Hailey Dean Mystery (TV Series) Hailey Dean Mystery: A Marriage Made for Murder (2018) User Reviews

Sound track is too irritating and loud.

[jamiedmatthews-03081 · 7/10 · 23 September 2020]

I love all the Hallmark movies and especially the mysteries. They have suspense without so much silliness. But in the Haley Dean series, each one I've seen, the soundtrack outbalances the dialog. With her voice especially, being so soft, it's irritating to try and hear what's being said. The soundtrack is constant! Please in future episodes, lower the volume! Thank you. Jamie

A better effort

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 7 July 2023]

Victor looks to have died from a heart attack, but on further investigation, it appears he was poisoned with arsenic. Accusations start flying, and his wife, Christy (Christine Chatelain), is dubbed a black widow when information about her past relationships surfaces. It's more complicated than a simple case of killing husbands to get insurance money, however. An art forgery ring might also have something to do with Victor's death as it's an enterprise flush with arsenic it turns out. In addition, Victor's long-time friend, Debra (Christina Cox), appears overly eager to shut down the gallery while his employee, Lawrence (Carlo Marks), is pleased that he now has a chance to exhibit his photography.

I have seen a few Halley Dean episodes and found them so-so and moderately diverting, but this one is a better effort with a sharper focus, some good characterisation and a killer twist. And Halley is less annoying with her bossiness and blank stare.

Very Good!

[athompsonblue · 8/10 · 19 December 2021]

Hailey Dean is an excellent series, and this fifth installment keeps it going. I was NOT expecting who the culprit turned out to be. And the movie ended with great buildup for the next one.

However, I don't think therapist-patient privilege extends to murder confessions. Psychologists are surely not expected to withhold knowledge in a criminal investigation!

Hailey Dean Mystery: A Marriage Made for Murder

[JoBloTheMovieCritic · 6/10 · 20 July 2019]

6/10 - one of my least favorite Hailey Dean mysteries, but still great fun

An improbable murder mystery, very well done

[wjspears · 9/10 · 1 February 2022]

Up until the last 15 minutes or so, this was an interesting and complicated murder mystery, with lots of suspects and multiple possible motives. The slow reveals throughout are well done.

But in the last quarter hour, the mystery takes a major "left turn" that is totally unexpected, and wildly unbelievable.

What should have doomed the last 15 minutes to impatient annoyance for the show to be over, instead is masterfully handled by the writers to create a suspenseful and truly satisfying conclusion to the episode.

The episode, as always is aided immensely by the wonderful ensemble of actors that populate the Hailey Dean Mystery series. Kellie Martin herself, as Hailey Dean, is the center from which the ensemble believably and enjoyably revolves.

Near the end of this episode, Hailey softly smiles, "Thanks for trusting me, guys". Detective Danny Morgan (Giacomo Baessato) replies, "Hey! When Hailey Dean springs a murder suspect out of jail, then asks me to put a wire on her, and set up surveillance outside her art gallery, I'm not going to say No!"

Worse script and acting than previous one ...

[ronalamont-91472 · 2/10 · 28 April 2019]

I had hoped that the second of the three-part episode of Hailey Dean Mysteries would start to find its way... but to no avail. For the first third of the movie I felt like the actors were still just "running lines" and we were waiting for the real film with acting and expression to start. Danny asks for Hailey's opinions, suggestions, plans of action all the time and even asks her to interrogate suspects "She won't talk to me ...maybe she'll talk to you?" Really? Jonas has never been to an Art Gallery. He's intimidated by Art. Really? Viv is still only eating at food trucks for lunch. Really? Whatever plot twists Hailey assumes might have happened must have happened. Done deal. Then they follow that trail and arrest whoever is on that path. I must say I wasn't expecting the reveal but I'm sure many other viewers did work out who the killer was. I love this genre when the mysteries are well-constructed and (relatively) believable and the characters are good actors, have good chemistry and good dialogue. I've always enjoyed Kellie Martin's work so let's hope the third part is more watchable and rewarding.