Shannon Kohli’s “One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery” stars Alison Sweeney, Victor Webster, and Matreya Scarrwener. The story revolves around Hannah Swensen, who witnesses a particular crime and has a knack for getting into trouble most of the time. In such a way, one of the teachers in the high school where she teaches gets killed, and Hannah decides to find the killer herself. The film feels unnecessarily long even though it is only 84 minutes because of its weak plot and predictable plotline. It is a disappointing watch, after all, no matter how hard the cast tries to set things right.
Spoilers Ahead
One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film starts with Hannah buying groceries for her class, as she is a cooking teacher in a course recently introduced inside the college premises. She finds an apple with a knife stabbed into it. She wonders where it came from. Anyway, later, we see Hannah teaching the students how to make the perfect dessert using apples while Bradford Ramsey, the English teacher, introduces himself.
He is the one who helped Hannah to set up the cooking class for the betterment of the students. Bradford seems to be very interested in dating Hannah. Meanwhile, we see Willa, one of the students in the class, seems to have a crush on Bradford. Anyway, Bradford proposes doing a class together combining literature with cooking about how food is used as a metaphor in different novels and poems.
What does Hannah find out about Stacey?
Later, Hannah discovers that her mother has become a private detective, helping women in marriage or relationships. She is hired by Stacey Ramsey, Bradford’s ex-wife. When Hannah goes to have dinner with Norman, her best friend, she sees Bradford comforting Stacey in the restaurant. She also sees Willa there. But she is not in the state to make any conversation as Hannah sees her crying, and she is on her way out of the restaurant.
Hannah thinks that Bradford and Stacey are getting along. However, later, from her mother, she learns that Stacey thinks that her boyfriend is cheating on her. Subsequently, Hannah meets with Chad Norton, the county prosecutor for Lake Eden District. He is prosecuting the case against Ken Purvis, and since Hannah is one of the eyewitnesses, he tells her the rules and regulations. Soon after, Hannah sees Tim Pearson, Bradford’s T.A., who is inviting everyone to a party at his place.
What happens during Bradford and Hannah’s Combined Class?
As Bradford and Hannah finally are able to conduct the class together, the students are really excited to see what they have to offer. The class starts off on a good note. But suddenly, Hannah observes Bradford being rude to Tim Pearson, and he leaves the classroom. Bradford comes back, and when he tries to cook something, Hannah smells some kind of gas. She immediately asks everyone to duck, and an explosion takes place inside the classroom.
It was a kind of kitchen explosion, so everyone was safe, and due to Hannah’s instant improvisation, no one was injured. Police get involved in the matter, and Bradford comes to the confectionery where Hannah works to see if she is alright. Bradford meets with Norman for the first time. He thinks that Hannah and Norman are together. When Hannah clears out his misconception, he continues flirting with her in front of Norman.
What happens to Bradford?
Hannah decides to text Bradford, saying that she needs to meet him. Hannah is not really interested right now in dating Bradford so she wants to say this in person. Bradford texts Hannah that he is free, so she goes to meet him in his office. But, when she reaches there, she finds Bradford lying dead on the floor. A knife is stuck on his back. Hannah does not understand what to do as she finds herself at a crime scene once again right after the Ken Purvis case.
Detective Lonnie and Chad Norton come to investigate the crime scene when Lonnie tells the prosecutor that there may be a link between the explosion in the classroom and the murder of Bradford. Hannah tells them that Bradford had a reputation for being a tough grader and students sort of dislike him. Chad seems to be uninterested in what Hannah has to say as he leaves the scene quite early.
Later, Hannah, her mother, and her sisters decide to find the killer as quickly as possible because the semester results are close. If the murderer is a student, it will be hard to catch him later. Hannah starts doubting Tim Pearson, thinking that Tim hates everything about Bradford. She says that Tim even fears harming his reputation as a scholar working under Bradford.
One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
How does Hannah find the Killer?
After hearing from Lonnie that the DNA found at the crime scene matches with a male suspect, Hannah investigates the database and finds Kyle Williamson, who failed Bradford’s paper. Hannah thinks that Kyle perhaps has a reason to kill Bradford. Just like she questioned Tim earlier, she questions Kyle as well. But she realizes that he is not the culprit here. However, the only angle that remains is Willa’s crush on Bradford. She studies that, which leads to the conclusion that Willa indeed had a crush on him.
With Norman’s help, Hannah finally catches the brother and sister, Perry and Willa, responsible for Bradford’s murder. Lonnie and Norton thank Hannah for her bravery, as together, they are able to put an end to the long-running investigation. Without Hannah’s subtle decisions, it would have been very difficult for Lonni and Norton to catch the killers, as the semester is almost over now. Hannah’s contribution is celebrated by her whole family as she explains the reason behind the murder.
Who killed Bradford?
Lonnie is stuck with Bradford’s phone as he does not know his passcode. Hannah remembers Bradford saying his dog’s name, and when she shares that with Lonnie, the phone unlocks. There, they find texts between Willa and Bradford. When asked about their relationship before, Willa said that it was her infatuation with Bradford, and he did not feel the same. But the texts stand differently, and Hannah thinks Willa’s brother Perry gets to know about this situation.
Perry then confronts Bradford and wants to make him afraid by creating an explosion in the classroom. But being in an authoritarian power, Bradford threatens Perry to be expelled. Soon after, Perry kills Bradford, and knowing all of this, Willa starts to blame herself. Later, she starts hiding the truths to protect her brother because, ultimately, her brother only tried to take a stand for her. Later, Norman leaves the house after lunch as Hannah’s sisters and mother pinch her as they both think that Norman and Hannah can make a cute couple.
