September 15, 2024
Miranda Abbott hasn't had a hit since her show, Pastor Fran Investigates, went off the air years ago. She's holed up in tiny Happy Rock, Oregon, where her ex(ish)-husband lives and where, unbelievably, the biggest break of her career appears. Producer Alan Zabic wants Miranda for his movie-of-the-week, which will also feature Harry Tomlin, a bona fide Hollywood star. And they're filming in Happy Rock. The cast and crew are all staying at the haunted Duchess Hotel, and during a press conference there, Harry crashes through the skylight in the atrium, dead. Miranda has some experience with murder (see I Only Read Murder, 2024), so she enlists her assistant Andrew in her investigation, despite the fact that police chief Ned thinks it was an accident. Then Alan recasts Harry's role with scandal-ridden action-star Poe Regal, with whom Miranda has a past. As production costs increase, it seems more and more likely that Ned is right, but Miranda is determined. This small-town cozy combines quirky characters, over-the-top situations, and fading Hollywood glamour in a winning combination.
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