Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend (2005)

She's an avid mystery lover and bookseller, for whom crime has been comfortably confined to the pages of her favorite novels-until a real-life murder turns a weekend of fun and games into a... See full summary »

Director:

Mark Griffiths

Writers:

Michael Sloan (creator), Joyce Burditt

Stars:

Kellie Martin, Clarence Williams III, Nina Siemaszko

Cast

Cast overview:
Kellie Martin	...	Samantha
Clarence Williams III	...	Philby
Nina Siemaszko	...	Cassie
Casey Sander	...	Chief Connors (as Casey Sanders)
Julianna McCarthy	...	Dorothy
Deborah Van Valkenburgh	...	Beth
Paul Satterfield	...	Grant
Michael Chieffo	...	Dan the Florist
Linda Larson	...	Woman #1
Sally Wells Cook	...	Woman #2
Colleen Camp	...	Maura Hobbs
Beth Grant	...	Angela
Beth Broderick	...	Clare Beckman
Shannon Kingston	...	Flashback Clare Beckman (as Shannon Schlussel)
Victor Browne	...	Atty Scott Tyler

Storyline

She's an avid mystery lover and bookseller, for whom crime has been comfortably confined to the pages of her favorite novels-until a real-life murder turns a weekend of fun and games into a chilling whodunit... The quaint mystery bookshop bequeathed to Samantha Kinsey may be struggling, but the idea she's concocted for the weekend should drum up some killer publicity-a book signing by three very popular and very competitive mystery writers: Maura Hobbs, Angela Cooke, and the reclusive Clare Beckman. Unbeknownst to Sam, Clare is using this "mystery weekend" to make the shocking announcement of her retirement. Just as Clare poses for a final career photograph, an ear-shattering gunshot rings out. Clare manages to dodge the bullet, but later falls victim to a cleverly planted poison. Wading through a long list of suspects and motives, Sam manages to uncover a convoluted plot of blackmail, greed, and deceit-a real-life mystery that would have thrilled Clare...had she lived to see it ...

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Taglines:

When it comes to murder, she likes to read between the lines...

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Foniko savvatokyriako

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Entertainment, MAT IV, Alpine Medien Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 120 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Samantha is in Dorothy's house photographing the scrapbook, the story about the killing of Lilly's mother contains a ton of errors. They show only the first few lines, but in the story it says the McClean family was going to move to Nova Scotia. That's two errors right there. First of all, it was the Mcizik family that was going to move and second, they were moving to London. They already lived in Nova Scotia. Another error was that the article called Lilly "Beth McIzik." Beth was her alias not her real name.

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Connections

Followed by Mystery Woman: Snapshot (2005)

User Reviews

An enjoyable if typical mystery genre movie from Hallmark

Samantha Kinsey is the owner of the Mystery Woman bookstore in her small town. As part of the store's ongoing role within the community, Samantha and Philby organise a Mystery Weekend that involves readings and book signings from several famous mystery authors – including the elusive Claire Beckman. During the event though someone apparently tries to shoot Beckman, with only her good fortune meaning the bullet misses her and hits Sam's friend (Assistant DA Cassie) in the arm. The police are called and a gun is found but things are confused when it is registered to a local woman who wouldn't hurt a fly and appears to have no motive. Seduced by the mystery and that the crime happened in her shop Sam investigates.

This was my first pass at this Hallmark mystery series and considering the channel it was on and from, I didn't have great hopes for it but felt confident that it would deliver a solid mystery in a solid, TVM-style manner. And so it was with this lively if unlikely mystery film with a typically unusual detective in the lead – in this case a young woman with her own book store and an eye for the suspicious, it's all a bit "Murder She Wrote: The College Years" but it is OK. The plot is nicely laid out, of course it is full of holes but it will do the job for genre fans and those used to Hallmark mystery tvm's. The tone is light but enough of an air of mystery to make it work and generally the direction is OK – which is more than acceptable for this type of thing.

The cast are all reasonably alright. Martin is cute and, although an unlikely bookstore owner, is fun and lively in the lead role – like I said "The College Years". Williams was a strange find and he didn't have a great deal to do – he wasn't helped by not having a really clear character to work with. Siemaszko was OK in her minor role but Sander was about as stiff as I've seen a person. Support is mixed but does the job; hard to find turns from Browne and Satterfield anything other than forgettable while Broderick is a bit too hammy and obvious.

Overall this is an OK mystery film that should be enjoyed by those who enjoy the films Hallmark shows and produces. It is nothing that special of course but it does the job and is entertaining if you are in the mood. The direction and cast match the material and it was good enough for me to justify trying the Mystery Woman series again if I get the chance.