Enjoyable Final Mystery Woman Movie
Fans of the Mystery Woman movie franchise from Hallmark know Philby as the bookseller with the mysterious past. It’s come into play in a few of the movies I’ve seen, but he and his background really got to play a giant part in the final movie, In the Shadows.
Bookseller Samantha Kinsey (Kellie Martin) is thrilled when she and Philby (Clarence Williams III) are invited to an event taking place at a spy author convention in town. Alexandr (Malachi Throne) has had a very successful career writing thrillers from the Russian side of the cold war. Philby reveals that there is a reason – Alexandr was a spy and the two of them had some run ins during their past lives.
At the end of his signing, Alexandr makes an announcement – he’s finished his next book. It’s going to be non-fiction. And in it, he’s going to name a double US agent that is selling secrets to the Russians.
It will be a surprise to exactly no one when Samantha finds Alexandr dying a few hours later. Before she can do anything to help him, someone attacks her and throws her in the path of a car. The result is a dead Russian and a comatose Samantha. Will she remember anything when she wakes up? Can Philby follow the clues to find the manuscript?
No, Samantha doesn’t spend the entire movie in a coma. But she is stuck in a hospital for much of it. This really does give Philby a chance to shine, and I enjoyed it. No, we don’t get too much more of his background, but it is still great to see them working in his background here. With Cassie (Nina Siemaszko) still acting like the side kick, she still gets plenty of screen time.
And the plot is good. I certainly had no idea what was going on until Philby and Samantha solved it. Yes, there were things I didn’t pick up on, which is always my favorite kind of mystery.
This movie originally aired in January 2007. That does make some of the story elements rather dated today. Philby and Alexandr obviously served during the Cold War, for example. As long as you keep that in mind, you’ll be fine.
I also didn’t notice as much low budget cheese as I often do with this series. But the writing and acting were above average. I also felt that Chief Connors (Casey Sander) was back to his usual self – a bit grumpy but not horribly mean like he was in the previous movie.
If you’ve enjoyed other movies in the Mystery Woman franchise but missed In the Shadows, you should definitely check it out.
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