source: Curious Caterer: Dying for Chocolate

source: Dying for Chocolate

Moviecut—Dying for Chocolate

Best Hallmark mystery movie so far for 2022-I love the Nikki/Andrew pairing and know their movies have done well with ratings in the past. Hoping to see more movies to this series in the future!

Andrew and Nikki have great chemistry but it's hard to take Andrew seriously in this role. Not sure if I can believe that he's a big city cop. I didn't predict the killer from the beginning which is a pro for me. I think I'd like to see at least 1 more of these movies to truly make up my mind if this should be a series.

This was an interesting cast of characters held together by the two leads...Detective Tom Schultz and divorced single mom/caterer Goldie. First in what I assume is a new series, this was just a little rough around the edges...but showed promise. The mystery itself was decent enough that my initial suspect was not the killer, which I really appreciated. The story starts at Goldie's first catering gig for her daughter's private schools' boosters. There you meet the cast of characters, new potential suitor and school teacher, doctor ex-husband, florist and business partner, best friend-school and private counselor...and murder victim, wealthy parent and maybe jealous spouse, and community donor and new enterprise venturer. Goldie's best friend, who is in attendance, says she has something she wants to talk to her about...but in private, so they agree to meet at her house after the event. On the way there is a road block due to an accident where it turns out Goldie's friend has driven her car off of a cliff to her death...this is where we meet the new to town Detective Tom Schultz. As is typical with these types of Cody mysteries...Goldie starts poking her nose in to things, only to be warned away by the detective. Decent enough story and chemistry between our two leads that I will tune in for the next one...but they have a long way to go before they catch up to my three favorite detective series on Hallmark...Hannah Swensen's Murder She Baked, Aurora Teagarden, and Mystery 101.

This is a few cuts above "Cut, Color, Murder ", (pun intended) but doesn't come close to "Mystery 101". Nikki Deloach and Andrew Walker are very good together in their other Hallmark productions, but this one misses the mark. Andrew Walker's character appears gaunt and distracted. He seems to be straining to make a connection with Nikki 's character, Goldy. On the other hand, Nikki's character appears irritated with the progress of the case most of the time. Not sure if it was the director holding everything back or what, but the chemistry just didn't seem to be there this time. If Hallmark is trying to build a relationship slowly, over time, they're starting at rock bottom. I'd just as soon have Hallmark give us several more "Mystery 101" , " Crossword Mysteries ",and "Martha's Vineyard Mysteries ". How about a happy ending for Hannah and Mike in "Hannah Swenson Mysteries "? Just a thought.

Love the two main actors! Nikki and Andrew really made the show. They're very talented. They fit the roles well and know the importance of facial expressions and body language to really enhance the reality of a scene. I'm looking forward to seeing them in more mysteries. The storyline was alright, I liked how it felt different than the typical. I enjoyed the red herrings and how they kept us guessing. The ending did feel a bit short. It wasn't my favorite of the Hallmark mysteries (as I've watched them all haha) but it would make the short list and I would definitely recommend it. I'm hopeful that they will make more of this series.

Nikki Deloach and Andrew Walker are really good together. The chemistry between them is good and they were humorous in this movie. I've read all the Diane Mott Davidson books. If you're expecting a duplicate of the books, you'll be disappointed. But, the movie was good on its own.

I am a big fan of Diane Mott Davidson "Goldy Schulz Mysteries." Hallmark has per its standard operating procedure has whitewashed and saccharin-ed this movie too death. No pun intended. In the books Goldy's ex-wife husband was an abusive SOB and referred to as "The Jerk", Marla who is also an ex-wife of "The Jerk" is a force of nature, and I have no idea from where they dredged Mason up. Goldy and Det. Schulz use the same tired sleuthing methods and shenanigans as almost every other female-led Hallmark mystery movie. The actors portraying Goldy and Det. Schulz are pleasant enough but I did not feel any chemistry between. I'll do a hard pass on any more Curious Caterer mysteries.