Quick answer: there are five Crossword Mysteries films, made for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries between 2019 and 2021. Watch them in this order: A Puzzle to Die For, Proposing Murder, Abracadaver, Terminal Descent and Riddle Me Dead.
If you like your mysteries with a pencil behind the ear, this is the Hallmark series for you. It is light, quick and pleasantly brainy, and the two leads have the kind of easy back-and-forth that keeps you watching the next one.
The premise
Lacey Chabert plays Tess Harper, a crossword puzzle editor in New York. Brennan Elliott plays Logan O’Connor, a police detective who does not, at first, want a puzzle expert anywhere near his cases. Naturally, the clues keep turning out to be the kind of thing only Tess can read, and an unlikely partnership is born.
Crossword Mysteries in order
| # | Film | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Puzzle to Die For | 2019 |
| 2 | Proposing Murder | 2019 |
| 3 | Abracadaver | 2020 |
| 4 | Terminal Descent | 2021 |
| 5 | Riddle Me Dead | 2021 |
You will see the first four listed as The Crossword Mysteries: … and the fifth as Crossword Mysteries: …, without the “The”. It is the same series either way.
Is the series over?
It looks that way. Two films came out in 2019, one in 2020 and two in 2021, and then the run stopped. Hallmark Mystery now lists Crossword Mysteries among its former series, and we have not seen a sixth film announced. Riddle Me Dead is the place the story ends for now.
Is Crossword Mysteries based on a book?
No novel is credited for any of the five films, and we have not found a book series behind them. That makes it different from Hallmark series such as Aurora Teagarden or Murder, She Baked, which grew out of long-running novels. If a reliable source shows otherwise, we will update this page.
Do you need to watch them in order?
Each film solves its own case, so you can drop into any of them and follow the mystery. The relationship between Tess and Logan does build from film to film, though, so if that is half the fun for you, start at the beginning.
If you liked Crossword Mysteries
The closest thing on the shelf is a cozy series with a bookish or puzzle-minded sleuth. Try our list of cozy mysteries set in bookshops and libraries, or go to the Garage Sale Mysteries, another Hallmark series with an amateur sleuth and a patient police partner.
FAQ
How many Crossword Mysteries movies are there?
Five, released between 2019 and 2021.
Who stars in Crossword Mysteries?
Lacey Chabert as Tess Harper and Brennan Elliott as Logan O’Connor.
Will there be a sixth Crossword Mysteries movie?
We have not seen one announced, and Hallmark Mystery lists the series as a former series. Riddle Me Dead (2021) is the most recent film.
Which one is your favorite, and did you ever solve the clue before Tess did? Tell us in the comments.
Keep reading
- Hallmark mystery movies based on books
- Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries in order
- Garage Sale Mysteries in order
Sources
Film titles, order and years were checked on 1 November 2026 against two Wikipedia pages that agree with each other:
- Hallmark Mystery — the list of former series, Crossword Mysteries (2019–2021)
- Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott — filmographies, with the character names
- Hallmark Mystery — the network’s own site
Spotted a mistake, or news of a sixth film? Tell us in the comments and we will fix it.