A Zest for Death: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (2023)

🍄🍄🍄🍄

A Zest for Death is the third installment in the Hannah Swensen Mystery series, but the eighth movie overall if you include the Murder, She Baked series. A Zest for Death is loosely inspired by Lemon Meringue Pie Murder, by Joanne Fluke. This is the fourth book in the ongoing Hannah Swensen Mystery series.

In A Zest for Death, Hannah (Alison Sweeney) and her mother, Delores (Barbara Niven), are assisting Hannah's sister, Michelle (Tess Atkins), in finding a home. Things turn deadly when a body is discovered. Hannah is convinced that the authorities are focusing on the wrong suspect, so she does what Hannah does. She dives deep into the investigation to undercover the truth.

A Zest for Death is a strong installment in this series. While the previous two movies had a slightly darker tone, this one felt more light and airy - a lot like the original Murder, She Baked series. Even the music felt more like the Murder, She Baked movies, although I still like the original music the best.  It also helped that Andrea (Lisa Durupt) returned for a visit. I knew she was returning, as this was well-advertised, but I was hoping she was coming to stay. It looks like she was just there for a visit, but a short visit is better than not having her there at all. Her character adds a delightful element to these movies.

The previous movie left us with a cliffhanger and that was addressed in this installment in a satisfying way. The love triangle in the books is ongoing, so it's no surprise that the romance element in the movies is also ongoing. I like that this was touched on in A Zest for Death, but that it did not overpower the mystery. 

I did figure out who the killer was before the dead body was even found, and that is my only reason for not giving this movie five stars. Hallmark tends to follow a formula in many of their mysteries and this was no different. Once I identified the killer there was nothing in the movie that made me change my mind. It would have been good to be surprised. However, despite knowing the whodunnit, I still enjoyed finding out the motive and means. The journey was fun and I was still surprised at the turn of events at the end.

A new character was introduced in this installment, while another one who appeared in all of the previous movies was not present at all. The new character is someone who appeared in one of the books and I'm curious to see where Hallmark is going with this in the movies. 

There is so much material to work with in these movies and I do hope it continues for a long time. Although the movies are based on the books, I never expect them to be the same. I enjoy both the movies and the books as separate forms of entertainment.

 

Although I haven't given all of the movies five stars, it continues to be my favorite mystery series on Hallmark. It's the reason why I became so interested in Hallmark movies in general, so it will always be the series nearest and dearest to my heart.