SHE SHOOTS TO CONQUER

Gothic romance meets reality TV.

A wrong turn on a foggy night brings Ellie and Ben Haskell and their housekeeper, Ellie’s crime-solving partner Mrs. Malloy, to Mucklesfeld Manor, where Lord Belfrey offers them the scant comforts of his home. Belfrey, a Cary Grant look-alike, has opened his manor to a TV crew filming Here Comes the Bride, a reality program whose six candidates compete to charm Belfrey and raise money to fix up the crumbling manor house. Tragedy has already derailed the contest when one contestant dies in a car crash off the fog-shrouded driveway. Although Mrs. Malloy jumps at the chance to take over the vacant spot, his lordship is more taken by Ellie, who bears a striking resemblance to his secret love, the young second wife of the former lord who apparently absconded with the family jewels. Because the household staff is limited to a trio right out of The Addams Family, all of whom had been squatting in the house before Belfrey arrived, the desperate director begs Ben to stay on and cook. For her part, Ellie befriends a wandering Labrador retriever and the assorted ladies vying for Belfrey’s attention. Soon she’s investigating the car crash, which may have been murder, and piecing together a romantic tale of lost love and missing gems.

Another characteristically over-the-top escapade for Ellie (Goodbye Ms. Chips, 2008, etc.).