Meurtre en 3 actes

When an old man comes into her store and buys something too large to carry home on the bus, Jennifer (Lori Loughlin)agrees to deliver it for him. But when she gets to the man's apartment she finds him dead and before she can call the paramedics they arrive. Whilst Detective Lynwood (Kevin O'Grady) initially suspects a heart attack the autopsy shows something suspicious involving nicotine poisoning, it reminds Jennifer of something she once read in a book, an Agatha Christie novel. The next murder that occurs is based on A study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, and third murder is from The Spiral Staircase By Mary Roberts Rhinehart.

The subplots: unlucky in love Danielle (Sarah Strange)has become intrigued by Maggie (Fiona Vroom), a clairvoyant, who seems to be spot on with what she knows about her whilst Jennifer's son, Logan (Connor Stanhope), wants to go camping with his father, Jason (Steve Bacic).

Excellent entry to a terrific series- the idea of a killer using murder methods from mystery novels is inspiring and the plot has plenty of hooks and it's quite compelling. Halfway in I knew who the killer was, and even the misdirection failed to sway me, but it's so absorbing, fun and fast-paced that it didn't matter. The subplot doesn't come in the way.

This was a wonderful and literary murder that starts with an elderly gentleman interested in the figure of a bird. He ends up dead much the same way as the murder victim in an Agatha Christie novel and would have been ruled death by natural causes if it hadn't been for Jennifer's suspicions. When a life coach is murdered ala Sherlock Holmes it is obvious that Jennifer is on the right track and she becomes a consultant for Frank! Finally, no changes to the cast (except our medical examiner is strangely missing).

Together Frank and Jennifer solve this murder. Great mystery and I learned that Agatha Christie worked as a pharmacist in WWI which is why she uses a lot of poisons in her murder mysteries. This is a strong recommendation to cosy mystery fans.

I still love this series in spite of the corrupt Lori Loughlin. I actually still find her perfect for the role much to my annoyance.

There are still many I haven't seen but I prefer when she's finding dead bodies at garage sales or in old houses she's checking out for antiques. This one felt more like an Aurora Teagarden mystery I saw where the murderer was copying real murders. Lori even delivered lines like Aurora's character would have.

I liked the camping subplot with father and son and it gave me a chance to get a little more used to the new actor playing their son, Logan.

It seemed a little slow and not as exciting as usual. But still enjoyable.

6/10 - clever murder mystery is extra enjoyable for fans of classic mystery novels

7.3 stars.

Almost as good as the previous one, but lacking only in the area of how I felt once it was over. I think the story itself is more elaborate and the characters are much more interesting, but something about the presentation, maybe the timing and even some of the acting was more mundane. There are so many nuances to these mystery series on Hallmark, they are all so similar. Once in a while there is a standout amongst the crowd. 'Mystery 101' for example, almost every episode is extremely entertaining and almost riveting. 'Garage Sale' is more akin to an older style of mystery show, not as engaging, more lighthearted and less serious. The mystery went off without a hitch, although I think we all knew who the antagonist was, we just didn't want to admit it to ourselves...