Mystery Island (2023)

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The second installment in the Mystery Island series, Winner Takes All, is premiering tonight on both the Hallmark Channel and on Hallmark Mystery. So if you don't have access to Hallmark Mystery or Hallmark+ (where it will start streaming on Friday), you can catch it on the main channel. So many options!

Although I watched Mystery Island last year and have watched it a few times since then, I never did review it. So let's take a look at the movie that started it all. Mystery Island premiered in 2023 and it stars Elizabeth Henstridge and Charlie Weber as the two leads.

Dr. Emilia Priestly (Henstridge) is in need of some rest and relaxation, so her good friend, Baroness Jane Alcott (Kezia Burrows) convinces her to take a vacation at an island resort where Jane has visited before. This isn't just any island, though. It's a resort where they play a murder mystery game and all of the guests are either suspects or the victim/s. Unfortunately, when Emilia and Jane visit this time, it turns into a real-life murder mystery. Emilia uses her expertise as a psychologist to help the authorities, including Detective Jason Trent (Weber), get to the bottom of this unfortunate event. 

I prefer small town settings in Hallmark movies, whether it's a romcom or a mystery, so this was a little out of my comfort zone. I applaud Hallmark for venturing out to a completely different type of setting. I am sure this appeals to a lot of people. That being said, I did, however, enjoy the "locked-room" aspect of this mystery. We knew that it was highly likely someone at the resort was the culprit.

For the most part, I enjoyed the cast of characters. They all had their own personalities and brought something unique to the table. The one character that was a little too over-the-top for me was Jane. She was clearly VERY excited to visit the resort again and perhaps this time, win the game. Some of her over-the-top excitement rubbed off on Emilia at times too.

I thought the mystery was well done. There was a pool of suspects that had motives and means. I did not figure out the whodunnit. It came to a logical conclusion, but while watching it, the outcome never crossed my mind.

Because of the nature of this mystery, I'm not sure how this can become a series. But here we are with the second one premiering tonight. There was a hint of romance in the first one, so we will see where that goes. I'm curious to see how they will change things regarding the mystery. If too many real-life murders take place at this one resort, I'm not sure we can call it a vacation spot. I'm willing to give it a chance and see where it goes.