The Thursday Murder Club Ending Explained: Who is the Killer?

‘The Thursday Murder Club’ is a Netflix murder mystery film where a group of unlikely sleuths put on their detective hats and undertake an exciting investigation. At the retirement home of Cooper’s Chase, Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce have weekly meetings in which they attempt to solve cold criminal cases. However, their casual hobby takes a different turn when a puzzling murder takes place that threatens to undo the future of their shared home. The co-owner of Cooper’s Chase, Tony Curran, has just been bludgeoned to death, leaving the greedy Ian Ventham in charge of the fate of their shared venture. In the face of the local authorities’ incompetence, Elizabeth and her friends manage to find an ally in the capable hands of Police Constable Donna de Freitas. As such, a new game of chase becomes afoot with an unseen target who stays hidden in the shadows until the very end. SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Thursday Murder Club Plot Synopsis

Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim, residents of Cooper’s Chase, have entertained the long-held tradition of their murder mystery club, held every Thursday. Interestingly enough, the mysteries that the trio tackle are all actual criminal cases, retrieved from official archives. Their latest puzzle, the murder of Angela Hughes, leaves them in a pickle as they’re unable to deduce medical facts about the victim’s death confidently. Fortunately for them, Joyce Meadowcroft, an ex-nurse, has just entered the retirement home as the newest inhabitant. Naturally, Elizabeth ropes the other woman into her club from the minute their paths cross. Meanwhile, elsewhere, Ian Ventham, part-owner of Cooper’s Chase, deals with the reality of a messy and expensive divorce. Thus, in need of some quick cash, he makes plans to sell the retirement home and trade it in for profitable luxury flats.

Nonetheless, his business partner, Tony Curran, stands in the way of Ian’s plans. Since his mother lives at the retirement home, the former is less than enthusiastic about the idea. As such, a ravenous battle threatens to break out between the two, with the future of Cooper’s Chase at risk. Consequently, things become even more tense when news arrives of Tony’s unexpected death, with all signs pointing toward a murder. Off-the-bat, Joyce is pleased at the news since it means her group can now delve into an actual open case. Yet, the fact remains that the unfortunate death comes with high stakes that could possibly rob everyone of their homes. Realizing they would require the aid of an actual police officer for this mystery, the club sets out to secure the reliable help of Donna, a constable they had met earlier during a visit regarding home security tips. Although the constable is initially reluctant, she opens up to the idea once Elizabeth and her friends manage to get her a spot on the murder investigation using an elaborate but efficient ruse.

Additionally, Elizabeth pulls some strings and gets her hands on the retirement home’s financial documents. Later, with the help of Joyce’s daughter, Joanna, who owns a hedge fund, they discover that there’s a third anonymous owner. Simultaneously, Donna decodes photographic evidence that reveals Tony’s connection to crime kingpin Bobby Tanner and Jason Ritchie, a boxer-turned-TV personality who also happens to be Ron’s son. As the two share information between themselves, their respective investigation progresses. Consequently, everyone is thrown stunned when Ian Ventham ends up dying during a protest held outside the retirement home’s cemetery. As such, the club finds itself with two murders to be solved, with Bobby Tanner, the anonymous co-investor, as the most likely suspect. Funnily enough, he’s also the only one who can save Cooper’s Chase from a ruinous fate. Meanwhile, the police extract some crucial evidence that compels them to put Ron’s son, Jason, under arrest as the prime suspect for the murder of Tony Curran.

The Thursday Murder Club Ending: Who Killed Tony Curran? What Was the Killer’s Motive?

From the get-go, Ian Ventham remains the person with the most compelling motive to commit Tony Curran’s murder. Yet, given the victim’s time of death, it’s evident that the businessman couldn’t have committed the murder himself. Consequently, DCI Hudson and Donna theorize that he could’ve hired someone else for the job. When Jason Ritchie’s name floats into Ian’s call log, in alignment with the time of Tony’s death, the pieces inevitably fall into place. Still, even that theory proves to be inaccurate. As it turns out, Jason has an airtight alibi for himself, one that also provides context for his connection with Ian: the boxer is having an affair with the latter’s soon-to-be-ex wife. Thus, since the chances of Ian arranging for Tony’s murder decrease, Bobby Tanner becomes a more relevant suspect. After all, as the third investor, he has the most to gain from the victim’s demise.

