The cast was far better than the material. I couldn't believe that amateur sleuths would be given so much support by the police, particularly since one was closely related to the kidnap victim (okay, she was a private investigator, but still not polite personnel). I also couldn't buy the instant rapport of the two women. A cleaning woman who won the lottery would not be my first choice as fellow investigator.The mystery itself was okay, always enjoy villains in Santa costumes and the ways that Christmas can be used to commit crimes.It took me the longest time to recognize Scottie Thompson as having played a doctor / daughter of an arms dealer on NCIS. Hopefully she can find something better.

After the first couple of movies in this series, I gave up on the next two in the second week, but had to check out "Deck the Halls" expressly because of Kathy Najimy's participation. Besides that, it looked like this one might actually be a MYSTERY rather than an over-long romance flick with a bit of mayhem thrown in, as the first week's movies were. Turns out I wasn't at all disappointed! Now I might actually check out a few more entries in this series--if the trailers interest me.The first reviewer gave a great rundown of the main characters, played by Najimy, David Selby, Jane Alexander, and the delightful discovery (for many of us who viewed her first in this movie), Scottie Thompson. But I wanted to add my compliments to the excellent supporting cast. Luciana Carro delivers just the right amount of fun and fear in the role of Selby's chauffeur, and the policemen who enjoyed various relationships with each of these strong female leads were a delightful change from the hard-boiled misogynists that are normally found in these types of crime novels/movies.I concur with the other reviewer: We need to see more of Alvirah Meegan, Regan Reilly, and their entire circle of friends/colleagues. And please, if this is really a pilot (one can hope!) and it becomes a series, stick with all the actors you've got here. There's not a clinker in the bunch!

As you read this, keep in mind that I'm not a professional critic! But I felt the need to drop in because this movie was so bad, I didn't want others to fall victim to it. And I hold Christmas movies sacred, an integral part of my Christmas cheer.I haven't read any of Mary or Carol Higgins Clarks' books, but this was so predictable, boring, meagerly acted... Yes, it's a great cast. If it weren't for the cast (minus the lead, Regan, who seems to not be able to move her face), I would have turned it off (I barely ever walk out on a movie). I think it was more the script and plot that caused the poor acting, rather than the actors themselves.I was bored, I was annoyed by the clichés, I was on pinterest and email b/c there's no other way I'd waste my whole 2 hours only on watching this movie. The movie has a promising plot and description, but delivery fell very very short.

"Deck the Halls" from 2011 was shown as part of the TNT Tuesday Night Mystery series, though it's unlikely it was produced for that reason. The story concerns the kidnapping of a successful businessman, Luke Reilly (David Selby) and his driver, and the attempts of his detective daughter Regan (Scottie Thompson) and an amateur detective (Kathy Najimy) to get them back and discover the perpetrator.First of all, what a cast: besides those mentioned above, Jane Alexander played successful mystery writer Nora Reilly, Regan's mother. Scottie Thompson was a new actress for me. She's beautiful, has legs that go up to the ceiling and did a great job.Secondly, it was fantastic to see David Selby again, and he looks wonderful. Kathy Najimy plays Alvirah Meehan, who won $40 million in the lottery. She and her husband are ongoing characters in Mary Higgins Clark's books. Alvirah is a former cleaning woman who loves to solve mysteries. There were several references to past cases, It would be great if TNT would produce more of her stories.This is by far my favorite of this Tuesday night series. It was light with good acting and a good story. Highly recommended.