Movie Review: A Marriage Made for Murder - A Hailey Dean Mystery

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Solid mystery

Cons: A little heavy on the cheese

The Bottom Line:

A dead art dealer

Starts a solid mystery

Great for Hailey fans

“Now I See.  This Isn’t a Date; It’s an Investigation.”  “Why Can’t It Be Both?”  “With You, It Usually Is.”

When I heard the title of the second Hailey Dean Mystery Movie this month, A Marriage Made for Murder, I must admit I assumed that we’d be dealing with a couple who committed murder.  Turns out I was quite a ways from the truth, but the title makes perfect sense by the end.

The victim in this movie is Victor (Matthew J. Dowden), the owner of an art gallery that Clyde (Chad Lowe) regularly purchased art from.  Hailey Dean (Kelly Martin) tags along when Clyde goes to offer his condolences.  At that point, everyone seems to think he’s had a heart attack.  It’s only when Hailey asks her boyfriend Jonas (Matthew MacCaull) to speed up the death certificate does she learn that the hospital has no record of Victor in their computer.

That’s odd enough for Hailey to call in the police, who are able to determine it was murder.  As the secrets in Victor’s life start coming to light, motives multiply.  But who killed him?

So how does the title play into the mystery?  I’m not going to tell you; you’ll have to watch it to find out for yourself.  I got so caught up in the motives that were coming to light that I couldn’t figure out who the killer was going to be.  Things make sense at the end, and the final quarter of the movie is wonderful in how it plays out.

Meanwhile, having Clyde back in Hailey’s life continues to help her deal with her fiancé Will’s murder.  That appears to be the main focus of the next movie in the franchise, so I’m looking forward to getting some answers on this mystery.

Being a Hallmark movie, there’s a fair amount of cheese to be had here, both in the writing and the acting.  It seemed to me to be a little worse than normal here, but it still only damped my enjoyment a little.  The usual cast of supporting players are all here and enjoyable as always despite the cheese.

A Marriage Made for Murder provides an enjoyable hour and a half of mystery and sets us up for the next movie in the franchise.  Hailey’s fans will enjoy this one and be anxiously waiting for the next.