Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe (2016 TV Movie) User Reviews (13)

Who killed the chief?

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 1 July 2016]

I think we all have a secret fantasy to show up the police at their job. A movie like Murder She Baked: A Deadly Recipe plays right into that. Also playing into that fantasy were such shows as Murder She Wrote, Mrs. Wainthropp Investigates. And who more than Agatha Christie did that when she created Jane Marple?

Alison Sweeney of Days Of Our Lives has created an interesting character in Hannah Swenson, owner of a small town bakery who likes to dabble in police business. She probably gets away with a lot because like Jane Marple her instincts are right. And she bakes such delicious goods no one wants to incarcerate her especially the cops who love her delivery of them to the station.

But Sweeney is involved in a bad one. Someone murdered the chief of police in the parking lot of the police station. Ty Olsson who plays the victim was not loved by his staff, is in a campaign for re- election, has a messy personal life, and on top of that is getting close to an auto theft ring that's been plaguing his town. So there's a lot of people who have motives.

With Cameron Mathison as one of the deputies who likes Sweeney's instincts and her in general, but gives her some kind of official cover for her own investigations while warning her of the consequences of interfering with police business the two make a good team.

I have to say in the end the motive for the slaying was truly bizarre and the perpetrator a pitiable figure. I can't say more other than the perpetrator gives a great and subtle performance.

My first exposure to this series of which this is the fourth film made for the Hallmark Channel. Sweeney's character is a winning and an interesting one.

Hallmark mystery featuring two soap stars

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 25 June 2016]

Allison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison star in "Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe" on Hallmark channel. In this mystery series, Sweeney plays Hannah Swenson, who owns a bakery, The Cookie Jar, in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and she has a penchant for solving mysteries.

This time, it's the town sheriff who has been murdered, and his deputy, Hannah's brother-in-law, is a suspect.

Hannah gets to work trying to clear her brother-in-law, but as she does so, she finds herself in danger.

All My Children's Cameron Mathison plays Mike, a police officer, who is crazy about Hannah. He has some competition, but it looks like he's winning.

This was slow, but okay, with decent acting. The leads are pleasant. One thing I noticed was that not everyone had a Hollywood figure - I guess it was the bakery influence. It's a good influence.

For trivia buffs, the director is Kristoffer Tabori, a former actor who is the son of Viveca Lindfors and Don Siegel. Viveca had a stage and film career, and Don Siegel? He directed the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

You are irresistible, but you are less irresistible when you break your promise to me.

[cgvsluis · 7/10 · 21 February 2021]

This is the fourth and very busy entry in the cosy mystery series Murder She Baked.

It starts with Hannah getting nocked down by a potential car thief, the race for sheriff involving Hannah's brother-in-law, and then Hannah and her very pregnant sister finding the body of the current sherif.

Bill, Hannah's brother-in-law, becomes the prime suspect as the competitor to the current sheriff in this year's election.

Norman, the dentist and romantic rival for Hannah is away at a dental conference. This sets up an amusing scene at The Cookie Jar, when Detective Mike grabs the phone from Hannah and chats with Norman...the rivalry continues.

Alison Sweeney and Cameron Mathieson have chemistry for days and it is enjoyable to watch their banter. Our Dentist, Norman...who continues to be almost the perfect man, leaves the dental conference early just to help Hannah investigate.

"I think that no one will be sleeping on that couch tonight."

"For the record, you kissed me."

Great mystery and another must see in the Mystery She Baked Series. (I really wish there were more, but maybe I will try the books.)

Fun fluffy series

[mcv636-1 · 6/10 · 17 September 2020]

The series is enjoyable if not believable. It's fun, fluff mystery. I don't expect it to be cerebral or realistic. I like most of the characters even if their relationships are childish and shallow. My only real concern is that the two actors portraying the competing love interests look so much alike that I can't tell who she's with sometimes. I actually thought they might be the same actor or actually twins. Casting could have done a better job with that.

Hacking the keyless system.

[fireman-63830 · 21 May 2019]

There is a huge mistake about how the car thieves stole the cars. They didn't have the keyless system, they used a slim Jim to gain access. Also, the alarm would go off if the door is opened without having the key they came with the car. Another thing, it doesn't matter if they used the access point to override anything, you can't use another key to start the car. Whoever wrote the story line needs to do better research for the movies.

Just okay

[wjspears · 6/10 · 13 September 2021]

This was my least favorite of the five Murder, She Baked movies.

The best part of this episode was the relationship between the sisters--Hannah and Andrea. Andrea is close to having her first baby, and Alison Sweeny and Lisa Durupt play the excitement and frazzled nerves beautifully--particularly as Andrea's husband, Deputy Sheriff Bill Todd (Toby Levins) is being put on temporary suspension and investigated for involvement in the murder of the current sheriff.

Like the episode where Hannah was initially viewed as a suspect in the murder of a rival baker, no one really believes the charge against Deputy Sheriff Todd, but procedures must be followed. This allows for some believable tension to develop between Hannah and Detective Mike Kingston.

For me, the enjoyment of the show is always much less the mystery, than the relationships orbiting around the murders.

The writers, I think made a rare misstep with the relationship between Hannah and Norman--the dentist who was initially in the running for Hannah's affections.

It is pretty clear--if from nothing else than the kissing going on between Hannah and Mike--that Norman has lost the romance sweepstakes to Mike.

When Hannah's house in broken into, Mike arrives to see Norman already there. The writers do a decent job of showing Mike being "put-out" by Norman's presence.

