To Catch a Spy

Never thought I would watch a hallmark movie. Glad i did. Logical. Both main characters have done their jobs well. Story develops. And because I think this is going to be new mystery series (I think), relationship between two evolving slowly. I do hope if there are subsequent mysteries, the main character grows out of the "bubbly and innocent" persona without losing the charm.

I don't know if this is going to be a repeated mystery series or not, but I hope it is. The setting of Malta was absolutely spectacular and the two main characters were great.

The mystery was compelling with our main character being a travel writer who travels to Malta with her staff to review a newly opening hotel that her friend helped renovate. Meanwhile, the American embassy has a theft that the FBI is investigating and her friend is killed at the hotel...are they connected?

Our Travel writer has a good head on her shoulders and very loyal photographer and I. T. guy...she is also a fan of spy novels/mysteries.

I really hope this is the start of a new series...because I would watch it.

6/10 - while the mystery is unlikely to change the game, I loved getting to see Nathalie Kelley and beautiful Malta in this Hallmark original movie.

Chloe Day (Nathalie Kelley) is a busy writer for Destination Traveler Magazine. Her next job is to cover the newly renovated Hotel Optima in Malta. There are noises coming from the vent in her room. She hears a struggle and a man falls to his death. She searches for help and knocks on one of the rooms where FBI agent Aaron Maxwell (Colin Donnell) happens to be staying. When they reach the landing spot, the body is gone and the local police is dismissive of her.

The tension would be heightened if Chloe is traveling by herself. A woman alone feels more dangerous. She also needs more time with Aaron. This is Hallmark after all. They need to be coupled ASAP. The movie needs to amp up the romance since the mystery isn't much of one. The suspect is suspicious right from the start and never stops. While I like the complete randomness of her knocking on his door, I do wonder if she should have an earlier scene of them meeting and give her a reason to seek him out for help. On the other hand, the initial mystery of the dead man is great and I have no reservations about that. In fact, that should be earlier and all the spy stuff at the beginning is unnecessary. It's good enough to start the mystery without any priming of the pump. It's also cool to be in Malta. It's exotic enough to be interesting but bland enough for Hallmark. This could be a ongoing series but I don't see the FBI recruiting a travel writer. It would work better if he's in the CIA and they need a low-level off-the-books connection who has a reason to travel the world. The series could go to everywhere.

As an ad for the Maltese tourist industry this works well. As an entertaining mystery drama, not so much. The story revolves around an American travel writer, visiting Malta to review a recently opened luxury Hotel. She already knows the owner and soon sees him falling to his death past her hotel balcony. What follows is a preposterous story involving espionage and murder. Naturally our heroine, Nathalie Kelley, sets out to find out who was responsible for her friends death, and why. In so doing she is able to uncover the truth, outwitting the local police and the FBI who are staying at the hotel seeking a super spy who has evaded capture for decades. So, watchable, but mainly for the great locations.