I really love this series and wish there were going to be more movies! The mystery was again great and I had NO clue who the killer was. I love the chemistry between Shannon and Mac and am so ready for them to be a thing already!
Fixer Upper Mysteries (TV Series)
Concrete Evidence: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017)
User Reviews
Review this title14 Reviews
Stuck in the dumbwaiter
bkoganbing4 June 2017
A mostly Canadian cast and Canadian locations are what makes Concrete Evidence happen. This Hallmark mystery movie involves Jewel Pilcher who has taken over a construction company from her dad Ron Lea. She's working on a job for Colin Ferguson a mystery writer who has bought a rundown old mansion. It's a fixer-upper to either flip or live in and since Ferguson has a thing for Pilcher it will be the latter.
But plans go awry when a skeleton is found in a dumbwaiter that was deliberately sabotaged to be stuck between floors. It's the body of a girl who was a contemporary of Pilcher's in school. When she wasn't found it was thought she went off to Hollywood to seek fame and fortune.
Now a missing persons case becomes a really cold case homicide. But a lot of the possible suspects are still in town. I will say this the killer is not one I suspected at all.
The Hallmark mysteries seem to have a nice cookie cutter pattern where red state American women become the heroes. Still they do offer some good entertainment as this one does.
But plans go awry when a skeleton is found in a dumbwaiter that was deliberately sabotaged to be stuck between floors. It's the body of a girl who was a contemporary of Pilcher's in school. When she wasn't found it was thought she went off to Hollywood to seek fame and fortune.
Now a missing persons case becomes a really cold case homicide. But a lot of the possible suspects are still in town. I will say this the killer is not one I suspected at all.
The Hallmark mysteries seem to have a nice cookie cutter pattern where red state American women become the heroes. Still they do offer some good entertainment as this one does.
... High School Memories...
kathleen-0454614 June 2021
This Fixer Upper Mystery isn't a second chance story, and yet it does let some of these characters revisit their high school days, and solve the mystery of what ever became of their friend the High School Drama star everyone always thought would make it big in Hollywood.
Go Jewel
Jackbv1237 January 2018
Shannon, played by the singer Jewel, is a totally likeable woman whose career is contracting. But she keeps getting sidetracked by murders. In this one, the trail of clues wanders a bit. We get a bit more romance between Shannon and Mac as Jewel and Colin Ferguson connect.
slightly better
SnoopyStyle2 January 2022
Renovation expert Shannon Hughes (Jewel) is fixing Mac Sullivan (Colin Ferguson)'s home when she finds a skeleton stuck in the dumbwaiter. A bracelet names the victim as her longtime worker's sister missing years ago. They all knew the popular high school girl. Shannon finds suspicious clues in the house suggesting murder. The friends need to dig into their past and their community to find the truth.
It's rare for a Hallmark Mystery but I am interested in the case. It would be nice if the suspects are played by more compelling actors but that may be asking too much from minor characters in a Hallmark TV movie. It's not so much whodunit but whydunit. This one is better than the first movie but I'm not sure by how much. On a minor note, it is missing the end scene where Sherlock explains the case to Watson. Even for a simple case, it's nice to hear it laid out by the lead character.
It's rare for a Hallmark Mystery but I am interested in the case. It would be nice if the suspects are played by more compelling actors but that may be asking too much from minor characters in a Hallmark TV movie. It's not so much whodunit but whydunit. This one is better than the first movie but I'm not sure by how much. On a minor note, it is missing the end scene where Sherlock explains the case to Watson. Even for a simple case, it's nice to hear it laid out by the lead character.
Hallmark does it again
somelikeithotz20 August 2018
There is nothing I love more than these quaint little mysteries and Hallmark seems to be cranking them out in royal fashion. Yay for me. Love the marathons and love the cast of this one. Jewel is a stand out. I don't think I had seen her in anything else before this and I'm glad I have. She has a new number one fan. Keep making these movies please.
First time seeing A Fixer Upper Mystery
bmiller5919 March 2021
We enjoyed it. It wasn't the most compelling but it wasn't terrible and was above average. Anything with Colin in it is great and for some reason I didn't recognize Jewel.
