Movie Review: Chronicle Mysteries - The Wrong Man

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery, good characters

Cons: A bit of Hallmark cheese

The Bottom Line:

When remains are found

Alex must figure out truth

Twisty mystery

“I Want My Wife’s Case to be Your Next Podcast.”

Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is in a mini premier marathon, introducing a new sleuth with three back to back moves in the Chronicles Mysteries franchise.  The Wrong Man is the second of these movies, and it was a very well done mystery.

Bones have been found just off a hiking trail out of town.  Thanks to the wedding ring found on the body, the remains are quickly identified as Tara Thurman.  She’s been missing for three years.  A year after she went missing, her car was found.  Eventually, her husband, Mike (Peter Benson), was charged with her murder, but the jury let him off back then for lack of evidence, including no body.

Now that Tara’s body has been found, Mike wants to clear his name once and for all, so he turns to podcaster Alex McPherson (Alison Sweeney).  After all, Alex has now solved two different cases on her show.  She is reluctant to take it on at first, but she quickly agrees when she sees how much Tara’s family is hurting.  Will she be able to figure out what really happened to Tara?  Or did the police have the right suspect all along?

The mystery in this movie was wonderful.  I truly had no idea where it was going until we hit the end and all was revealed.  Honestly, it could have been any of the very different suspects, until they started giving us the final clues that nailed down the correct solution.  There were more twists and turns than in a typical Hallmark movie, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

This is only the second movie, and they already wrote two of the supporting players from the first movie out of this one.  I hope they are back in the third.  On the other hand, that gave us a little time to get to know the returning characters we did see a little better.  I thought I knew who Alex’s love interest was going to be, but now I’m not so sure.  I think we might have a love triangle on our hands, at least until the next movie.  We’ll see how things develop then.

Yes, the movie does have a light dose of Hallmark cheese, but it really is mild.  As long as you know to expect it going in, you’ll be fine.  Fans of the Aurora Teagarden mysteries will enjoy seeing Peter Benson, who normally plays a cop in those movies, show up as Mike, the vitim’s husband and a potential suspect here.

The Chronicle Mysteries is an original franchise, and it’s proving to be highly addicting.  If you haven’t started these movies yet, by all means do so today.  When you watch The Wrong Man, you’ll see exactly what I mean.