‘The Marlow Murder Club’ Reveals Who Killed the Mayor and Why

When we last left the ladies of the Marlow Murder Club, Geoffrey (Peter Davison), the good mayor of Marlow, was poisoned. Judith (Samantha Bond), Becks (Cara Horgan), and Suzie (Jo Martin) begin investigating, uncovering suspicious council spending, several possible suspects, and an anonymous caller telling them to “follow the money.” After someone breaks into Geoffrey’s house, Becks discovers a threatening letter: “Stop or I’ll tell everyone your secret.” Warning: Spoilers for The Marlow Murder Club Season 3 Episode 2 ” The Queen of Poisons.”

Episode 2 picks up with the mystery around Geoffrey’s murder only getting messier, as Judith, Becks, and Suzie start digging into the council’s finances and the secrets its members have been keeping.

First up is the blackmail letter, which turns out to have been sent to council member Marcus (Nigel Harman). Meanwhile, Judith meets with handyman Dave (Perry Millward) and returns his transcript. He confirms that the council’s spending had gotten out of hand and points out that some of its receipts may have been faked.

That sends Judith and Becks into the books, where they spot a suspicious receipt for £8.88 and eventually trace another purchase to a hardware store that closed two years earlier. The initials on the receipt point them toward accountant and council member Debbie (Jacqueline Boatswain), who admits she had been taking money from the council’s petty cash to pay for private healthcare while going through menopause. She hadn’t paid the money back, but insists Geoffrey never knew and that she would never have killed him because he was her friend.

The blackmail investigation also leads Judith and Suzie to Terrance after they work out that letters used in the note came from an architecture magazine. Terrance reveals that Marcus is actually the person behind the nasty online account Marlow1628, pointing to his distinctive misspelling of “undermine” as “undermime.” Terrance had discovered the truth and planned to blackmail Marcus, but Geoffrey found out what was going on.

There are plenty of other suspects to worry about. Police discover a ladder in the ladies’ bathroom at the council building leading to a vent, where they find a wig and syringe, along with two strands of human hair. Sophia’s (Sarah Alexander) husband, Paul (Jason Merrells) is also caught lying about his alibi after getting the ending of the movie he claimed to have been watching wrong. He says he simply fell asleep and argues that he barely knew Geoffrey, so why would he want him dead?

Then there’s Sophia. An earring found at Geoffrey’s house matches one she is wearing in a photograph, forcing her to admit that Geoffrey meant more to her than she initially let on. Sophia had been attracted to him because of how supportive he was and had even kissed him, although she says nothing ever came of it.

The evidence begins pointing squarely at Sophia. She grows the poison used to kill Geoffrey and had called Alec (Ranjit Krishnamma) to tell him the council meeting was canceled, and her hair appears to have been found in the wig hidden in the vent. Police believe she could have disguised herself in a wig and white coat, entered the kitchen, and used a syringe to inject poison into the decaf coffee pod that only Geoffrey drank.

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But Judith isn’t convinced.

Over tea, she finally works out what really happened and tells Becks to bring a wheelbarrow. The plan comes together during the dedication of a bench in Geoffrey’s honor, where the council members’ secrets finally come spilling out. Marcus admits he is the person behind the vile online account of Marlow1628, defending himself with, “You can’t speak your mind anymore,” while Debbie comes clean about taking the council money.

Sophia also explains the truth about her connection to Geoffrey. Years earlier, after Sophia’s cemetery mix-up with the graves, Geoffrey had actually been helping her correct the mistake with the misplaced bodies. Together, they had even managed to locate all but one body that had never been found.

And that is what leads Judith to the real killer: Dave.

Dave’s mother was the person whose grave had been lost because of Sophia’s mistake, and he had been searching for answers. He began stalking the council and eventually used Geoffrey to get closer to Sophia, with Geoffrey even recommending Dave to build Sophia’s studio. From Dave’s perspective, Geoffrey had helped cover up what Sophia had done, and he wanted to punish them both by killing Geoffrey and making Sophia take the blame.

Dave stole the poison from Sophia’s garden, tricked Alec into staying away from the meeting, and injected it into Geoffrey’s decaf coffee pod. He also planted evidence pointing toward Sophia and installed spyware on her phone so he could listen to her conversations.

But Dave made one crucial mistake. When Judith returned his transcript earlier, he glanced toward the bench that was going to be dedicated to Geoffrey and referenced one of the possible inscriptions, “A great friend to all.” There was no reason Dave should have known what the plaque might say.

Judith and Sophia use Dave’s spying against him. With police involved, they fake a recording about a fire at Judith’s house, while Alec creates the fake fire itself, giving Dave the opportunity he thinks he needs to break into Sophia’s home. He takes the bait, and the police arrest him.

With Geoffrey’s murder finally solved, Judith gets one last surprise: Possible suitor Darius (Hugh Quarshie), who had been a no-show earlier, turns up and apologizes for standing her up. So, a possible romance is still in her future.

The Marlow Murder Club, Sundays, 8/7c, PBS.