"Garage Sale Mysteries" "The Mask Murder" vs. "Picture A Murder" vs. "Murder in D Minor"

                                 
     In an effort to catch up on the many movies I've been viewing, I have decided to do another one of my "Movie Verses" with a special twist. This time we're doing head to head to head with the Garage Sale Mysteries final three films for the Summer of Mysteries special to round out the end of summer. With school getting back in session, its time to get schooled in sleuthing as these three try to solve the mystery of who gets the most Green Mountain Stars.

Up first is the second chapter "The Mask Murder". Jennifer Shannon (Lori Loughlin) is up to it again when she purchases a storage unit full of antiques at a storage auction, but when she is told about a similar unit and goes to get a peak inside before the next auction, she gets more than she bargained for, the body of a young woman. Things quickly get strange when some items from the storage unit she and her partner Dani (Sarah Strange) bring back to their antique shop are some Death Mask, mask that are molded from the face of someone recently deceased and one of them looks exactly like the young woman who not only worked at the storage unit but was being stalked by a former boyfriend. It will be up to Jen to weed out whodunnit to find the truth and the motive before another death mask turns up.

Next we have the third installment, "Picture A Murder". When Jen is sold some antique cameras from a recently deceased photography enthusiast and business man Larry Brady who died of a sudden heart attack on his 60th birthday, Jen doesn't think much of it at first. But when his nephew Tony (Edward Ruttle) confides in Jen about his uncle's suspicion that someone may have been out to get him and a horrifying photograph found on one of the cameras depicting someone holding Larry's throat in a struggle, Jen immediately suspects foul play. With the list of suspects long from his brother Scott (William MacDonald) to a possible jealous boyfriend of his love interest Sandy (Michelle Harrison), finding Larry's killer may prove to be as difficult in developing a solid theory as a roll of film.

Finally we have an artistic finish in "Murder in D Minor" When Jen and Dani purchase a self-playing piano from the estate of recently deceased Carl Deats, a prominent man of the community, things take a startling turn when their friend Dean (Jeff Joseph) who is restoring the piano is attacked and left unconscious and the piano has been tampered with. All suspicions immediately go to a mysterious French man named Jacques (Chris William Martian) who was determined to buy the piano from Jen but unsuccessful and seen at the store prior to Dean being attacked. Yet as Jen digs deeper into the Deats's estate, she finds there is more going on and that Carl Deats may not have been the generous man who helped build the theater that many believed him to be. It comes more into light when a friend claims one of the paintings at auction belonged to her family and disappeared after the war in Germany and that two paintings she purchased are hiding secrets that will bring to light a motive for murder.

With three great mystery films, it is difficult to decide who deserves to be named best more. Each having their charm with looking into the little known history behind Death Mask or how far cameras have come in their time to the history of the spoils of war and how these lost treasures are still turning up today. It was tough, but I've narrowed one down to having the best rating. For it's suspicious twist and turns and a climax that you wouldn't see coming, I give "The Mask Murder" a four G.M.Star performance

⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Picture A Murder" was a photo finish when it came to the competition with its list of suspects taking all possible trails looking for a motive and the creative use old photography playing a role in committing and solving the crime. For this, I give a four G.M.Star rating.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

For "Murder in D Minor" this seemed to have it all. A mysterious man seeking something valuable, bad guys around every turn and hidden secrets of the past that hit close to dark part of history that still goes on for many families who had to flee their homes and lose priceless treasures forever. Plus a secret that can be only found in the notes putting it over the top with four and a half G.M.Stars giving this piece a standing ovation finish.

⭐⭐⭐⭐½

The Garage Sale Mysteries movies call all be viewed on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel and on demand from your provider.