Murder, She Baked

Also known as	Hannah Swensen Mysteries
Genre	Mystery film
Written by	Joanne Fluke Nancey Silvers Teena Booth Kraig Wenman Melissa Salmons Marcy Holland
Directed by	Mark Jean Kristoffer Tabori Pat Williams
Starring	Alison Sweeney Cameron Mathison
Country of origin	United States Canada
Original language	English
No. of episodes	8
Original release
Network	Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Release	May 2, 2015 (2015-05-02) – present (present)

Murder, She Baked is an American/Canadian television film series based on the cozy mystery novels written by Joanne Fluke. The television films are centered around small-town baker Hannah Swensen, portrayed by Alison Sweeney, and Detective Mike Kingston, played by Cameron Mathison.^[1] Five films for the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel were created based on Fluke's book series, with the fifth movie airing on March 26, 2017. The films took a four-year hiatus before returning as the Hannah Swensen Mysteries.^[2]^[3] The films are set in the fictional town of Eden Lake in Minnesota, reverting to Lake Eden like in the novels in the sixth film.

On June 13, 2023, it was announced on Instagram that Cameron Mathison and Allison Sweeney are currently filming the eighth film installation of the series.

Cast

Alison Sweeney as Hannah Swensen, a local baker who owns the Cookie Jar bakery and cafe
Cameron Mathison as Detective Mike Kingston, a recently widowed homicide detective who moves to town from the city
Lisa Durupt as Andrea Todd, Hannah's sister
Toby Levins as Deputy Bill Todd, a local detective who is married to Andrea
Gabriel Hogan as Doctor Norman Rhodes, a dentist and Hannah's close friend
Barbara Niven as Delores Swensen, Hannah, Andrea and Michelle's mother
Juliana Wimbles as Lisa Herman, a helper at Hannah's bakery
Garry Chalk as Mayor Bascomb, the town's Mayor
Tess Atkins as Michelle Swensen, youngest daughter of Delores

Characters

A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.

Character	Title
Character	A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery	A Plum Pudding Mystery	A Peach Cobbler Mystery	A Deadly Recipe	Just Desserts	Sweet Revenge	Carrot Cake Murder	A Zest for Death
Hannah Swensen	Alison Sweeney
Detective Mike Kingston	Cameron Mathison
Andrea Todd	Lisa Durupt							Lisa Durupt
Deputy Bill Todd	Toby Levins
Doctor Norman Rhodes	Gabriel Hogan
Delores Swensen	Barbara Niven
Lisa Herman	Juliana Wimbles
Mayor Bascomb		Garry Chalk
Michelle Swensen						Tess Atkins

Film series

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery ^[4]^[5]^[6]"	Mark Jean	Joanne Fluke (Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder); Nancey Silvers	May 2, 2015 (2015-05-02)
Hannah Swensen (Sweeney), a baker, turns amateur sleuth after finding her friend and delivery driver, Ron (Jason Cermak), shot to death behind her shop, the Cookie Jar bakery. Shaken by the murder, she decides to do some of her own investigating but is continuously challenged by the new detective in town, Detective Mike Kingston (Mathison). Meanwhile, her mother tries to set her up with the friendly local dentist, Norman (Hogan), who is comfortable helping Hannah in her dangerous ideas to catch the killer. Hannah discovers Ron witnessed his miserly loan shark boss, Max, having an argument with someone, a day before he was killed. But when Hannah's sleuthing leads her to find Max murdered, she lands in trouble for her interference and must make up with her brother-in-law Todd and Mike as the plot thickens.
2	"Murder, She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery^[7]^[8]"	Kristoffer Tabori	Joanne Fluke (Plum Pudding Murder); Nancey Silvers	November 23, 2015 (2015-11-23)
The owner of a Christmas tree lot, Larry Jaeger, is murdered. The list of suspects is a long one, from a bitter ex-wife to exasperated investors. Hannah takes an interest in the case as Detective Mike Kingston tries to keep her safe. Hannah is pushed further to make a choice between Norman and Mike while Andrea announces her pregnancy at the end of the episode.
3	"Murder, She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery ^[9]^[10]"	Kristoffer Tabori	Joanne Fluke (Peach Cobbler Murder); Teena Booth	January 10, 2016 (2016-01-10)
Soon after a rival bakery opens, Mike's old friend and the owner, Melanie Quinn, is found dead at the bakery by Hannah. Hannah is determined to prove that she wasn't the only one who had an axe to grind with the Quinn sisters. Somebody wasn't fooled by their sweet-as-pie act, and it's up to Hannah to track down whoever whipped up this murder. Meanwhile, Mike tries to help her as best he can trying to balance being a detective with Hannah as a suspect and his feelings for her.
4	"Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe ^[11]^[12]"	Kristoffer Tabori	Joanne Fluke (Fudge Cupcake Murder); Teena Booth and Kraig Wenman	June 19, 2016 (2016-06-19)
Hannah finds herself involved in yet another murder. This one leaves the sheriff dead, a deputy accused, and a killer on the loose. To make matters worse, the accused deputy is her brother-in-law Bill, who was running against the sheriff in the upcoming election.
5	"Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts"	Kristoffer Tabori	Joanne Fluke (Strawberry Shortcake Murder); Melissa Salmons	March 26, 2017 (2017-03-26)
Hannah's first-ever televised bake-off competition turns deadly, when a judge, grumpy high school coach Leonard Bishop, is found dead of very unnatural causes. She and detective boyfriend Mike find indications that other judges might also be targeted, including Hannah.
6	"Sweet Revenge: A Hannah Swensen Mystery ^[13]"	Pat Williams	Joanne Fluke (Cream Puff Murder); Marcy Holland	August 8, 2021 (2021-08-08)
A murder at a 24-hour gym complicates Hannah and Mike's wedding planning as they experience engaged life while balancing their busy careers.
7	"Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery ^[14]"	Pat Williams	Joanne Fluke (Carrot Cake Murder); Melissa Salmons	May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19)
Hannah finds a skeleton inside a building undergoing renovation. Her effort to investigate the cold case murder puts a strain on her relationship with Mike. Meanwhile, a beloved resident is lying about his identity.
8	"A Zest for Death: A Hannah Swensen Mystery ^[15]"	Shannon Kohli	Joanne Fluke (Lemon Meringue Pie Murder); Marcy Holland	October 6, 2023 (2023-10-06)
They say the real estate business is deadly, but no one is more surprised than Hannah Swensen when her mother, Delores, discovers the dead body of the homeowner – and regular customer of The Cookie Jar – while house-hunting for her sister Michelle. Hannah is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and is convinced that the prime suspect Mike and the Sheriff are focusing on isn’t the culprit. Hannah’s sleuthing becomes a family affair when Delores, Michelle and even her sister Andrea – who pays an unexpected visit – take part in the investigation. As Hannah uncovers clues she slowly rules out suspects and is led to the shocking truth about the killer’s identity.

Cast

Characters

Film series

References

External links