played by two different actors: Shawn Christian (Taylor Cole’s real-life stepfather) and currently John Wesley Shipp.
Ruby’s first assignment on the Crime Beat is the newly reopened five-year-old cold case of a local physic reader, named Rose, who was gunned down in her shop while doing a reading. When someone leaves Ruby the coordinates to the missing murder weapon, the case gains momentum. Who sent Ruby the clue containing the location of the gun? As Ruby and Jake investigate they meet the man whose wedding was ruined by Rose. Are he and his new wife suspects in Rose’s murder? What about Rose’s competition in the physic business? Is he really innocent as he says or is he hiding something? Another clue is sent to Ruby, and she becomes more deeply involved than Jake would like, but it is too late to do anything but go along with her investigation.
This is another great cast who work really well together. The two stars play off each other really well and that adds a lot to the enjoyment of the storyline. The scenery shots are also well done and add to the atmosphere. I highly recommend both these films to all mystery fans. You can lose yourself in two well written scripts which will keep you guessing right to the end.
You can check out KRL’s reviews of other mystery movies on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel 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! A new episode went up this week.
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