Review of Movie-Nelly Knows Mysteries: All Manners of Murder

The Plot

Advice columnist Nelly Parker gets an unusual request from one of her loyal readers. Palmer Arlott, a wealthy rather reclusive heiress who lives in a mansion outside of town, invites Nelly to a family party she is throwing for some estranged family members.

What on Earth? I know…Why? And that is the first question Nelly asked upon receiving the invitation. Apparently Palmer needs Nelly’s advice and moral support when she confronts her family.

Intrigued, and not about to turn Palmer down, a woman who isn’t used to hearing “no” from anyone, Nelly reluctantly agrees. But only if she can take Detective Michael Hogan as a plus one.

Mike thinks this is a date. He has always held a torch for the perky advice columnist. But once they arrive at the party, and the detective discovers he is in a room full of strangers, Nelly reveals to him that this is no date, it is a mission.

In the mean time, Mike’s ex-wife happens to be catering the party. Coincidence? Maybe. Of course, mayhem and murder ensue.

The Actors

You likely recognize Pascale Hutton from “When Calls the heart” on Hallmark. This Canadian stunner got her start in local theater while studying at the University of Alberta. That lead to voice over work which ultimately brought her to episodic television and onto our screens.

She and Kavan Smith who plays a dapper Detective Michael Hogan, share a lot of chemistry on screen, although my husband disagrees. He doesn’t see any fireworks at all.

I think their budding romance keeps the plot light and fun, preventing the story line from getting too intense.

My favorite character has to be Laura Soltis who plays the crusty Palmer Arlott brilliantly. Sometimes actors turn the wealthy recluse into a caricature….Not Laura. She makes Palmer a multi dimensional woman with depth and character.

My Thoughts on this Movie

While I was intrigued by the story line and I thought the acting was spot on, there were too many characters! I get it. You need to have enough people so that the audience doesn’t guess the murderer too soon.

But I got a little confused, and so did my husband. We had to go back and make sure we knew who was who.

That said, the plot twists and red herrings were well thought out. My husband, who prides himself on being able to figure out whodunnit very early on was wrong, wrong, wrong!

He never guessed the real culprit until the very end. And we both had the motivation completely wrong. The red herrings were excellently crafted.

Bravo to the writers. They know how to construct a well produced cozy mystery..No easy task.

I thought the chemistry between Nelly and Michael was electric! The was a lot of romantic tension, and It could feel the warmth between the two.

My husband had the complete opposite reaction. He thought the two leads had zero chemistry. How is it that we both saw the same movie at the same time and had such completely different reactions?

We both thought the clues were clever. And at first, I wondered, what could an advice columnist add to a murder investigation? As we soon learned…plenty.

We will definitely watch the rest of the “Nelly Knows Mysteries” movies.

This series doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves. It belongs right up there with “Garage Sale Mysteries” as far as watchability and connection to the characters.

I give “Nelly Knows Mysteries: All Manners of Murder” four out of five stars. The details that Nelly hones in on and her gutsy determination makes for a fun hour and a half of cozy mystery enjoyment!