College professor Amy Winslow (Jill Wagner) enters her office when a masked person knocks her down running past her. She calls her police detective friend Travis Burke (Kristoffer Polaha) but nothing seems to be stolen. The college is hosting a book festival where her father is a key speaker although he's not happy that his hated rival had rented a booth. His police friend Phil Jenk from Reno PD arrives with a suspicious note.
The character Betsy Crane is being too broad although I do like the Phil Jenk character. He's playing both faces which makes him a good suspect. I like the Who What dichotomy which serves to put up a structure for the investigations. Hallmark mysteries can be bland. One grades on a curve sometimes. This is better than most and it's a good one from the series. It's good as a TV mystery movie.
Mystery 101 Words Can Kill
2019
Action / Crime / Drama / Mystery
Mystery 101 Words Can Kill
2019
Action / Crime / Drama / Mystery
Plot summary
People are descending on Elmstead College in Garrison, Washington for the Mystery Book Festival, organized in part by English Professor Amy Winslow, who specializes in crime fiction, and which has as the keynote speaker Professor Emeritus and author of the successful Atticus Keller series of mystery books, Amy's father Graham Winslow. In addition to the legion of fans including Hannah Steinhousen, President of the Graham Winslow fan club Frankfurt chapter, Graham will find people at the event with who he has long burned bridges, including author Rick Fitch, formerly a friend who stole the idea of what was to be Graham's first book - Rick never having achieved the success enjoyed by Graham - and Betsy Crane, Graham's former and Rick's current editor, she who it is rumored leaked that manuscript of Graham's to Rick. The event also marks the first time Graham meets his current New York based editor, Celia Bunton, with who he has only communicated electronically up to this point. Graham's animosity toward Celia in her push to have his books be made into a series of movies changes upon meeting her, she the first woman since the death of his wife/Amy's mother who he would like to get to know in a personal sense. Someone unexpected at the festival is Reno Police Detective Phil Jenk, who Graham had once hired as a consultant on one of his books. Phil had received a mysterious invitation to the event, with some coded message concerning Graham. In the process of the event, a few crimes occur, including a break in at Amy's office where nothing seemed to be stolen. But of a more serious nature is a series of murders. Detective Travis Burke and his partner, Amy's former student Claire Tate, lead the investigations. While Travis has now expected and welcomes Amy's involvement in most investigations, he has to limit her direct involvement on these cases, which may douse the flames of what has been the sexual tension between them.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
good for Hallmark
Cookie cutter mystery theme TV film that is all foam and no beer
I can't say anything positive about this so called made for TV mystery other than the word "mystery" is included in the film title. Lead actress Jill Wagner may be attractive to look at but the story line and her delivery were about as stale as a ten (10) year old box of expired crackers. Nothing suspenseful, nothing mysterious and certainly nothing memorable.
I can only rate it a 3 out of 10
These movies just keep getting better
Words Can Kill is the fourth Hallmark mystery movie I've watched recently. In Words Can Kill, Professor Amy Winslow (Jill Wagner) is responsible for putting together a mystery writers' convention. Her father, Graham Winslow (Robin Thomas),Is set to be the star of the show. But when his previous publisher is found dead, Graham becomes a key suspect. Amy will move mountains to prove her father is innocent.
As I continue to roll through these Hallmark mysteries, they just keep getting better and better. Maybe I've gotten lucky and accidentally picked the good ones, but whatever, I'm really enjoying the movie journey I'm on. I had great fun with Words Can Kill. The plot has some nice twists and turns, culminating in a very satisfactory conclusion. This one kept me guessing right up to the end (even though I really should have spotted the killer from a mile away). The growing relationship between Amy and Detective Burke is another highlight. Jill Wagner and Kristoffer Polaha are solid. And I was impressed with Robin Thomas as Amy's father. Given a larger role in this film, he excelled.
I can't write one of these without listing a few of the problems I had with the movie. Without going into detail: several one dimensional characters, standard mystery tropes, and some iffy acting. But it's easy for me to overlook these weaknesses given how much I enjoyed the rest.
Finally, one of the things I like about these movies is how much they remind me of the mystery novels I grew up reading, with similar plots, similar pacing, and similar reveals. The movies have that mystery novel "feeling" - nothing heavy or groundbreaking, just entertainment and escape.
7/10.