I am so excited to post my very first review of a movie in the Cozy Mysteries genre! I never even knew this was a genre of movies and books until recently. I have turned into an avid reader this year and I was trying to think of books I want to read (as if I didn't already have a long list).
Then it dawned on me. My best friend, Stephanie, was an avid reader. I remembered that she used to read a series of books centered around food and each book in the series had a recipe in it. I did an online search and I thought I found the correct series, but to be sure I called her mom. When I told her mom the author I found, she knew right away that was the one! It was then that I discovered Cozy Mysteries is a genre.
Well it turns out some of those books in that series have been made into movies. The first one was released in 2015, five years after Stephanie passed away. So she never got to see them during her time on Earth. Of course I knew right away I had to add all six movies to my must-see movies list and I know Stephanie will be watching and enjoying each one with me.
I had planned on skipping around and picking and choosing certain ones to watch at different times of the year, but I learned that each one picks up where the previous one left off. So to fully understand the storyline, I'll need to watch them in order.
#1 is "Murder She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery". It is exactly as I thought it would be in that it has that wholesome Hallmark vibe, but with a murder mystery to solve. It isn't gory nor scary and there is no foul language in it, so I could enjoy it to the fullest.
I watched this movie twice. The first time I got the overall gist of it, but I lost track of who some of the characters were, especially the suspects. When I watched it a second time, everything clicked. This is no fault to the movie. I often do this with movies that require more thinking than others.
The movie (and I presume the entire series) takes place in the small town of Lake Eden, Minnesota. I have been to Minnesota and it's a beautiful state. It's the perfect setting for a cozy movie, even if it does have murder mysteries to solve in it.
Hannah Swensen is a baker at The Cookie Jar. She is single and lives with her cat. Unlike a lot of movies, her cat is portrayed in a positive light. She confides in her cat and turns to the cat for comfort. And her cat even responds to her with some friendly meows. It is clear that she has a close relationship with her cat, which warmed my heart. There are times when it even looks like the cat his hugging her.
When Hannah's good friend is murdered, she takes matters into her own hands and tries to solve the mystery herself. She has help from a detective who is new in town after losing his wife, but Hannah takes the lead in solving the mystery (much to the detectives dismay).
In the midst of the investigation, there's a budding romance. Two actually. By the end of the movie, Hannah has two dates for the same night, one with the new detective and one with a dentist who is also new to the area. Ooops! She doubled-booked, but she doesn't seem upset about this. The movie ends before the dates, so I guess we'll have to wait until the next movie to see how they went.
Hannah Swensen is played by Alison Sweeney and Detective Mike Kingston is played by Cameron Mathison. The two of them as the lead characters have great chemistry and I know I will continue to enjoy seeing them in future movies together. In fact, Cameron Mathison used to play a main character on a soap opera I used to watch. He was one of my favorite actors on the soap, so I'm happy to see him again! All of the supporting characters are also delightful to watch, so I look forward to seeing them in future movies as well.
This being a murder mystery, I must add that the mystery is solved at the end of the movie. It wasn't without twists and turns, however. It also captures that small town vibe, all of this making it a true cozy mystery. The length of the movie is also perfect, at just under 90 minutes. I can't wait to watch the rest of the movies in the series and to read the books!
Click here to read my review of "Murder, She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery".
Click here to read my review of "Murder, She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery".
Click here to read my review of "Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe".
Click here to read my review of "Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts".
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