Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mysteries (2023): Lake Eden’s favorite baker is once again back to solve another mysterious murder. After six riveting experiences, Hannah Swensen finds herself in a tough spot in the latest movie, where she also has to make complex decisions regarding her personal life.
Alison Sweeney conjures her endless charm as Hannah and once again holds the gaze effortlessly. Carrot Murder Cake lays down its decent groundwork quite well without too much fuss. For the regular viewers, Hannah Swensen’s mischievous superpower of baking is on full display here, as you cannot find her going anywhere without her delicious dough of cookies.
We see the full extent of the Swensen family, including a first-time appearance by Hannah’s sister, Michelle (Tess Atkins), as they contribute their bit to solve the case. Like a good mystery film, Carrot Cake Murder makes the most of small details and beckons the viewers to pay attention at all times.
Still, the story is easy to follow and savor, the hallmark of this special Hallmark offering! In this piece, we have broken down all the visual and narrative clues for our readers relating to Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, along with an ending explainer.
Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mysteries (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
This part’s mystery revolves around the Leo Steiner building and, more specifically, a 25-year-old corpse found in it. Jerry McDowell’s death is reopened by the police, whom they place at a robbery in 1995. Hannah Swensen once again attaches herself to solve the mystery with help from fiance (yes, still not married) Detective Mike Kingston.
The discovery of McDowell’s corpse has brought some familiar faces from his old life back to the surface. With help from her family and Mike, Hannah risks her own life to catch the killer who wants to silence her and bring him to justice.
Why is the Steiner building being taken down?
The Leo Steiner building is a heritage landmark. It is one of the last remaining Steiner buildings in the city and is being taken down, as the structural report from an assessment by the municipality suggests so. There was some renovation work done in the building in 1995 (around the same time as the murder) by the Five Star Association. The explosion in the building right at the same exact spot where the killer had thrown Jerry’s body (in the elevator shaft) cannot be a coincidence.
Wyatt Avery Developers have taken over the mantle of rejigging the building and erecting their own tower in its place. Even though it is enticed that Avery himself might have been involved in this expose, Mike and Lonny’s rationalization establishes that it wasn’t in Avery’s best interests to effectuate the explosion.
How are Eugene, Terry, and Julianne connected to each other?
Through digging, Hannah is able to connect many dots from the time Jerry died to his personal life. Julianne is Jerry’s former wife, who left town and married a different person after the incident. Hannah is shocked to find Julianne coming into a lot of money post-Jerry’s death. Before, she worked part-time jobs and could barely afford to make ends meet.
In fact, every one of the trio – Julianne, Terry, and Eugene – came into a lot of money since the Landry robbery in 1995. This makes Hannah twitchy as she is sure that it has something to do with Jerry’s death. It turns out that Travis Gardner was Jerry’s accomplice in the robbery but is now a free man.
The pager that was retrieved from Jerry’s corpse had stored the last number that contacted him before his death. Shockingly, it belonged to Eugene. Earlier, when Hannah asked Eugene if he knew Travis or Jerry, he blatantly refused, even as his restaurant Chamelion was being constructed near the site.
There was something that Eugene was hiding from Hannah. As he was about to spill the beans in the Steiner building, someone triggered trays of boulders to fall on Hannah. Eugene just about managed to save her life but badly injured himself. But what was Eugene hiding?
What is Eugene’s real identity?
When Norman, Hannah’s best friend, who is also a dentist and a close friend of Eugene’s, tells her that he has to feed Eugene’s cat, she suggests they look around his house. While going through things, they find many revealing things, including a birthday card from someone called Natalie. At the hospital, Hannah and Norman get the shock of their lives when they discover that Eugene Crenshaw died almost 50 years ago. They used Eugene’s insurance carrier to find these details.
They were able to track down Natalie and got her to come to see her beloved uncle. When Eugene regained consciousness, he spilled the truth. His real name is Ellis, and he had a brother. When he got the call that his brother had killed someone while driving drunk in Ellis’ car, he took on the mantle to save his brother’s life. Natalie’s mother’s passing made him depressed, and to make sure that he and Natalie remained safe, Ellis decided to run and change his identity.
Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mysteries (2023) Movie Ending, Explained:
Who triggered the explosions in the Steiner building and why?
Travis and Julianne triggered the explosions in the Steiner building. Ever since the news of the building’s desecration came to the fore, they were tense that their secrets would be found. Behind Jerry’s back, they were having an affair, but it turns out that neither killed Jerry.
Even then, they were skeptical that the police would find remnants of the jewelry stash that Travis and Jerry stole from the Landry heist and come after them. Their plan went bust as, coincidentally, Hannah and Mike were in the building at the same time they tried to make their move.
How did Hannah solve the mystery of Jerry’s murder?
Hannah tried doing everything to narrow down her suspects. She eventually arrived at Eugene, Julianne, and Travis due to their shared connection, as mentioned above. She had found a set of keys that she confirmed from a local locksmith were made after the year 2012. So, they did not belong to Jerry.
Hannah used the keys and tried it at the houses of Eugene and Julianne. But that did not work, eliminating the two. Travis was the only remaining suspect. As she went with Mike to try the keys, Travis held them at gunpoint. For a minute, we thought that he was the killer. But Travis unwittingly revealed he did not kill Jerry.
To protect someone, he took the blame on himself. That is when Hannah revisited the keys. All the keys were similarly color-coded and belonged to someone who has “ten different jobs” at once. Her mind immediately went to something that Joe Garnder, Travis’ son, said in their first meeting. That’s how she figured out Joe is the one who killed Jerry, and her fears were confirmed when she saw him trying to escape in his boat.
What happened on the fateful night of July 15, 1995?
The Landry heist went as planned. Travis and Jerry were the ones who executed the heist, but Joe was also involved. Travis did not want Joe to be a part of this equation, but he was powerless against his son’s wishes. Joe turned agitated when Jerry did not give him a part of the loot. In an accident, he killed Jerry and then panicked after the actions. He threw the body down the elevator shaft, hoping no one would find it.
Travis knew nothing about any of this and waited for Jerry that night, as Eugene told Norman and Hannah earlier in the hospital. It was Travis who dropped off the gift that Eugene gave to Natalie, and that is how Hannah formed the connection. Travis only realized about Joe when he saw the keys in Hannah’s hands while he was holding a rifle at her.
Why does Hannah break off her engagement with Mike? Do they get back together?
Mike had assured Hannah that they wouldn’t go to Captain Ealing, Mike’s boss, until they had credible evidence. But when Travis was arrested, Hannah discovered that Mike was giving update reports to Ealing on every new piece of evidence that Hannah found. This broke her heart and her trust in Mike, who was caught in a tough spot between his fiance and his boss.
That is why Hannah broke off the engagement, as she was disappointed in Mike for not having trusted her with this conundrum. But as we see in the end, there might still be hope for their future together as Mike was seen dropping off a gift for Hannah’s cat, Moishe, and she approvingly gave him a nod.
