Review: Wedding Planner Mystery Based on Deborah Donnelly Series

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Lately, there has been an abundance of movie riches for mystery fans.

The Drop, based on Dennis Lehane’s work, A Walk Among the Tombstones, based on Lawrence Block’s novel, and Gone Girl, based on Gillian Flynn’s thriller, have all made terrific movie transitions.

Those films are solid treatments that do justice to the hard-edged novels.

But sometimes one needs a lighter type of story. That’s why we often crave dessert after a heavy meal. Well, that and because we always want dessert.

And sometimes a rich dessert is just too heavy. We want something light, airy, forgettable, something we don’t have to think about but will enjoy while we’re in the moment. Think about a marshmallow.

And that would be fluffy, marshmallow-like The Wedding Planner Mystery, which premieries at 9 p.m. ET/PT and 8 p.m. CT Sunday Oct. 19 on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. (See the previous story on the Hallmark Channel reboot.)

It’s a lighter-than-air film that, while containing a number of clichés and unrealistic plot twists, is fun to watch. Murder, She Wrote had more memorable plots, but The Wedding Planner Mystery still is enjoyable.

Erica Durance stars as Carnegie Kincaid (Smallville), whose latest event quickly turns tragic when a bridesmaid is murdered, and days later another bridesmaid (Chelan Simmons, Final Destination 3) is kidnapped. The family has been the center of a high-profile fraud scheme, which the media is covering.

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Carnegie is being followed by a news reporter (Andrew W. Walker, When Calls the Heart), accused of plotting the crimes by a detective (Rick Ravanello, True Justice), and romanced by a handsome attorney (Brandon Beemer, The Bold and the Beautiful). She’s also being accused of inflating her bill.

The wedding planning aspects of the story are well handled and the charming Carnegie so winningly played by Durance makes up for a lot.

But this Pacific Northwest town must have the stupidest detectives to make Carnegie a person of interest.

And anyone who has read a mystery—or seen Jessica Fletcher in action—will spot the villains and holes in the plot.

Still, I had a good time watching and would love to see more of these wedding planner mysteries. And that wedding cake actually looked good.

The Wedding Planner Mystery is based on Deborah’s Donnelly’s novel Veiled Threats, the first of her appealing series.
And as I always say, enjoy the film, but read the book.

The Wedding Planner Mystery premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT and 8 p.m. CT Sunday Oct. 19 on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.

Photos: Erica Durance as Carnegie Kincaid
Courtesy Crown Media United States

Oline Cogdill
2014-10-18 15:11:02