Garage Sale Mystery: The Novel Murders

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.

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...

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.

I enjoyed this one the least so far. And this is coming from a bookworm! The entire plot was far too predictable, and the ending downright silly.

The Garage Sale Mystery Movies characters are loosely based on a trilogy written by Suzi Weinert. She wrote the first book at age 72 and had it published at age 75. The third book was published when she turned 80.

Lori Loughlin starred in the first Garage Sale Mystery Movie in 2013. As of August 2017, eleven movies have aired.

The Novel Murders is the sixth entry in the series. As an antiques dealer/sleuth Jennifer Shannon is inquisitive but not pushy or intrusive. She has a good relationship with the police and the love and support of family and friends.

We have seen this plot before in Castle TV Series: Flowers for your Grave (murders were copied from his books); and Hallmark's Aurora Teagarden Mystery: The Real Murders (the Real Murder Club members were murdered - copied from true crime books.)

In The Novel Murders, the murders are taken from famous classic mysteries. This is probably my favorite Garage Sale Mystery.

The Garage Sale Mystery Movies are really great cozy mysteries that the entire family can enjoy. I highly recommend all of them.