Hallmark Mystery heroines don’t just solve crimes; they steal the show. Check out these five Hallmark mystery heroines fans absolutely love.
1. ‘Mystery 101’: Amy Winslow (Jill Wagner)
The “Mystery 101” series centers on Amy Winslow (Jill Wagner), an English literature professor who specializes in mystery fiction. She teams up with Travis Burke (Kristoffer Polaha), a detective from a big city who moved to Garrison, Washington.
The series was officially canceled in 2023 after seven installments, with Hallmark stating that the “talented sleuths have solved the last mystery and are off the case,” per Variety.
At the time, Wagner reacted to the series coming to an end. “Just so you know, in my mind, Amy and Travis get married and go on a super long honeymoon to Fiji,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Stay tuned for the next chapter with me, lots of fun things coming your way ….. and you know I always love a good mystery.”
Starring: Jill Wagner and Kristoffer Polaha
2. ‘Hannah Swensen Mysteries’: Hannah Swensen ( Alison Sweeney)
Formerly known as “Murder, She Baked,” the “Hannah Swensen Mysteries” follow the story of small-town baker Hannah Swensen (Alison Sweeney), who uses her intuition and connection to the community to solve murders.
“Hannah Swensen Mysteries” has a total of 12 movies; the first five were from the “Murder, She Baked” series.
In 2024, Sweeney admitted that she fancies herself as a novice detective, just like her character.
“I listen to a lot of podcasts and watch a lot of ‘Dateline,’ and I try to get clues,” Sweeney told PEOPLE at the time. “And then with Hannah, I don’t want her to be the one using all the vernacular. She’s still a baker who figures this stuff out; I like to keep her, not the expert.”
Starring: Alison Sweeney and Victor Webster
3. ‘Crossword Mysteries’: Tess Harper (Lacey Chabert)
The “Crossword Mysteries” series centers on Tess Harper (Lacey Chabert), puzzle editor at the New York Sentinel, who uses her expertise in wordplay and patterns to crack real-life cases.
In 2019, Chabert expressed her excitement about playing the role, noting that it was her first time in the mystery genre.
“While this is my 17th movie with Hallmark, it’s my first mystery with Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, which is a separate channel from the Hallmark Channel,” Chabert told PEOPLE at the time. “I was really excited about it because it’s the first time I did something of this particular genre. I’ve done a lot of Christmas and the love stories and I love doing those, but it was nice to have a bit of a departure and start the mystery series.”
Starring: Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott
4. ‘Aurora Teagarden Mysteries’: Aurora Teagarden (Candace Cameron Bure)
The “Aurora Teagarden Mysteries” series follows the story of Aurora Teagarden (Candace Cameron Bure), a beautiful young librarian who has a passion for solving murders.
In 2020, Bure gushed about her “fun” character, explaining what drew her to the role.
“I love her because she’s fearless – she’s a librarian by trade and a president of a true-crime club called Real Murders Club, where they try and solve unsolved mysteries,” she told Capsule at the time. ” She has a mind for mystery and murder; she’s always a step ahead of everyone and even though physically she’s a small woman, she’s so courageous and not afraid to get her hands dirty – whether it’s scaling walks or digging through first. She’s a fun character to play.”
Starring: Candace Cameron Bure, Niall Matter, Marilu Henner
5. ‘Curious Caterer Mysteries’: Goldy Berry (Nikki DeLoach)
The “Curious Caterer Mysteries” features Goldy Berry (Nikki DeLoach), a single mom and professional caterer with a knack for amateur sleuthing. She teams up with Detective Tom Schultz (Andrew Walker) to solve murders in their small town.
In 2024, DeLoach revealed how much she enjoys playing Goldy Berry, noting that each new installment in the franchise leaves her wanting more.
“It’s such a gift to be able to continue a character’s story, especially the character of Goldy Berry. I love her so much,” she told Numero. “Usually on Hallmark, we step into a character and have three weeks to inhabit her. It’s glorious, however, I am always left wanting more time with the characters I get to play. With Curious Caterer, I have been so fortunate to continue digging deeper, while also evolving her.”
Starring: Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker
I really enjoy all five of the mystery series but will miss seeing new ones from Polaha and Wagner.
Amen!
I bought the first 3 episodes of Curious Caterer and have the last two on my DVR – I expected to see a couple more Curious caterer episodes in 2025 but that didn’t happen – it was hard to watch Goldy and Tom cheat on each other with multiple significant others during 2025 but am hoping they will patch things up and continue as a couple in 2026 future episodes as promised
Love all of these but it was an awful way to leave Mystery 101. I just don’t watch the last little bit. Very poor judgement on Hallmark’s side.
My order. Nikki Allision Lacey Jill. Don’t care for Candace series
Love all 5 of the above. Would also love to see more of Tamara’s mysteries, Sara’s MM, and I loved “The Family Practice Mysteries”. PLEASE MORE OF THE “FPM”…..
I enjoy all of them; however I didn’t like the way Hallmark ended Mystery 101. I also enjoyed Martha Vineyard mysteries.. Keep the mysteries coming.
The mystery series I liked best was Garage sale mysteries. The entire cast was just so good together. Would love to see more in this series
After that I like Mystery 101 and still think that Hallmark left the stars of the show and its viewers in the lurch.
The next one I like is the original Aurora Teagarden Mysteries but only with Candace Cameron Burr. The new series comes on, and I turn the TV off.
Crossword mysteries were good and would love to see more of them.
Hannah Swenson mysteries are good.
Love the Family practice movie – wish they would do more with them.
I love all of these ladies and the characters they play , but we haven’t seen Goldy in awhile. 😕
As many of the comments have stated i also love the all of the movies and would like to see more of them. Since Brue and Loughlin have left Hallmark Mysteries, I miss Garage Sale Movie and do not care for the actress playing Auora Tegarden. I’m sure she is a fine actress but she is not as believeable as Brue.
What about Crimetime? Will any more episodes be made. There’s something about my list, can’t quite put my finger on it. I’m sure it’ll come to me.