Fortunately, Elizabeth has recently uncovered a thread that leads her directly to the elusive crime kingpin. Recently, she received a flower bouquet containing a warning in the dead of the night. Since the bouquet has the same stationery as the condolence flowers sent earlier to Maud, the sleuth is able to figure out a deeper connection behind the florist’s shop. Lo and behold, when Elizabeth and Donna show up at Thorny Blooms, they’re met with Bobby Tanner. However, at the same time, another interrogation happens in Cooper’s Chase. After their meeting in the cemetery, Bogdan, Ian’s contractor, has become close acquaintances with Elizabeth. As such, he finds himself entertaining a game of chess against the woman’s husband, Stephen. Despite his dementia, the latter seems to have figured out some facts about his wife’s current criminal fixation, namely the fact that Bogdan is the murderer everyone has been chasing all this time.

Simultaneously, Elizabeth arrives at a similar conclusion as Bobby begins to reveal the nature of his partnership with the Cooper Chase’s co-owners. Apparently, the trio had illegally brought in migrant workers into the country to exploit their labor. In the aftermath, they confiscated everyone’s passports to bind them under their employment, preventing them from returning to their homes. While Bobby, who employs these workers at his florist shop, occasionally returns the passports to his workers, Tony Curran runs a much tighter ship. For the same reason, Bogdan, who had a sick mother in Poland, had grown infinitely frustrated with the other man. As a result, he eventually breaks into Tony’s house in an effort to retrieve his freedom. On the day of his death, Tony finds Bogdan in the same position and attacks him.

Thus, Bogdan fought back in self-defence and ended up killing the businessman. In the end, the revelation of the migrant exploitation ring leads Elizabeth to the same realization. As a result, she rushes back to the retirement home with the authorities, already fearing for Stephen’s life. Nonetheless, Bogdan has no real reason to harm Stephen, whom he considers a friend, even after he confesses his crime to the older man. After all, the latter’s dementia makes him less of a threat to him. However, as it turns out, Stephen has a tendency to record all his chess matches so that he can remember them and go over his opponents’ strategies in the future. Thus, Elizabeth reveals that a tape of Bogdan’s confession exists. Ultimately, the unfortunate killer is taken into police custody, framed by his own confession.

How Did Ian Die? Who Killed Him?

Even after Bogdan is arrested for Tony’s murder, the mystery of Ian’s death remains. Unlike his business partner, the latter is killed in public, while surrounded by a mob of protestors. Since Ian is eager to turn Cooper’s Chase into a different kind of residential area, he has to begin construction on the site in order to secure his plans. However, the residents of the retirement home are vehemently against the idea. For the same reason, under Ron’s leadership, they come together to protest the excavation of the attached cemetery grounds. During this protest, as a frustrated Ian moved through the crowd, someone administered a large dose of fentanyl into the businessman’s system, leading to his immediate death. This makes everyone at the old folks’ home a suspect in their own right. Yet, the killer’s identity emerges from the most unexpected places.

There are many people in Cooper’s Chase who are against Ian and his destructive business ideas. Likewise, since almost everyone has access to pain-relieving drugs and syringes, there are many people with the right tools to conduct this secretive assassination. However, only one person has the right kind of motivation to seal Ian’s doom. That someone happens to be John, a close friend of the murder club. John is the husband of Penny, one of the founding members of the club. In her youth, she used to be a police officer, one of the only ones on her male-dominated squad. Her connections are what provided the club with the cold criminal cases in the first place. However, Penny had a secret to keep, one that she hid away in the retirement home’s cemetery a long time ago. As such, Ian’s plans to dig up the place threatened to bring her past crime out into the light. John comes to the same realization, which is what compels him to assassinate the businessman in order to ensure his wife’s incriminating secrets remain hidden.

Who Killed Angela Hughes? What Happened to Terry Mercer?

