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.
I have a couple of these recorded but haven't watched them yet. I don't find Kelly Martin to be the strongest Hallmark actress and so I haven't been motivated to watch them. Despite the cheese this does sound like fun. Maybe it's time to watch one!
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