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Reviewing a Pair of Surprise Villainesses from "Francesca Quinn, P.I."

A bloodthirsty pair of murderous villainesses (with a surprising connection) are unveiled in this 2022 Hallmark mystery film

By Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago 7 min read
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The date is September 25, 2022, I am still beaming over the Green Bay Packers' victory (as ugly as it was) over the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and I complete my day by watching Hallmark Movies & Mysteries' latest film, Francesca Quinn, P.I., which stars Mallory Jensen in the title role. I remember learning about this film and beaming, because HM&M had been lacking on the mystery end lately. This was their first mystery film in five months, and their usual film series have been MIA. Another thing I couldn't help but notice was the casting; it was quite refreshing for me to see Mallory Jensen in a heroic role--in the few times I've seen her, she's played her share of evil roles on shows such as Galavant and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.

So the film kicks off with getting to know the key characters, as well as a case they had to work on. A series of murders had struck the small town of St. Benedict, and it wasn't until a therapist was killed that Frankie and company were on the case. Her main partner was detective Wynton Russo, who was also dating Frankie, and as they put the pieces together, they came to a shocking conclusion: the connection to all six victims was one woman, Megan Quinn. The similar surname was the reason for Frankie's shock, as Megan was actually her stepmother, but before that, she was Frankie's high school English teacher. As the evidence revealed, Megan became a villainess and serial killer, with all of the victims she murdered being connected to her workplace. Megan was arrested and convicted, but before her conviction, she outed Wynton and Frankie's relationship.

A year passed, and Frankie was engaged to author Carl Wiseman, who wrote about the trial, but suddenly, Carl was suddenly stabbed to death, and regarding Frankie, she was hired by Carl's sister, Sheryl, to investigate. The case had its share of suspects, including Carl's estranged wife and his business partners, but as the case progressed, it all led back to a familiar road and name: Megan Quinn. Wynton and Frankie's visit with Megan saw her display an air of arrogance before getting to the reason for their visit: Carl had been seeing Megan in prison regarding help for penning a novel of his, later titled, The Foolish Policeman. However, the visits stopped, and Megan voiced her disappointment. Even with the uncomfortable visit, Wynton and Frankie began to resurrect their relationship, but it would take a stunning turn.

Wynton ended up actually arrested and accused of killing Carl, and it was later discovered that a series of threatening letters were sent to Wynton through copies of his book, with the letters centering on Frankie. Plus, the evidence was in Wynton's room, including the blood-covered knife. Frankie was immensely convinced that Wynton was set up, and the further investigation revealed that the prison guard, Harlan Trent, had been a conspirator in the set up, as he sent the books to a P.O. Box, but had no idea who he was sending it to. As it turned out, the P.O. Box belonged to a barista named Sally Gibbons, who was actually dating Wynton. Sally, upon realizing that the proverbial hammer was coming down, left the coffee shop, and the next time we see Sally, she's holding Frankie at gunpoint. She ordered Frankie to lure Wynton to her, which she does, but it's followed by Frankie taking down Sally and arresting her.

But to play off the immortal words of Mel Blanc, "That's not all, folks!" Frankie and Wynton visited Megan again, where it was revealed that while Sally committed the actual murder, it was all under the orders of Megan. As the pair revealed, Megan had wanted revenge on not only Carl, but Wynton and Frankie as well, and her plan included seducing Harlan to get the books so she could write the letters and place them inside. All of this was to portray Carl as a jealous fiance and drive a wedge between Wynton and Frankie, and as for Sally, she had been committing a rash of burglaries, with her victims being her customers, as she would drug them before stealing from them. Among the things Sally took were family photos, as Sally had lost her adoptive mother and wanted to get close to her actual birth mother, who turned out to be none other than Megan.

So when Megan reached out to Sally and enlisted her in this murderous plot, Sally jumped in. She drugged Wynton as part of the plan, and then stabbed Carl to death before planting the evidence on Wynton. Megan attempted to deny everything, but after learning that Sally had confessed to everything after her arrest, Megan attempted to confess to the murder and cover for her daughter, but to no avail.

What an amazing film with a pair of deliciously evil villainesses, who are as follows:

Amy Groening as Sally Gibbons

Sally Gibbons: Sally Gibbons' reveal was quite surprising, even though something told me that this film would feature a second villainess following Megan's unveiling. From what was revealed about her, Sally was quite fiendish, bloodthirsty, and diabolical, going from simple burglaries to actual murder. This was a woman who truly had a dark and evil side hidden behind whatever chipper demeanor she had, and we saw it in full form during her reveal and in the flashback scenes as well. Sally Gibbons was played by Amy Groening, and she truly shined during her character's unveiling, as well as the flashback scenes and the confession. The confession scene, as brief as it was, showed Sally's pain over her loss and her desire to have some semblance of family in her life, but even so, it also showed a desperation to have her actual mother involved in her life.

For those wondering, yes, Amy Groening is related to Matt Groening, the very genius who gave us The Simpsons, Futurama, and Disenchantment. Regarding her credits, Groening appeared in episodes of Reign and Frankie Drake Mysteries, and also appeared in the 2011 comedy, Goon.

Check out Sally Gibbons' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Teryl Rothery as Megan Quinn

Megan Quinn: Oh wow, where do I start?! So in a rare moment, this HM&M film reveals a very sinister villainess within the first five minutes, with Megan Quinn revealed as a serial killer. When I saw this, I thought, "This was very early, what if she's being framed or something?" Nope. It was legit, in more ways than one. I'm still in awe over the deliciousness of this. Megan was a teacher and the stepmother of the main protagonist, but at some point, Megan turned heel and became a serial killer, murdering six victims with different methods. Even after her conviction, Megan masterminded an elaborate and murderous scheme to get revenge on those who (in her mind) had wronged her, and she even enlisted her biological daughter in the plot. So in all, Megan was an evil stepmother, a serial killer, and a murderous criminal mastermind all rolled up into one, and what made this villainess even more awesome was that she was played by a familiar name: Teryl Rothery.

Megan was immensely fiendish; while her early scenes see her attempt to deflect from her murderous actions, we later see Megan in full villainess mode afterwards, as she doesn't really mask her true evil demeanor in her first post-conviction scene. In addition to her villainy, Megan was quite arrogant as well, she really had quite a haughty air about her, but it did crumble during her revelation that she had a biological daughter, as we get our first taste of emotion from the cold-blooded villainess. The only thing that bugs me is we didn't get a true motive for Megan's heel turn, but even so, I enjoyed seeing Rothery in action. This was yet another amazing and chilling performance from Teryl Rothery; all of her scenes were just stellar, and she acted out Megan's arrogance and her villainous persona in absolutely spectacular fashion.

That part is no surprise, as this film marks Teryl Rothery's third time playing a HM&M villainess. She played conspirator Carolyn Harrison in 2018's Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: The Disappearing Game, and a year after that, Rothery appeared as the evil Hannah Kelso in Morning Show Mystery: A Murder in Mind. Rothery has been seen in several films for Hallmark, and regarding TV, she is known for playing Dr. Janet Fraiser on Stargate SG-1, and has appeared on shows such as Eureka, Smallville, Supernatural, and Good Witch.

Check out Megan Quinn's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

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About the Creator

Clyde E. Dawkins

I am an avid fan of sports and wrestling, and I've been a fan of female villains since the age of eight. Also into film and TV, especially Simpsons and Family Guy.

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