As the summer comes to a close, so does Garage Sale Mystery Month. Now that we’ve arrived at the final film in this year’s collection of Garage Sale Mystery films, I can share my honest opinion about not only Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor, but on 2018’s Garage Sale Mystery Month as a whole. I’ve said in my Garage Sale Mysteries: Picture a Murder review that this series has been very creative when it comes to their mystery stories. Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor has continued to keep the creative streak alive for this series, with the inclusion of an auction house and a decades old piano. What did I think of this year’s finale of Garage Sale Mystery Month? Read my review of Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor in order to find out!

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: The cast of Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor was, once again, talented! Even though his on-screen presence is, usually, limited, I think that Jay Brazeau did a very good job portraying Tramell. As the head doctor at the local morgue, Tramell has always had such a pleasant presence within the Garage Sale Mystery series! The actors portraying secondary characters gave just as good of a performance as the series regulars. Two of these actors that really stood out to me were Nicola Lipman and Chris William Martin. Like I mentioned in my review of Logan Lucky, accents in a movie can be hit or miss. But, for Nicola and Chris, they both pulled off an accent that made their characters seem more believable!

 

The mystery: In most of the mystery films on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, the primary mystery revolves around a murder. In Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor, there was more than one mystery, including the mystery of who hurt Jennifer’s friend. This was a creative choice that I found very interesting. Another creative choice that was interesting was having Jacques, one of the suspects, being heavily involved in the primary mystery. In most mystery movies on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, the involvement of the suspects within the respective film’s main mystery is limited to, simply, being a suspect. This change to the Garage Sale Mystery series added some intrigue to this film’s overall story.

 

Hannah and Logan’s subplots: While Hannah’s subplots in these four Garage Sale Mystery films have been hit or miss, Logan’s subplots have been less than stellar to non-existent. In Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor, both Hannah and Logan received subplots that I really liked! Logan uses a homework assignment to figure out how to help his basketball team, while Hannah takes a job as a tutor. These subplots added interest in the other stories from the film besides the mysteries themselves. It also showed other members of the Shannon family, besides Jennifer, being problem-solvers and saving the day.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A slower pace: Like I said in my review of Garage Sale Mysteries: The Pandora’s Box Murders, the movies in the Garage Sale Mystery series usually have a faster pace. However, the pace of Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor was slower than expected. This caused the movie to feel more drawn out.

 

The under-utilization of Detective Lynwood: In almost all of the Garage Sale Mystery films, Detective Lynwood has been one of the key characters in this series. But, in Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor, Detective Lynwood and his problem-solving skills were under-utilized. As I’ve mentioned before, Jacques’ involvement in the mystery itself was an interesting creative choice. However, that creative choice limited Detective Lynwood’s screen-time.

 

The ending: In the Garage Sale Mystery series, the ending is usually when all of the stories wrap up nicely and the main cast of characters discuss their solved conflicts. The ending in Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor wasn’t bad, it just wrapped up a little too quickly. Because this was the last movie in Garage Sale Mystery month, it seemed to not give this collection of movies a strong end.

My overall impression:

As a whole, I thought Garage Sale Mysteries: Murder in D Minor was decent at best. This does disappoint me because I was hoping the last film in Garage Sale Mystery Month would end on a strong note. However, the overall quality of this year’s Garage Sale Mystery Month was about the same as last year’s. The Garage Sale Mystery series is one of my favorites on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. The quality of this series has been consistent, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Hallmark announced a third Garage Sale Mystery Month for 2019. Even though the Garage Sale Mystery series will take a break until next year, there are other mystery films that are on their way. With the next Darrow & Darrow film premiering this October, “The Crossword Mysteries” (starring Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott) will make its debut in 2019! Hallmark Movies & Mysteries has no shortage of mystery stories and it seems like, when it comes to their movies, they have something available for everyone.

 

Overall score: 7.4 out of 10

 

Have you seen the films within Garage Sale Mystery Month? Would you like to see the Garage Sale Mystery series continue? Let me know in the comment section!

 

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen