Anytime there’s a new serial on Hallmark, I’m curious. What elevates that curiosity is when, in the leading role, there’s an actor I’m fond of.
A Beautiful Place to Die: [A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery 1] (2020) Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Review
Moving to Martha’s Vineyard wasn’t in the plans, but it’s where Jeff Jackson (Jesse Metcalfe) hopes to find some normalcy and peace for his shattered state. Formerly a Boston detective, Jeff moves back to this place where he spent summers to sort out his late father’s affairs and pick up the restoration job his father never finished on his boat. What he doesn’t plan on is reconnecting with his old friend, Zee (Sarah Lind).
As he continues to work on the boat, and strives to quiet his emotional and physical scars, Jeff unwittingly stumbles upon a suspicious death. This sends him to the police chief Madieras (Eric Keenleyside) and reinspires his astute powers of observation.
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Chances are if you’ve seen a Hallmark romance, you’ve seen one (or more!) of their ‘Movies and Mysteries’ originals. This title is the first of a new 2020 series to debut on the network, at least I’d assume this will only be the first. (In fact, there are currently plans to air a second one in February, and if true, then I’ll be a happy viewer.) This is one of the best, if not the best produced Hallmark mysteries I’ve seen to date.
The pace is excellent, the red herrings interesting, the atmosphere, and the cast are all top quality. Though what I think impresses me the most is that this is a more serious or “darker” mystery. Don’t be pushed off, this isn’t a depressing kind of dark, it’s just more of an appropriate for the character, grown up kind of story, which is what makes it so appealing, interesting and really, well produced. I like how everything plays out, and the overall “tone” of the story.
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Unless you’re not a fan of mystery stories, I highly recommend this new Martha’s Vineyard Mystery installment or rather, the debut of it. Hopefully it does well enough to warrant future installments because it’s both interesting and digs into the more complex side of characterization, which I love. It’s a job well done for this network, and the setting (filmed in Canada but of course, set in Martha’s Vineyard) helps to make the story of this Martha’s Vineyard Mystery 1 seem “new.” Add in the talents of this cast, and the fact that because of the characters, I’m most curious to know more about them all, and you have a good time wrapped in a fun new mystery!
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You can find, to purchase, ‘A Beautiful Place to Die’ digitally on Amazon Video
Content: There’s some minor “violence,” guns go off, and a scene shows a man being shot (we presume he dies) and another being severely injured from a bullet. References suggest an affair resulted in a child, but even with the TV-PG rating, there’s nothing graphic.
Photos: Hallmark / Crown Media Press
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[…] signature series, including their Martha’s Vineyard line. The crime-solving group we met in ‘A Beautiful Place to Die’ returns in ‘Riddled with Deceit,’ a new story that impresses me as much as its peer. We catch up […]