Featured DVD Review: Mystery Woman Triple Feature

December 17, 2011

Mystery Woman Triple Feature - Buy from Amazon

Mystery Woman is a TV movie franchise that started in 2003 with Mystery Woman. The first film was a success and it was quickly followed up with ten more films. This two-disc, three-movie DVD was released in Canada last week for just $10 on Amazon.ca, but are the three films worth checking out? Or is the low price the only selling point for the DVD?

First a quick overview of the series. Kellie Martin plays Samantha Kinsey, the owner of Mystery Woman, a book store that specializes in mystery novels. She is not only surrounded by mystery in literary form, but seems to be caught up in countless murder investigations as well. Clarence Williams III plays Philby, a man with a mysterious past who helps her solve crimes, but is not exactly forthcoming about how he knows all that he knows. Nina Siemaszko plays Cassie Hillman, her best friend / A.D.A., who helps her as well, while trying to keep the chief of police, Chief Connors (Casey Sander), off her back.

The three movies start with...

Mystery Weekend

Samantha is holding a Mystery Weekend at he book shop with three mystery novelists who will be signing books. One of these novelists, Clare Beckman (played by Beth Broderick), announces she is retiring from writing and shortly after that is shot at. (She's unhurt, but Cassie is hit in the arm.) At first, Chief Connors thinks Cassie was the target, but the next day when Clare is murdered, the investigation switches focus. The main suspect is Dorthy (Julianna McCarthy), a kindly old woman who is a major fan of mystery novels. There's no way she could have done it, but all the evidence points to her and she is certainly acting suspiciously.

Snapshot

One of Samantha's friends, Barbara Sommers (played by Patty McCormack) is in mourning, because her brother died in a car crash. Samantha accompanies Barbara to the reading of the will, but when she is cut out and left with nothing, not even her share of the company her father had left to the two of them, she's furious. Her brother's lawyer says she signed over her stake in the company, but she's convinced there is a conspiracy afoot. Unfortunately, she's a conspiracy buff, so most people think she's just let her imagination get away from her. However, when she is murdered when coming home, Samantha is determined to get to the bottom of it, no matter how many times people try and scare her off the case.

Sing Me a Murder

Samantha is excited, because her favorite folk group she used to listen to when she was a kid, The Ramblers, is going to be playing in her town as part of a charity tour. In fact, their manager, Jason Hurt, wants to use Mystery Woman Books as a makeshift venue. Samantha immediately agrees. Meanwhile, Philby is acting strange, well, stranger than usual. The setup for the concert is going great, till Jason Hurt is murdered. When Chief Connors looks at the band, Steven, Dan, and Carly, for possible suspects, Carly suddenly admits to the murder.

She's been a little confused for a long time, ever since someone spiked her drink with bad acid, so there's almost no chance her confession is real. However, it's clear there are a lot of secrets the band mates are keeping, almost as many as Jason Hurt himself had.

The Extras

There are no extras on the DVD.

The Verdict

I've been a fan of Kellie Martin for a long time, ever since I saw her in Life Goes On. When I got a chance to review Mystery Woman Triple Feature I jumped at it and I'm glad I did. Grabbing the DVD from Buy from Amazon or Amazon.ca is certainly worth the money.


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