Much of the dialogue of "A Christmas Mystery" seemed telegraphed and stilted. While the filmmakers tried to develop a compelling narrative about the search for a stranger in the life of the deceased mom of the protagonist, Rebecca Clark, the film juggled a romantic connection between the private investigator and Rebecca to the degree that the love story took over the film.

When Rebecca was a child, her dad went missing under suspicious circumstances. It is only in the homestretch of the movie that the story of the father re-emerges. The action was far too pat in tying the Charles Peterson story researched by Rebecca to the personal drama of her family. The convoluted "mystery" of the film's title never developed enough tension, and it seemed like filler, sitting in the backseat as the romance unfolded.

The film tended to turn into comedy in a series of nearly farcical occurrences at a homey bed-and-breakfast. It made no sense to force Andrew to sleep in the cold, dank car, opposed to sleeping in the room with Rebecca. The forced entry into the room by the villain also seemed far-fetched. The most outlandish moment was when Andrew purchased an expensive jewel as a gift for Rebecca at a time when he was sleeping in the car!

While there was good chemistry between the private eye, Andrew Steele, and Rebecca, it was too far-fetched to believe that he was concurrently working for Rebecca and spying on her for another client. That's not a way to build trust in either a business or personal romantic relationship!

This is a 2014 made for TV movie rated PG. As a child, Rebecca's;s dad goes missing one Christmas. He was a policeman and was on a case. Years later when her mother dies, she comes home and discovers Christmas cards from an unknown sender. She hires a private investigator and goes Nancy Drew over the letters. Not too hard to figure out in this formula disaster.

Ryan James Bittle, who plays the detective is clearly the love child of Caspar Van Dien. The acting wasn't there. The film had a few cute moments, but otherwise it was fairly lame. For those who would like a simple Nancy Drew/ Scooby-Doo Lifetime mystery, this is the film. I had a hard time stomaching the whole thing

On the positive side, I'll say this is a different kind of story for a "Christmas" romance movie. It's actually a mix of romance and mystery with criminal implications.

The acting is poor. Esmé Bianco is totally flat. Ryan Bittle tries to hard. Their chemistry is forced, so not really any. Much of the dialogue is bland.

The story does some cliché things and some stupid things. Mystery phone calls by the partner. All the scenes of someone hiding in shadows and following the heroes. Tough guy in prison who overacts badly. A romance that develops out of nothing, except maybe bonding over the shared danger. Oh, and the cute anagram.

The whole chase seems a little unnecessary. The bad guy would have been better off leaving everything as is.

Where did the dog go? Simple. The writers didn't need him after he caused the clerk to sneeze at unfortunate times.

Did anyone not guess who Jack is?

The only tie to Christmas is some Christmas cards.