The mystery of Angela Hughes’ murder jumpstarts the events of the film. Elizabeth and her murder club have dug up the case from Penny’s archives to be their latest mystery. Angela Hughes was a young woman who died in 1973. Her boyfriend, Terry Mercer, was the one who discovered her body. As per his account, on the night of May 11, 1973, he had heard a commotion from his girlfriend’s house. Soon after, Angela’s body, sustaining a fatal stab wound, was flung out of the second-storey window. Terry claims to have seen a masked man through the window, but no other accounts corroborate the existence of such a mystery killer. Even though the boyfriend disappeared from the crime scene as the authorities arrived, the police ended up believing his story, clearing his name as the prime suspect.

Nonetheless, Penny, the only woman on the squad, could see the various holes in Terry’s account. As medical reports suggested, Angela wasn’t killed by the fall. Instead, it was the stab wound that eventually led to her demise. As such, if Terry had indeed witnessed his girlfriend’s fall, then he would’ve had enough time to at least attempt to save the woman’s life. As such, the officer could see that the masked man was a clear fabrication created by the boyfriend to cover his own tracks. In the aftermath, Penny sought out Terry Mercer and delivered him to a deadly punishment. Afterward, she and John, who attended the church masses held by Cooper Chase’s Father Mackie, buried the body in the cemetery. For the same reason, through the years, she never brought up Angela’s case for any of the murder club’s various meetings. Similarly, it’s why John went to great lengths to kill Ian and keep the mystery of Terry’s disappearance under wraps.

How Did Penny and John Die?

Penny’s association with Terry’s murder would have gone unnoticed if it hadn’t been for a fateful twist. During the protests, Ian instructs Bogdan to dig up at least one grave so that the official excavation process can begin on paper. Somehow, the grave the latter arbitrarily chooses ends up being the one that contains the dead body of Terry Mercer, stowed away on top of an actual casket. Consequently, once it becomes evident that Terry, who has been missing all this time, is actually dead, it doesn’t take long for Elizabeth to connect the dots. These days, Penny remains in hospice as a result of a devastating stroke, which has left her unable to speak or move. Therefore, John has been tending to her side all this time, feeling uniquely helpless in his inability to alleviate some of his wife’s pain.

In fact, this helplessness is what motivates him to commit Ian’s murder to ensure Penny’s secrets remain hidden. Nonetheless, it now threatens to take John away from his wife, whose future would be uncertain as well. After all, both spouses are bound to be branded as murderers. As such, John requests a moment to say goodbye before Elizabeth, with a heavy heart, reports the truth about Terry and Ian’s deaths to the police. On some level, Elizabeth knows that her friend has ulterior motives with this request. Yet, she respects him and Penny and understands the reasons behind their morally dubious decisions. Thus, as the couple is left alone, John administers fentanyl to both himself and his wife to avoid a darker fate. In the end, the couple goes out together on their terms, avoiding a bleaker future of separation and legal complexities.

Does the Club Save Cooper’s Chase? What Happens to the Old Folks’ Home?

Throughout the story, some of the narrative stakes stem from the connection between the murders and the future of Cooper’s Chase. When Ian introduces his idea to turn the land into luxury flats, Tony is the only thing standing between him and his plans. For the same reason, the latter’s death promises a dark future as his shares of the establishment are automatically transferred to his business partner. Later, Ian’s death results in a similar situation, this time with Bobby Tanner as the one in control of the retirement home’s fate. Surprisingly enough, the crime kingpin has no desire to have any association with the establishment. Ever since he retired from his more crime-forward days, Bobby has become focused on running his florist shop, a business he is truly passionate about.

Therefore, outside of his illegal immigrant scheme with Tony and Ian, Bobby has no other interest in the others’ business. Once Elizabeth discovers his new hideout at Thorny Blooms, she earns a unique advantage over the man. If she were to reveal his identity to the authorities, he would lose the one thing he seems to truly care about in life. As such, she uses this as blackmail against him to bring an end to his migrant exploitation scheme. Furthermore, she convinces him to sell Cooper’s Chase to another party at market price. It so turns out that an eligible buyer has been around right under the Thursday Murder Club’s noses this entire time. Joyce’s daughter, Joanna, has the funds to buy out the land and the establishment. Once she realizes the joy it brings to her mother, she also gains the right motivation to make the financial decision. Thus, in the end, things begin to look up for Cooper’s Chase, securing its future for good.