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The 2025 Netflix film keeps Richard Osman’s central premise—a group of Coopers Chase residents investigating crimes—but condenses the novel’s layered mysteries and changes several character roles, clues and subplots. The biggest differences concern Aunt Maud and Tony Curran, the photograph clue, Bernard and Father Mackie’s storylines, and Bogdan’s fate. Spoilers for the film and book follow.
Why the film changes the novel
Both versions follow the older residents of Coopers Chase as their cold-case club becomes involved in a live murder investigation. But the novel’s mysteries span decades and include more plot threads than a feature film can accommodate. In Netflix Tudum’s book-to-screen feature, director Chris Columbus says the story had to be adapted rather than reproduced exactly, with changes to the murders, plot and red herrings. Producer Jennifer Todd describes simplifying the complicated mysteries to make them easier to follow on screen.
Osman framed the adaptation as its own work: “The film is a different thing to the book, and you have to let it be.” The Netflix film, directed by Columbus and written by Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote, was released on Netflix on August 28, 2025, according to About Netflix.
What changes in the characters, clues and subplots
The specific comparisons below are reported by Us Weekly’s book-versus-film comparison. Netflix’s feature explains the broad need for adaptation but does not enumerate these differences.
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Aunt Maud and Tony Curran
In the film, Tony Curran is a part-owner of Coopers Chase alongside Ian Ventham and Bobby Tanner, with the connection that his Aunt Maud lives there. Us Weekly notes that Aunt Maud does not play a role in the book. The change gives Curran an additional tie to the retirement community.
The photograph and Jason’s alibi
The photograph clue is presented differently. In the film, a third person has been cut out of a picture showing Curran and Bobby Tanner; the book identifies that person as Ron’s son, Jason. Jason’s identity is shared between the versions, but his alibi changes: the film uses a timestamped selfie connected to an affair with Ventham’s wife to clear him as a suspect.
Bernard and Father Mackie
Bernard is barely seen in the film. In the novel, he has a small side plot that includes a brief romance with Joyce, and he later dies by suicide. That storyline is one of the book’s more consequential pieces of character history, rather than a throwaway detail.
Father Mackie’s objection to construction on the Coopers Chase graveyard survives in abbreviated form. Us Weekly describes a larger book subplot involving his former lover, a nun, and their unborn son buried on the site; the film cuts much of that history.
Bogdan’s fate
Us Weekly reports that Bogdan kills Curran in both versions, but the consequences differ: in the book he escapes consequences, while the film ends with him arrested.
How the screen conveys what the book can tell directly
A novel can give readers a character’s thoughts in the moment; a film has to make much of that interior life visible through behavior, dialogue and performance. In Netflix Tudum’s feature, actor Naomi Ackie discusses translating PC Donna’s internal thoughts for the screen. The film also changes the club’s meeting place from the book’s four-walled room to a windowed orangery, creating a different visual connection between the group and its community.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The film ending, explained
Spoilers for the film’s central mystery and final scenes. Netflix Tudum’s ending explainer identifies the film’s opening case as the 1970s murder of Angela Hughes. Peter Mercer killed Angela; Penny pursued her own justice and buried Mercer in the Coopers Chase cemetery. John later kills Ian to protect Penny’s secret.
The film closes with John and Penny dying by suicide. Joyce inherits Penny’s club necklace and becomes a member of the Thursday Murder Club, while Bobby sells Coopers Chase to Joyce’s daughter, Joanna. Columbus calls the ending “a slightly dark turn” that gives the movie emotional complexity.
Best Value
These are the film’s resolutions, not a complete account of how the novel ends. The cited ending explainer describes the screen version, and the specific comparison above does not establish a point-by-point book-versus-film ending contrast.
Where to read the fuller story
Readers who want the novel’s additional subplots and interior detail can find it in paperback, ebook and audiobook editions. Penguin Random House lists its 2025 Netflix tie-in paperback at 384 pages; edition details and prices vary by format and market. See the publisher’s listing for formats.
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