One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

One of the problems with most of these amateur detective series is that they always make it seem like the police are doing practically nothing. Actually this series is better than most in that regard. Mike is often ahead of Hannah. But sometimes not.In this episode (if you will), Hannah discovers what appears to be a key clue which Mike acknowledges is helpful. If that's true, Mike is a poor detective. One of the first things modern detectives do is canvas for that particular clue.Other than that, this is still a decent story. There is some romance too, in the form of a potential love triangle. The characters are appealing, especially Alison Sweeney as Hannah. While none of these actors will win an Oscar or Emmy, the acting is good enough to enjoy the story.

The small town of Eden Lake in rural northern Minnesota is rapidly becoming the murder capital of the stat per capita. Fortunately they have an able amateur sleuth in the person of Alison Sweeney bakery proprietor and creator of the region's best baked goods. Other than the film is set at Christmas time and plum pudding has come down to us through Charles Dickens as a Yuletide delicacy and someone urges Sweeney to put it on the menu plum pudding really has nothing to do with the story.But Christmas sure does. Kirby Morrow has opened a seasonal business the Elf's Christmas Yard where he sells Christmas trees. He winds up shot to death and of course it's Alison Sweeney along with town dentist Larry Hogan who finds him. After that no matter how much she's warned no keeping this woman away from a homicide she discovered.As it turns out Morrow was one sleazy conman and a lot of people have reason not to mourn him. He's got a long estranged wife in town who hosts a radio show about romantic advice and a current fiancé who invested heavily in the business. And there are others.I have to say in the end I felt a lot sympathy for the perpetrator. A good lawyer could get the person off.Sweeney has been wavering between Hogan and police detective Cameron Mattison in the various Murder She Baked films. Whomever she marries I see a Lucy/Ricky like relationship with her being constantly warned you can't get into the homicide investigation.And when she does she'll have a lot of 'splainin' to do.

The title suggested something fluffy and sickly sweet, but I found this and the other MSB entries engaging and interestingly complex. The casting is great and I see Allison Sweeney as a lovely and intelligent actress. I appreciate the fact that she is obviously not a size 2, another believable aspect of her character-as-baker. Her sweet cat with its soft disposition, pretty eyes, and round face mirror the beauty of its owner. Cameron Mathison (sp?) and she have strong chemistry which builds nicely throughout each episode while the character of Norman makes for a suitable romantic alternative waiting in the wings. Throw in Hannah's neurotically romantic mother and slightly competitive but supportive sister and you have a skilled and pitch-perfect ensemble cast. I'm a big fan now and consider the series a new addition to my list of guilty pleasures.

I enjoy Joanne Fluke's cozy mysteries including the Hannah Swensen novels set in Lake Eden, Minnesota. Now I suspect The Hallmark Channel cranks out TV films on the cheap and definitely by the barrel full; but if you are filming a movie set in a Minnesota winter, the set shouldn't look like summer in California.As for the story, a couple has opened up a Christmas tree shop, and Hannah supplies cookies to their site, The Crazy Elf. As Hannah drops off some cookies she notices that the owner, Larry Jaeger, seems to get involved in a fight. Then Courtney Miller, Larry's partner is observed getting upset when the bookkeeper drops off the results of an audit. Hannah stops by the tree lot at night to pick up a check and discovers Larry's dead body on the floor with his hand clutching an envelop with Hannah's name on it. And there is a complicating revelation: local radio personality Dr. Love is actually Larry's wife; and he had disappeared on her and thus she was never able to serve him with divorce papers.So Hannah is on the case going from place to place with cookies in hand to "bribe" people into giving her privileged information. And of course Hannah is romantically torn between the town dentist, Norman Rhodes, and detective Mike Kingston. And while both "boyfriends" would prefer she stop looking for murderers, there's not a chance she will. So you need a clue: things aren't always black and white.For the romantics: Norman gets a peck but Mike gets a KISS.