Nelly Knows Mysteries: A Fatal Engagement

Nelly has a lot of energy. She is very social and pokes around and is admonished by the policeman investigating. Such fun ensues! Since she is a confidante of many in her small town, she has an advantage. The cop eventually tolerates the way she pops up at crime scenes. Nelly is an advice columnist for the local paper but she spends a great deal of time tracking down leads for the whodunnit in this movie. So many red herrings. They must work hard to ferret out the unlikely criminals. Kavan and Pascale are the lead actors and have great chemistry! Really enjoyed this movie!!! Can't wait to see the next one in this series!

This movie was like a train wreck, just couldn't look away. The female lead was a flake and way over the top. No one is that cheerful all the time. The new cop wasn't a whole lot better. He had no backbone, and never said no. I've never seen a policeman act like that in real life ever. I know I won't watch any additional installments. I really can't imagine how this got anything above one star because I did take the time to read a few of them. Some people felt that this was refreshing. I think if I had a friend like that, I wouldn't have a friend like that! If there were a lot of policemen like the male lead, no crimes would ever get solved.

Why is HM&M's trending toward stinkers? Who is clamoring for barely there plot lines and overacting leads? Not me. The scene where the character is calling the police after finding a body was so fake and phony, I have second hand embarrassment for those involved in directing/writing/acting this scene. Jazz. Ramsey was slightly better than this, at least the actress was believable as the character. The last few movies have been fluff-fests showcasing young, pretty actresses with lousy lines and questionable taste in clothing. Very disappointed since I had to upgrade my cable just to get this channel. I am glad to see a new Hannah Swenson mystery will be premiering in Oct. Hopefully the channel can redeem themselves.

This is the best Hallmark mystery in years! Dare I say it this film is right there with Aurora Teagarden, Garage Sale, Flowershop, Murder She Baked (old ones). First of all it's a Hallmark mystery so there goes logic and reality. It's a given that a police officer doesn't arrest the nosy lady that meddles with the investigation. It's a given that a woman who writes a column for a local paper in a small town can afford a big house and a nice car. The list goes on, and on, and on... The thing that matters in this films is charisma of the protagonist and the chemistry between two leads. And there's plenty of that. Nelly had everything to annoy the hell out of me, and yet she didn't. Her upbeat personality is actually fun to watch. Yes, she's TOO MUCH, but I really believed she was like that. Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith do work great together! That banter is funny, natural, and not forced! The town is quite nice and cozy, but sometimes traffic seems to be too much. Anyway the setting is lovely. Not my favourite, but I'm ready to see it again. The mystery is OK. Not brilliant, but OK. Of course there are goofs and inconsistency. But again: I expect it from a Hallmark mystery. But mostly I expect a cozy mystery with cute leads that will make me smile. This film did make me smile (even laugh!). Brilliant installment, make more of them. Ditch the singing Jane, True justice, fake K-9, fake Aurora, etc. They are really bad, this one is actually well written, and the actors are magical together.

This is the best Hallmark mystery in years! Dare I say it this film is right there with Aurora Teagarden, Garage Sale, Flowershop, Murder She Baked (old ones). First of all it's a Hallmark mystery so there goes logic and reality. It's a given that a police officer doesn't arrest the nosy lady that meddles with the investigation. It's a given that a woman who writes a column for a local paper in a small town can afford a big house and a nice car. The list goes on, and on, and on... The thing that matters in this films is charisma of the protagonist and chemistry between two leads. And there's plenty of that. Nelly had everything to annoy the hell out of me, and yet she didn't. Her upbeat personality is actually fun to watch. Yes, she's TOO MUCH, but I really believed she was like that. Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith do work great together! That banter really is funny, natural, and not forced! The town is quite nice and cozy, thought sometimes traffic seems to be too much. Anyway the setting is lovely. Not my favourite, but I'm ready to see it again. The mystery is OK. Not brilliant, but OK. Of course there are goofs and inconsistency. But again: I expect it from a Hallmark mystery. But mostly I expect a cozy mystery with cute leads that will make me smile. This film did make me smile (even laugh!). Brilliant installment, make more of them. Ditch the singing Jane, True justice, fake K-9, fake Aurora, etc. They are really bad, this one is actually well written, and the actors are magical together.

Normally I like any movie with Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith - they have a great chemistry and seem to really like each other, and their characters are appealing. But that's different here. I feel like Hallmark is trying to replace Aurora Teagarden with the odious Cameron Bure, who's gone on to her own movie studio that won't show anything that might upset conservative viewers. And even aside from the political aspect, the character was shrill, arrogant, and not terribly bright. And unfortunately, that is what I see in Hutton's character in this movie. Hutton's character even speaks, and is dressed and made up much like that other actor. If this is the first in a series, I hope they'll dial back those unfortunate aspects of the character and let Pascale and Kavan generate the same great relationship that they've had in other movies. If Hallmark does that, this series could be a winner. But don't try to replace the series that has moved on.

I usually don't write reviews but I love When calls the heart and thought I would check it out. I was shocked at how bad it was. Pascale played Nelly as Rosemary in modern day clothing, and I don't mean good clothing either. Kavan was his usual self, trying his best to get through this and tried to make it believable. Pascale needs to tone it down, she kept saying 'oh' for no reason at all, who directed her to do that. It was Ned Flanders in a skirt, so annoying. I honestly wish I had something good to say but no. Even the music was ridiculous. I can't believe they were proud to promote this. I won't be watching her in another Hallmark movie.

Nellie over acted in this show. I kept thinking as I watched it that she was on laughing gas, or maybe somebody was goosing her. She was just plain overacting. I am not sure why she was so giddy, but I believe it ruined the show and made it difficult to watch. We gave up and moved on, as in deleted it and any future shows. Maybe she wasn't the right actor, maybe the script was too silly, maybe it was just a garbage idea. On the positive side, the location worked, the scenery worked, I think the storyline could maybe have worked too. But, unfortunately, the star didn't make the cut. So my recommendation is to give this nonsense a hard pass. The rating of '2' is because it was in color.

Nelly is the town of Babelton's local newspaper's beloved advice columnist. She is played by the lovely Pascale Hutton, who fast talks and sweet talks her way through solving the small town murder after she stumbles upon the body. The new to town Detective Michael is played by Hutton's When Calls The Heart husband Kavan Smith. These two are gold together. Nelly is not only observant, but knows the town of Babelton (and everyone in it) like the back of her hand. She's positive, upbeat and dogged which convinces DetectiveMichael to eventually throw in the towel and try to work with her instead of compete with her. My favorite two scenes take place in Helen's diner between Nelly and Michael...in the first Michael joyfully eats pancakes for dinner and in the second we are told the story of the death of Nelly's childhood sweetheart and fiancé in the explanation of how her positive outlook is a choice. That was the most humanizing part of this relatively lighthearted mystery. I liked the colors and I loved the jazz music that accompanied the mystery. It came across as a little campy and I loved it. It looks like this might be the start of a new series and I for one would tune in for more. This is a recommendation from me to Hallmark mystery series fans.

This was the second new Hallmark mystery I've watched this year where there seemed to be a stronger focus on the romance aspect between the leads. Jazz Ramsey being the other. Definitely more of a RomCom than a straight mystery. I got the feels from some of the earlier Aurora Teagarden movies. I enjoyed this and thought that the ending was twisty in a way that wasn't fully predictable. The reasoning behind the motive was a bit weak though and I'm still not entirely clear on how they tied it all together. Still, I'd watch this as an ongoing series. One of the better films I've seen Hallmark Mystery attempt this year.