But when Norman announces that he is going to stay overnight on Hannah's couch, to protect her, the writers took the "potential triangle" to Bizzaroland.

The hutzpah Norman would need to have, to make such an pronouncement-- in front of Mike no less--is totally unbelievable, and uncharacteristic of the "Norman" that the writers created.

It doesn't help that the writers then have Hannah react as if both Mike and Norman are acting like schoolboys fighting over who will carry Hannah's books.

Hannah declares herself a modern woman who doesn't need protecting by any man. Later, there is a satisfying scene where Hannah shows that she can take care of herself, and Mike, if the need arises. Still, past episodes show multiple times when Hannah benefitted from Mike looking out for her.

Finally, the resolution to who killed the sheriff feels a bit weak, both in terms of motive and how it happened.

A fairly well baked mystery

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 24 June 2023]

Things are heating up in the little town of Lake Eden, and Hannah (Alison Sweeney) is caught in the middle. Sheriff Grant (Ty Olsson) is up for reelection, and Hannah's brother-in-law, Bill Todd (Toby Levins), is running against him. This is causing quite a bit of friction in the department. While no one likes Grant, he is throwing his weight around and making people more miserable than normal.

Hannah finds herself involved in yet another murder when the sheriff is found dead in the street, her brother-in-law deputy (who was running against the sheriff in the upcoming election) is accused, and a killer is on the loose.

Detective Mike Kingston can be annoying with his repetitive "Hannah, let me do my job! I got this! Don't get involved!", and he knows she isn't going to listen. It's not long before she starts snooping and comes up with the goods. It's cheesy ( I love cheesiness) but fun. If you're looking for something full of overt darkness and cynical world views and realistic police procedurals, then this isn't for you. If you want something light frothy, engaging and enjoyable, then look no further.

Not just bad...really, really excruciating

[GodeonWay · 1/10 · 12 April 2018]

I was looking for a TV movie to watch as a change of pace from my usual vintage Hollywood feature fare. Soon, I was lured by the high IMDB ratings bestowed on Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe. Most of the time, I find the ratings reliable, give or take a couple of points. But not this time. Not by a very long chalk

I always try to be charitable in grading, but this picture marks my first one star rating. Here's why:

• boring and extremely lame plot line, littered with equally boring subplots, capped by a clichéd and predictable resolution to the 'mystery'.

• very unconvincing and uncharismatic performances by ALL the main players

• flat, witless scripting, unattractive sets, humdrum camera work, and a distinct feeling that nobody at all was directing this hodge-podge or really cared about it. Just more fodder for the small screen.

I'd never seen or heard anything about the Murder, She Baked series, but to my mind, anything modeled on the venerable Angela Lansbury series couldn't be too bad.

Boy, was I wrong. Take me back to Mrs. Fletcher and Cabot Cove, any day of the week.

Utter Ridiculous

[MickeyTheConstant · 2/10 · 6 April 2019]

The main issue with this movie was that the lead character was an utterly vile human being. Yes, murder mystery detectives do tend to be nosy busy bodies but she took takes biscuit (excuse the pun). The way she got involved in other people's private affairs and stuck her oar in where it didn't matter was unbelievable. The icing on the cake was her visiting a recently widowed lady, bringing her her dead husbands favourite cakes and asking for a family secret BBQ sauce recipe, whilst she snooped through her mail. Her exchanging recipes at a funeral also was just a tad insensitive!!! The kitchen where she works should also be shut down. So many health and saftety violations with all the staff wearing zero protective gear and quite happy to nibble whatever they like. One lady chomped on half a cupcake and then put the rest back with the others!! Utter tosh

Cast

[judyharl · 2/10 · 26 July 2020]

Alison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison so sickening act like love struck teenagers .really badly written .

Utter nonsense

[tomisfresh · 2/10 · 20 October 2020]

If you're looking for a more realistic, accurate, and engaging crime show to watch - you're better off with Law and Order SVU or Chicago PD. Best to leave this fluffy, sugar-coated "feel good" 0 calorie mystery on the shelf. The reason I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 is because there are some who surprisingly enjoy watching these feel good movies and shows to escape reality. I am not one of those people, hence my opinion.

Miserable casting ruins the show

[JudeTheFilmFan · 1/10 · 27 September 2021]

Liked the books and looked forward to the show but the actors who portray the heroine's two boy friends, Gabriel Hogan & Cameron Mathison, are practically twins. It gets so confusing it drags everything down. I gave up watching it. Have one of the actors grow a mustache or something!

Running for re-election, the Sheriff is found murdered in the street.

[TxMike · 30 May 2023]

These "Murder, She Baked" series of movies will never be mistaken for great movies but they are entertaining, partly because they have to be complete by 85 minutes so there isn't any dragging.

Plus Alison Sweeney, who plays baker Hannah Swensen, is very attractive and very personable. As in the others there is a murder mystery to be solved but that never really takes the focus off the real meat of these movies. Whether Hannah will end up with Mike the Cop or with Norman the Dentist.

In this one Hannah is putting together a book of recipes and part of her mission is to figure out what the "secret ingredient" is in one of them. In the process she also helps figure out who is responsible for the brick to the back of the head of the Sheriff on the eve of the election. There is also a red herring of sorts when a series of car thefts occur. Or was that just part of the Sheriff's re-election effort? The resolution gets a bit complicated, but once again Mike finds that Hannah is helpful in solving the mystery.

We found a set of two DVDs at our public library that contains five of the "Murder, She Baked" movies. We are watching all of them at home.