User Reviews

This is my first dip into Hallmark Mysteries.

I was familiar with Lacy Chabert from somewhere, but not Brennan Elliott.

Given the acting role resumes for both Lacy and Brennan, I would expect them to work together well, and they do. They are believable as a pair who respect and exasperate each other.

And with the overused plot device of the professional male detective versus the intuitive and spunky female amateur, Brennan and Lacy so far make it work better than many other mystery shows.

Of the two Crossword Mysteries I have watched so far--"A Puzzle to Die For" and "Proposing Murder"--I would rate "Proposing Murder" higher. I found it slightly more believable, and more "puzzling".

As someone who enjoys working crossword puzzles myself, I like the conceit that Tess could transfer her skill in creating crossword puzzles into solving crime. I smiled at the end of this episode, when Tess teasingly asks Logan, "So, are we a team yet?"

Lacey Chabert the crossword puzzle editor and creator of the crossword puzzles of a fictional NYC newspaper despite homicide detective Brennan Elliott's best efforts to keep her out is invaluable in his latest case.

The murder Elliott is looking to solve is that of Kyle Buchanan a friend of Chabert's aunt Barbara Niven. No way she's keeping out of this.

The late Mr. Buchanan a writer was working on a book about code names for World War 2 operations from all countries. Chabert figures out his code expertise is what got him into a modern treasure hunt.

Her work at creating crossword puzzles makes her a natural codebreaker. It's the cops who are having trouble keeping up with her.

Nice story with a bit of a surprise in the end.

This is supposed to be set in New York City, but a cab had a white Ontario license plate. It's filmed in Toronto.

The cars being used by the people involved in the scenes had NY plates.

Guess they forgot to change the cab.

On a different note, Brennan's hair looks better in this second installment than as short as it was in the first one. I also like that he's not dressed in a suit and tie, but is dressed more casually.

Lacey's hair is better, too. They got rid of those long extensions.

Too bad they killed off Harris in the first one, though. He was a good actor.

6/10 - good second installment in the new Hallmark series

It's been two months since Tess (Lacey Chabert) and Logan (Brennan Elliott) have last been together. Her friend Lyle asks her to encode his marriage proposal to girlfriend Abby in a crossword puzzle. Soon after, he is found murdered and Logan investigates.

The two leads try to build up some chemistry. They should concentrate on this part for the future of this franchise. It's a Hallmark mystery movie. The book cipher premise is grade school stuff. The fact that the police needs explanations makes them look stupid. The plot is not exceeding my expectations but is reasonably acceptable. At the end of the day, these are not high grade movies but this franchise has some legs... at least until someone cheats on their college entrance exam.

Cruciverbalist Tess Harper (Lacey Chabert) and police friend Logan (Brennan Elliott) team up to work on another murder mystery, this one involving a puzzle fan who has Tess work his proposal of marriage into her daily crossword.

The chemistry between Chabert and Elliott is always strong. Again, he tries to keep her away from his case, but she is too interested and too valuable, just like an Aurora Teagarden mystery. The two sleuths work the case from different angles, occasionally crossing paths to share clues.

A surfeit of suspects and a raft of red herrings keep the detecting duo guessing until the very end. Meanwhile, the dueling dicks keep any mutual attraction on the back burner, where it can smolderappropriately.

I enjoyed movie as I do all the Hallmark Mysteries. The only thing that seemed odd to me was the murder victims mother wasn't the least bit upset that her son had just been murdered👎

Lyle (Kyle Buchanan), the victim, seemed to have everything going for him when he met with Tess days before his murder. A recently tenured history professor, he was getting ready to propose to his girlfriend, Abby, via crossword puzzle when he came in deadly contact with a ceramic knife. Suspicion turns to her because she's a chef and has whole sets of cutlery with which to kill people.

But she's not the only suspect - there's a few of them in this smoothly-plotted mystery that benefits a lot from the two leads, their chemistry adds to this rather fetching addition to a great series. Love how the lead duo bump into a each other and Brennan asks her what she's doing and that she shouldn't investigate. You would have thought by now he would just allow to do what wants - after all she helped solve the other cases.

It wasn't quite as good as the pilot film, of course. But, as I stated elsewhere, first sequels rarely equal the first film. In this case, the only minor flaw is that the true culprit becomes pretty obvious early on. For anyone who's spent the last twenty years watching MURDER SHE WROTE re-runs, anyway!

Gorgeous vintage wedding ring, pre-1920, the Beale Papers and a book cypher code...it is time for our crossword puzzle guru Tess Harper to team up with her detective pal Logan to solve the murder of her college friend, a professor who is murdered on the day he was to propose to his chef girlfriend using Tess' Sunday puzzle.

