Movie Review: Poisoned in Paradise - A Martha's Vineyard Mystery

 

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Intriguing mystery; chemistry between the leads

Cons: Usual light Hallmark cheese

The Bottom Line:

A poisoned waitress

Leads to more island intrigue

As characters shine

Poison Finds Its Way to Martha’s Vineyard

While I enjoy all of Hallmark’s Mystery Movies (why else would I watch them), there are some franchises I enjoy more than others.  One I really enjoy is the Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries, so I was thrilled we got Poisoned in Paradise this week.

Retired detective Jeff Jackson (Jesse Metcalfe) has developed a reputation thanks to helping out the Martha’s Vineyard police on some of their cases.  That’s why Katie (Britt McKillip) comes to him when she finds herself in over her head.  Before she can tell Jeff any of the particulars, he sends Katie to Chief Madieras (Eric Keenleyside) since Jeff really doesn’t have the authority to help her out.

Katie doesn’t go to the police.  Worse yet, Jeff and Zee (Sarah Lind) find Katie dead on the side of the road after a date.  As the new medical examiner on the island, Zee jumps into the autopsy, and she quickly discovers that Katie was poisoned.  Jeff feels obligated to find out what happened to her.  But what in her life led to her death?

The reason I love this series so much is the main characters.  Jeff, Zee, and her dad, the chief, are all fantastic, and their relationships are wonderful.  No matter which of the three characters are in a scene, they always shine, and when they are together, it is even better.  Yes, we’ve got the slow burn romance between Jeff and Zee, but I do like how the characters are working through that.

Part of Jeff’s backstory is the shooting that injured him and forced his early retirement.  Much of it has remained unsolved, but we got another piece of that puzzle in this movie.  A very intriguing piece.  I’m anxious to see where they go with it.

And this mystery?  It’s great as well.  The suspects were varied enough that I didn’t pick up on what was really going on until the end.  Yes, I’d been certain that just about everyone had done it at one time or another, so I wasn’t surprised at the ending, but I didn’t figure it out too early.

Being a Hallmark movie, there’s the usual light dose of cheese, but it is a light dose.  The actors drew me into the story, and I enjoyed the movie.

Poisoned in Paradise is another fun visit to Martha’s Vineyard.  If you enjoy this franchise or Hallmark’s mystery movies in general, you’ll enjoy it.