Lisa Ks Book Reviews

GARAGE SALE MYSTERY One

GARAGE SALE MYSTERY Two - ALL THAT GLITTERS

GARAGE SALE MYSTERY

Movie 1 in the Garage Sale Mysteries

A Hallmark Movie Channel Original

Based on the Garage Sale Mystery book series

by Suzi Weinert

JENNIFER SHANNON loves scouring garage sales to look for items to sell in her resell shop, but when she realizes a series of burglaries and a friend s murder may have a connection to the sales, she not only helps the cops, but does some undercover sleuthing of her own. As she gets closer to the truth, she becomes the murderers next target. Now she must fight for her own survival in order to solve the mystery and bring her friend s killer to justice.

MY REVIEW

I want to start by saying, in researching the books this movie series is based on, they appear to be more along the line of thrillers, and not cozies. Hallmark adapted them into the cozy style. (For a series similar in subject, written in true cozy form, I suggest the Garage Sale Mysteries by Sarah Harris. They are really wonderful books.)

Since I’ve never read the books this series is based on, I can’t do a comparison between them. That being said, I really enjoyed this movie.

About the movie:

In GARAGE SALE MYSTERY protagonist, Jennifer Shannon (played by Lori Loughlin) is a married mom of two children. She co-owns a resale shop with her friend, Danielle (Sarah Strange). Jennifer hits all the garage sale in town looking for treasure to resale in her shop, as well as on eBay. Jennifer soon makes a connection to local robberies and garage sales, and begins to believe the accidental death of a friend was no accident, but instead murder connected to the robberies, and she plans to prove it.

My thoughts:

I loved going on the garage sale trips with Jennifer. It was fun to see the way she scanned the merchandise and zoomed in on the best pieces. I really enjoyed when I recognized a piece like she did, and I knew the value of the item. Watching made me want to start going to yard sales (except that whole getting up way early on a Saturday morning thing does no appeal to me). I loved Jennifer’s resale shop. She had a lot of amazing pieces in there. The scenes in the shop with co-owner Danielle (Dani) were some of my favorites. Dani was unique and quirky, and balanced nicely off Jennifer’s more down to earth personality. I also really liked Jennifer’s husband and children.

As far as the mystery went, I found it to be very creative, and frighteningly enough, something that could happen in real life. Thieves scoping out garage sales in rather wealthy neighborhoods to get an idea of the wealth of the sellers really does seem plausible. What seemed less realistic to me was the owners allowing people to roam through their homes to look at items they didn’t want to bring outside. These were garage sales, not estate sales. Maybe it happens more than I know, but I would never allow strangers to roam around my house, or let them in to use my bathroom! And I’m not even wealthy!

Jennifer took to investigating very quickly. Although, like a lot leads in a mystery, Jennifer tends to get a little too lost in her investigations. I’m sure she doesn’t think she’s being obvious in her questioning of people, but sitting there watching the movie, I just wanted to grab her arm and pull her back! A refreshing part of the story was when she went to the police with her suspicions about how the thieves were casing homes, and one detective was willing to hear her out and actually believed her. He did find it a bit of a stretch that her friend’s death had anything to do with the robberies. But they worked together nicely. Of course, there is a murder, so Jennifer was right about that. I did guess the killer early on, but a blame that on the director of the movie allowing the killer to be a little too obvious, because in books, I hardly ever guess right. Just another reason to read. You can’t tell the killer is looking all shifty. ;-)

The cast:

Lori Loughlin is very well suited to the role of Jennifer. I really enjoyed the way she played the role. She’s very likable and that makes her fun to watch. The actor who plays Jennifer’s husband, Jason Shannon, Rick Ravenello was a good match for Loughlin. They felt like a real couple to me. Actress Sarah Strange played the role of Danielle, Jennifer’s business partner. This actress made her character very believable. The rest of the cast, did a great job in their roles and made for an excellent ensemble.

Looking back on my review, it almost sounds like I didn’t enjoy GARAGE SALE MYSTERY. That’s not true at all. I had a lot of fun watching it. And my purchase of the DVD was well worth the price (which was very reasonable) because I will watch this one over and over.

Cozy mystery fans will enjoy GARAGE SALE MYSTERY. It’s good, clean mystery that everyone in the family can enjoy. If you don’t get the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel, consider purchasing the DVDs available, or speak to your library about getting them.

📕📖📘📖📙📖📗

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Movie 2 in the Garage Sale Mysteries

A Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Original

Based on the Garage Sale Mystery book series

by Suzi Weinert

Jennifer Shannon has an eye for antiques and a mind for solving mysteries. When she buys a storage unit at auction, she has no idea she’s opening the door to murder, and realizes the killer is after something in the storage unit. Stolen diamonds, antique Teddy Bears and handsome strangers are the clues to solving the crime.

MY REVIEW

I very much enjoyed this second movie in the Garage Sales Mysteries starring Lori Loughlin. I found it to be a great follow up to the first movie.

About the movie:

In ALL THAT GLITTERS, protagonist Jennifer Shannon (Loughlin) is back and looking for bargains to sell in her re-sale shop she runs with partner, Danielle (Sara Strange). This time, Jennifer has her sights set on storage units to find her treasures, and she finds more than she bargained for. When a murder takes place, Jennifer hunts done the clues and connects the murder with something from the storage unit she purchased. But what?

My Thoughts:

ALL THAT GLITTERS was just as entertaining as the first movie in this series, simply entitled, GARAGE SALE MYSTERY. I liked the character of Jennifer Shannon as much as I did in the first movie. She’s a little know-it-ally, but then she can’t help it if she’s clever. I also really liked her quirky business partner, Danielle in the first movie. But I don’t like the way that had her acting in this movie. In movie one I really got the feeling that she is a strong woman, but in ALL THAT GLITTERS I they took some of that away from her. I know they did it to fit the story, but I was disappointed. I hope they have her back to her normal spunky self in the next movie (which is already out, but I don’t get the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel and it isn’t available on DVD).

I think the mystery played out well. While I had some of it figured out, parts of it surprised me. There was more than one mystery going on, but they were intertwined during Jennifer’s investigation. Of course, it all becomes clear by the end of the movie, and made for a satisfying conclusion. Also, like the in the first movie, at the end of ALL THAT GLITTERS, Jennifer manages to do something wonderful for a character that has less than a minor role.

The cast:

Lori Loughlin is great in the role of Jennifer. I really like the way she plays the role. The actor who plays Jennifer’s husband, Jason, has a new actor in the role, Steve Bacic, replacing actor Rick Ravenello. I have to say, I didn’t care for Bacic’s portrayal. But I’ll have to get use to him, since he is still playing the role in upcoming installments. Sarah Strange is back in the role of, Danielle aka Dani. She’s perfect in the part, as long as they keep her true to character.

ALL THAT GLITTERS is a movie cozy mysteries fan will enjoy for sure. If you don’t get the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel, consider purchasing the DVDs available, or speak to your library about getting them.