"Did you know that wearing wedding bands on the left hand dates back to Roman Times? Yeah, they believed that the vein in your left finger connected directly to your heart."

We get to meet Logan's sister, Angela, who is also in the process of getting married...and seems to be not so subtlety hinting that Tess and Logan should come to her wedding together.

Spies have used book cyphers since the Revolutionary War, same book-3 sets of numbers, first number is page, then line, then word. Logan finds the numbers and once Tess figures out there is a book cypher, the hunt is on to find the right book...and figure out how a scholarship kid could afford such a pricey engagement ring. Is this the key to solving the murder?

Lots of Logan saying, "What are you doing here?" as he encounters Tess working on the mystery that she is supposed to be staying out of while Logan and his new Rookie detective partner solve the crime. In a true twist, Logan's Dad the chief is a lot more permissive with Tess' participation than Logan is, could this be Logan's protective nature showing? There are some fun locales an antique bookstore, university campus and a Connecticut farm.

Tess has a very New York wardrobe of high heels, leather, and tight fitting sweaters...mainly in blacks and greys.

"I could sign up for a cooking class. What's the worst that could happen, I burn a soufflé?"

Logan and Tess seem like an odd couple, but they both have amazing smiles, good laughs and they are growing on me. Tess as usual is filled with tons of interesting factoids and Logan as usual just listens patiently. I don't think there is anything that she could say at this point that would shock Logan. I know these two actors, Lacy Chambert and Brennan Elliot, have amazing Chemistry, because I loved them in their All of My Heart series on Hallmark... goat and all!

"World's first crossword puzzle...published 1913, published in The New York World...diamond shape."

Still not my favorite of the Hallmark Mystery Series, but another solid entry by the Crossword Mystery Team. Oh! And I loved the title of this one "proposing murder"!

"So, am I on the team now, or?"-Tess "Not yet."-Logan

Seen a few of this series(?). Really nice. Good to see Lacey again.

What's not real? Everybody looks like acting models, and acting & dialogue to match. Crimes & the continuing stringing along litany of solving clues. You're going "sure" w/each obscure step in figuring it all out. Police department is all in, and bringing in psychics & conjurers next. Hallmark - fast food pablum for those needing easy digestibility.

This is a poor mystery movie--U can lay the fault at the feet of a lousy script

--Just watch the last 15 min of the movie, since all the investigation does not really lead U to a constructed who done it, its basically a rabbit pull

Some Hall Mark mysteries are pretty good, U feel the urge to go back and watch it to piece together the logical clues---this is not one of those movies

--It is a clean watch

In this Hallmark mystery movie, crossword editor Tess Harper (Lacey Chabert) is once again set on helping Detective Logan (Brennan Elliot) with a murder investigation. Tess feels she must get involved as the victim was a friend. The clues lead to a valuable ring, a code cipher, an elusive children's book, and at least one attempt on Tess' life.

For the first time since I began watching these Hallmark movies, I found one that failed to entertain. I can and have overlooked a lot of shortcomings with these films as long as I enjoy the experience. But with clues that go nowhere, police that act like idiots, and the forced chemistry between the two main leads, Proposing Murder just didn't work for me. But my main complaint comes in the film's last act. One of the things that bothers me most about a mystery is one that doesn't play fair with the viewer. You know, the ones that present vital clues in the final scene that lead to unmasking the killer. The kind of clues that the viewer would have no way of knowing anything about. Well, Proposing Murder commits this sin. While most of these Hallmark mysteries are guilty of this to some degree, this one is the worst I've run across so far.

4/10.

So, in EVERY one of these installments- the plot is the same. Look, I get it, if the formula works, go with it.....forever. But, must she solve the crime in EVERY movie, then needs to be rescued once she (yet, again on her own, confront the villain/murderer)?! Seriously?! That's just stupid and tiresome.

Most of us don't watch Hallmark movies expecting some great production. No, we watch them because we enjoy the actors and the characters they create. If the story is interesting then that is a bonus. We like Lacey Chabert, she always plays a likable character. As she does here, working for the New York newspaper and one of her ongoing responsibilities is the crossword puzzle. Seems when strangers meet her they always mention her puzzles.

One of her old friends is a history professor at a local college, as the movie starts we see that he is surprised at home and is found murdered. Then the movie flashes to "5 days earlier" and what we see are all the efforts to investigate the murder and find the guilty person.

The story is convoluted and interesting enough that it kept us entertained. As various people in his life became suspects I was surprised when the actual killer was revealed and the reasons why.

Streaming on Peacock, my wife and I watched it at home.