The story was good, and I wasn't even close to solving it correctly.
We will watch this series again.
The story was good, and I wasn't even close to solving it correctly.
We will watch this series again.
More fixer uppers
ninastarman12 May 2019
Go Bulldogs! Teenage girl missing for years found murdered and hidden in a dumb waiter.
cgvsluis5 April 2022
While starting the renovation on Mac's new/old home "The Craddick House", Shannon finds a skeleton of a body that was hidden in the dumb waiter.
It turns out it was a high school senior that Shannon and all her friends knew...including Shannon's foreman because the body is Lily, his sister who supposedly headed to Hollywood California after graduation to follow her dreams.
Mac and Shannon are both on the case...to solve this crime together. I love these two sharing their past stories and getting to know one another in the course of solving the crime.
Another good mystery, great acting and the story is getting better and better. It's not quite up to par with my three favorites: Murder she Baked, Mystery 101 and Aurora Teagarden...but it is still one of the better mystery series on Hallmark. I hope they do more!
It turns out it was a high school senior that Shannon and all her friends knew...including Shannon's foreman because the body is Lily, his sister who supposedly headed to Hollywood California after graduation to follow her dreams.
Mac and Shannon are both on the case...to solve this crime together. I love these two sharing their past stories and getting to know one another in the course of solving the crime.
Another good mystery, great acting and the story is getting better and better. It's not quite up to par with my three favorites: Murder she Baked, Mystery 101 and Aurora Teagarden...but it is still one of the better mystery series on Hallmark. I hope they do more!
Nah...I believe Concrete Evidence has too many visible cracks that just never dried properly
Ed-Shullivan27 August 2017
Through no fault of the main actors in this made for television movie "Concrete Evidence: A Fixer Upper Mystery" just was not very intriguing. Jewel Kilcher who plays female general contractor and part time amateur sleuth Shannon Hughes has at least three suspects one of which who may be responsible for a 20 year old murder that has remained a mystery. That is a murder mystery until the teenage high school victims body is discovered in an old abandoned home in the bottom cavity of a dumb waiter in the house that Shannon Hughes has been charged with renovating.
Mrs. Shullivan and I just found the plot to be quite thin on circumstances and how the evidence unfolds in the hands of Shannon Hughes and her contractor/admirer Mac Sullivan (played by Colin Ferguson) and her good friend Jennifer Hennessey (played by Erin Karpluk from the 2010-2015 TV police series Rookie Blue) was just too wishy washy. Quite frankly it just didn't hold our attention and then we both felt that "oh no, not another stinker ending" feeling. But sad to say, yes, the ending left a lot to be desired for a murder mystery film.
I give it a 4 out of 10 rating and believe me, this I consider high praise for the main actors did an admirable job with a pretty weak script. This is not a memorable film and I am writing this review to remind myself that if it ever comes back as a re-run why for the life of me I may not be able to remember anything about the film.
Mrs. Shullivan and I just found the plot to be quite thin on circumstances and how the evidence unfolds in the hands of Shannon Hughes and her contractor/admirer Mac Sullivan (played by Colin Ferguson) and her good friend Jennifer Hennessey (played by Erin Karpluk from the 2010-2015 TV police series Rookie Blue) was just too wishy washy. Quite frankly it just didn't hold our attention and then we both felt that "oh no, not another stinker ending" feeling. But sad to say, yes, the ending left a lot to be desired for a murder mystery film.
I give it a 4 out of 10 rating and believe me, this I consider high praise for the main actors did an admirable job with a pretty weak script. This is not a memorable film and I am writing this review to remind myself that if it ever comes back as a re-run why for the life of me I may not be able to remember anything about the film.
Interesting characters, so-so mysteries
wjspears12 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I like the two main characters on this show--Shannon Hughes (Jewel Kilcher) and Mac Sullivan (Colin Ferguson).
A female contractor would be a really interesting character role in any kind of drama. It's a bit of a stretch to make her an amateur detective, but no more so than librarian Aurora Teagarden being an amateur detective.
And Mac Sullivan being a former crime reporter who wants to try his hand at writing a crime novel is also an interesting character role.
