Stream It or Skip It: ‘Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major’ on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Tasks Tamera Mowry-Housley with Solving a Double Murder with an Irish Ghost

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major finally gives Tamera Mowry-Housley the murder mystery series that she’s long deserved as one of Hallmark’s most reliable stars. Mowry-Housley stars as the titular protagonist of the Gethsemane Brown series of mystery novels from author Alexia Gordon, with Murder in G Major acting as the intro to this slightly spooky Ireland-set series. But should Murder in G Major the first of many Gethsemane Brown TV movies? Or should Gethsemane stick to the written word?

HAUNTED HARMONY MYSTERIES: MURDER IN G MAJOR: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Tamera Mowry-Housley stars as Gethsemane Brown, a classically trained violinist who relocates to Ireland for a new gig as choir director at a prep school. For her stay, she moves into the former home of legendary Irish composer Eamon McCarthy (Quiz’s Risteárd Cooper) and his lyricist partner, Orla O’Dell. It’s their former home because years earlier, Orla was found dead, strangled to death, and Eamon was found poisoned in their home. The police closed the case straight away, pinning Orla’s death on proclaiming Eamon’s death suicide. Eamon’s nephew Billy (Foundation’s Darragh O’Toole) doesn’t buy that story, though — and that plants a seed of doubt in Gethsemane’s head.

And then bam — or rather “Boo!” Suddenly, thanks to some piano magic, Gethsemane can see and hear Eamon’s ghost. His only request: for Gethsemane to solve Orla’s murder as well as his own. Cool, yeah, ask the classical magician to solve a double murder mere hours after moving to a new country. Real chill, Eamon!

Not only does Gethsemane have to solve a murder mystery, she also has to get the prep school’s choir into shape while either ignoring or addressing the obvious flirtation coming from the calculus teacher across the hall (Virgin River’s Marco Grazzini). And because this is still a Hallmark movie, you better believe that a hunky Irish inspector (Adam Fergus) has taken an interest in Gethsemane.

So get a choir of teenagers ready for a big event, navigate a love triangle, and solve a double murder with a ghost — Gethsemane has a busy week ahead of her.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: What if Martin McDonagh wrote Only Murders in the Building, but a version set in Ireland and co-starring a ghost, all filtered through the Hallmark movie-making process and the standards, practices, and budget of basic cable? It would maybe be this!

Performance Worth Watching: Risteárd Cooper completely steals the whole movie — as he should, considering he’s playing the ghost of a middle-aged Irish scamp and composer. He’s just a gosh darn delight every time he’s on screen. I would absolutely love to see him go corporeal for a Hallmark romance.

Memorable Dialogue: Gethsemane: “What is the proper outfit when investigating a double murder?” Eamon: “Don’t ask me. I’m dead.”

Also this bit of ribbing from Eamon re: Gethsemane’s love life: “Don’t look now but you’re literally standing in triangle formation.”

Our Take: Green light adaptations of the entire Gethsemane Brown mystery series, because Murder in G Major is a winner. Tamera Mowry-Housley takes to the role of classical musician turned choir director/medium/sleuth with the right amount of incredulity and, eventually, aplomb. As the crime-solving partner of a ghost, Gethsemane now appears to be talking and gesticulating to no one in particular, and Mowry-Housley mines all these moments for comedy. Most importantly, they’re moments that the movie indulges in — which isn’t always a guarantee in Hallmark movies. I’ve watched plenty of these movies leave fun premises untouched in favor of focusing on romance. That’s not the case in Haunted Harmony Mysteries.

Okay, yes, I am praising this movie for making the most obvious of jokes involving a ghost partner — and I’m doing so because they’re fun! I’m also doing so because while we’ve seen a lot of the ghost gags and ghost elements before (take a shot every time you hear “unfinished business”), we’ve rarely — maybe never — seen a Hallmark movie that looks like this before. Set in Ireland and stacked with a cast full of fantastic Irish actors, Murder in G Major has a real sense of place that sets it apart from just about every other mystery series on the network. The cinematography is particularly lovely, making every scene feel like it’s coated in the fresh dew of an autumn morning. Whoah… should I write cards for Hallmark?

But what I really find most charming about Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major is the relationship between Gethsemane and Eamon. I really struggle to think of another platonic friendship between a man and a woman in one of these kinds of movies. Granted, Eamon is a ghost, but you know Hallmark leads are falling in love with ghosts as soon as the holiday movie slate rolls around. They have a real lovely dynamic, full of witty back-and-forths, with each of them inspiring the other to reach their full potential — even from beyond the grave. It is absolutely the kind of partnership that you can see filling multiple movies over the years — and here’s hoping Hallmark’s on the case.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major is hopefully the first of many annual trips we’ll take to Ireland on Hallmark Media’s dime.