Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘A Sprinkle of Deceit: A Hannah Swensen Mystery’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Alison Sweeney as Hannah Swensen in A SPRINKLE OF DECEIT: A HANNAH SWENSEN MYSTERY. (Photo Courtesy of Bettina Strauss/Hallmark.) ©2024 Hallmark Media.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘A Sprinkle of Deceit: A Hannah Swensen Mystery’.
​
If there is one particular emotion that we pay little mind to, it would be jealousy, and rightfully so. Because more often than not, jealousy is nothing more than a weak person’s weapon. Wherein they use its ‘power’ to agitate and throw digs at people over anything constructive and that makes it very, very easy… to ignore it. Because it really does just involve someone spewing out words and being fussy over what someone else has, making it simple to deal with and even simpler to ignore because that’s the kind of noise one can easily drown out. But while that is an emotion worth ignoring more than not, we should always be mindful of why a person is jealous. 

Because sometimes jealousy becomes more than noise. Courtesy of deep-rooted fury and pain over being wronged, over not being enough in this life. So, if we hear someone chirping and sniping about something related to people on a far more intimate level, we best listen to it for a change. Because that person is indeed crying out and asking to express more beyond their jealousy, and that could prove to be problematic if we ignore it. Because it could lead to someone close to them being wounded emotionally, or worse., and it just so happens that a new Hannah Swensen mystery on Hallmark Mysteries, that made its debut the other night, explores why we should sometimes listen and pay attention to jealousy in A Sprinkle of Deceit: A Hannah Swensen Mystery.

For in this particular tale, while Hannah is settling into life once again and flirting often with Chad as we’ve all been hoping she would, quite the mystery came forth. In that, Lonnie, a detective on the force and friend to all… is suspended when an old high school flame turns up dead. All because he did the right thing and saw her home when she was wasted at a high school reunion, and being the last person that was in her presence makes him the prime suspect. Of course, Hannah doesn’t believe in the slightest that Lonnie would be capable of such an act, so she takes it upon herself to clear his name. But that will not be an easy task. For Chad wants conflicts of interest to steer clear of this case, including Hannah and also because… it’s hard to spot how jealousy from an unexpected party played into this heinous crime.

---

Alison Sweeney and Victor Webster as Hannah Swensen and Chad Norton in A SPRINKLE OF DECEIT: A HANNAH SWENSEN MYSTERY. (Photo Courtesy of Bettina Strauss/Hallmark.) ©2024 Hallmark Media.

But before we dive into the central theme here, we do need to take a moment and applaud how this is a vastly different kind of Hannah Swensen feature. Simply because, she is held back in this story, and that’s’ not something we see often. In fact, it is even pointed out how Hannah is invaluable to the force and does so much good, and that sidelining her is a terrible idea. But what makes this so unique is that it allows for us to see how much Hannah cares, how comfortable she is in her role as a consultant to the police and how not having that in her life makes her helpless and listless. Which just humanizes the character in delightful new ways and allows for her to be vulnerable like never before. That in turn, of course leads to some tender with Chad, and some comedy with her mother, and just adds a refreshing depth to a tale about jealousy.
​
Which is indeed the central theme we’ve talked about, and this story does demonstrate how jealousy can become so much more in a person. Since we learn the real killer is a jilted housewife and local business owner, who is outright stunned that her husband would find any level of comfort in the arms of anyone but her. But he did since the deceased caught his eyes. Thus, driving her to do dark acts and become the heavy of this story. Allowing for this tale to deeply explore how our desire to pay no mind to jealousy, since our killer does throw in some barbs at the victim that no one paid attention to, can be a problem under the right/wrong circumstances. Because in this instance it marginalized some deep feelings and forced the killer to internalize them and let them fester and that in turn let anger grow, until a need for revenge was born.

All of which made for a powerful lesson on jealousy and why we should indeed listen, and it led to a quality mystery. Because this one really did take Hannah on quite the journey, and it of course, kept us guessing from beginning to end. Because none of the suspects lined up, and none of the clues took us down the path we expected. Not to mention, it was wild to see Hannah without power in this tale and well, that really did make for one compelling watch. One that really had something for everyone, including those who love a little romance out there. After all, that chemistry between Hannah and Chad was strong here, and the foundation is now there for perhaps something more. But that, will have to wait further down the line. But for now, we can relish in a dynamic and satisfying mystery from a gumshoe we simply adore.

---