The Abigail Mysteries

I was looking forward to seeing what kind of mystery GAC might offer because I do enjoy a nice cozy mystery, but I couldn't even follow the mystery plot in this movie. The plot was constantly interrupted by random discussions of religion between the main character Abby and well every other character. I guess this was an attempt to differentiate from Hallmark channel and appeal to the GAC base but goodness please first nail down the plot and develop the characters. Signed, Sealed, Delivered was a very successful mystery movie series with religious overtones that didn't have me cringing or reaching for the remote.

I watched the entire movie because I liked the dynamics between the lead character and her friend who was a cop. A rerun of Murder She Wrote probably could offer more suspense. Which isn't saying much.

The acting overall wasn't compelling. I never felt her struggle with God was fairly acted out. For example, she seemed to always try to pray with a glass of red wine nearby. Not sure that is the right inspiration.

Her efforts to find the killer were pretty laughable and the red herrings were easy to spot. Overall this is no competition to the Hallmark mystery movies but I found it watchable nonetheless.

A reviewer called this a Jesus Hallmark movie. If you are not religious or spiritual, skip this one.

Abigail (Ansley Gordon) is a young woman who returns to her home town after a miscarriage which sadly led to a divorce. She does mystery podcasts, and when a neighbor dies suddenly, she suspects foul play.

The neighbor who passed away seems to be leaving Abby clues in the form of Bible passages. Abigail's grandfather is a minister, and her policeman childhood friend (Bret Green) attends church regularly. Abby has become detached from her faith due to her unhappiness. The case reintroduces her.

I was not familiar with this series - it's from the Great American Family network, a Hallmark rival with a more religious bent, it seems.

I don't mind spirituality of hearing the Bible, and in today's world and at my age the passages are comforting. However, this isn't much of a mystery, and the acting is just okay.

There is a place for every form of entertainment- this is geared to a niche audience. Not for everyone.

Alright, this is a murder mystery. There should be more of an atmosphere of danger, suspense and a little bit more moodiness to properly set the tone. After all, somebody just got killed and the actors don't seem to be taking the situation very seriously. They're so light hearted and cheerful they don't come across as real; and the music sounds like something out of a half hour family situation comedy. They act as if they are trying to decide whether to go out for dinner at Red Lobster or Applebee's. A little bit more gravitas for the situation would be good. It was like "Gee whiz guys, somebody just got killed. Sure is a nice day outside!" Now, having said that, I began watching this movie because I wanted some wholesome entertainment.and because I like mystery movies and I just watched a horribly dull, gritty "film noir" mystery from the 1950's, and that was way too bleak, dark and depressing for me. One definition of a noir film is "A movie that is marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, menace, and cynical characters". So I wanted something a little lighter to watch, but the characters in this movie were just a tad too sugary sweet. If they had cast a Shirley Temple type to play Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird it couldn't have been more inappropriate. So, good try, but lay off the overly niceness next time.

I thought this movie was very well done when I did the research and discovered that the main actress, Ansley Gordon, wrote the movie as well as being an Executive Producer. The woman who played Cami on the show was the Director, Brittany Goodwin. Then the male who was the detective, Bret Green, was an Executive Producer. I think this shows a tremendous accomplishment for these relatively young people with the potential for a successful future in this genre. I did see that Ansley Gordon has already accomplished a lot of writing as well as many other projects. I do hope they all plan to give us many years of family friendly movies, particularly mysteries.

I found refreshing the movie was built around God, family and friends. Because of that, we learn a lot about encouragement, loss, forgiveness, perseverance and peace. There are several Bible scriptures quoted throughout. So obviously this isn't for everyone, but for those of us of the Christian faith, it is appreciated. I hope there is another episode to see how it goes.