Tonight's Movie: Death Al Dente: A Gourmet Detective Mystery (2016)

I often like to spread out watching series films, but I found the GOURMET DETECTIVE films so much fun that once I started, I couldn't stop!

This Hallmark Movies & Mysteries TV-movie series begins with THE GOURMET DETECTIVE (2015), followed by THE GOURMET DETECTIVE: A HEALTHY PLACE TO DIE (2015).

DEATH AL DENTE: A GOURMET DETECTIVE MYSTERY (2016) is the third film, with a fourth to follow sometime in 2017.

Like the other films in the series, DEATH AL DENTE was written by star and co executive producer Dylan Neal; I learned from an article that cowriter Becky Southwell is Neal's wife.

This time around San Francisco PD Detective Maggie Price (Brooke Burns) and celebrity chef turned police department consultant Henry Ross (Neal) are solving the murder of a local restaurant owner (Ben Wilkinson).

Suspects abound but Maggie and Henry methodically winnow the list. As their respect for one another grows, they also begin to realize their relationship may become more than professional.

The beginning of Henry and Maggie's romance in the latter part of the film was very rewarding, having watched their relationship evolve over the course of three movies. I'm really looking forward to seeing what's next for them.

There's always a nice mix of action and laughs in these films, with a congenial cast which once again includes Christine Willes and Ali Skovbye as Maggie's mother and daughter, plus Samantha Ferris, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Marc Senior, and Brenda Chrichlow as her colleagues at the SFPD.

DEATH AL DENTE was directed by Terry Ingram.

I'm very much looking forward to the next film in this delightful series.