And I like the chemistry between Jewel Kilcher and Colin Ferguson. They work off of each other very well, and are believable as friends and growing into something deeper.
I found the first mystery--Framed For Murder--to be more engaging than this one. It felt like in Concrete Evidence, there were too many suspects, and too many possible motives to keep track of, as a viewer. It may have worked better as a mystery, if it had been a second season entry, where we maybe knew some of the witnesses and suspects better.
The episode also did a poor job, I thought, of making the murdered girl, Lily Brogans, someone we cared about. Lily's brother, Sean's, reaction of anger and grief felt genuine.
But most of the other characters grief never felt real to me. That may have been the fault of the actors, but I also don't think that the writers gave them good scenes to show their grief.
The scene where Brad and Denise show a memorial video to Lily's brother-- pretty much right after Lily's remains are found--was particularly strange--not to mention derivative of Veronica Mars.
I applaud anyone stretching their range, as Jewel appears to be doing here with this show. I think that she is much better than some of the reviewers are grading her. But so far anyway, I am finding this one of the weaker Hallmark female mystery series.
A female contractor would be a really interesting character role in any kind of drama. It's a bit of a stretch to make her an amateur detective, but no more so than librarian Aurora Teagarden being an amateur detective.
And Mac Sullivan being a former crime reporter who wants to try his hand at writing a crime novel is also an interesting character role.
And I like the chemistry between Jewel Kilcher and Colin Ferguson. They work off of each other very well, and are believable as friends and growing into something deeper.
I found the first mystery--Framed For Murder--to be more engaging than this one. It felt like in Concrete Evidence, there were too many suspects, and too many possible motives to keep track of, as a viewer. It may have worked better as a mystery, if it had been a second season entry, where we maybe knew some of the witnesses and suspects better.
The episode also did a poor job, I thought, of making the murdered girl, Lily Brogans, someone we cared about. Lily's brother, Sean's, reaction of anger and grief felt genuine.
But most of the other characters grief never felt real to me. That may have been the fault of the actors, but I also don't think that the writers gave them good scenes to show their grief.
The scene where Brad and Denise show a memorial video to Lily's brother-- pretty much right after Lily's remains are found--was particularly strange--not to mention derivative of Veronica Mars.
I applaud anyone stretching their range, as Jewel appears to be doing here with this show. I think that she is much better than some of the reviewers are grading her. But so far anyway, I am finding this one of the weaker Hallmark female mystery series.
Ridiculous!
Rita00023 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Terrible interpretation by actress Jewel.
So many nonsense things:
- a corpse is discovered and the police don't send everyone out?
- does the woman who checks the corpse quickly draw conclusions as to how the injuries were done?
- are important results of the investigation spoken in the presence of entrails?
- the next day the house is already "free" to be able to continue the renovations?
- a woman is questioning everyone, seriously interfering with the police work and nothing happens?
- the attempt to incriminate the attack on the Cliff, based on the tool with a name ... ridiculous. And the police soon realize that it was on purpose (without any investigation !!)
- a man takes 20 stitches and goes home with some ice? And the hair is not shaved where are the points?
- the obvious romance?
- a corpse is discovered in a person's home and he dedicates himself to the investigation, just because yes?
Love Colin not a fan of Jewel
mzt12116 January 2019
Concrete Evidence
coltras3518 June 2023
Renovation specialist Shannon Hughes is forced to turn private detective once again when Mac, her new sweetheart, moves to Lighthouse Cove and buys the derelict lighthouse manor for which the town is named. As a spot of demolition work gets under way, the bones of a teenage girl who went missing 15 years ago are uncovered, and if Shannon has any chance of completing her job on time, she will need to tackle this cold-case herself.
Another light mystery that benefits from some good acting, interesting characters, however the plot can be overburdened and muddled, marring some of the enjoyment. It was hard to keep up, especially when it was going off tangent, loosing momentum.
Another light mystery that benefits from some good acting, interesting characters, however the plot can be overburdened and muddled, marring some of the enjoyment. It was hard to keep up, especially when it was going off tangent, loosing momentum.
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