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Spoilers for the 2025 film and Richard Osman’s novel. The Netflix film has more than one killer at its centre. Groundskeeper Bogdan kills Tony Curran after Tony attacks him over a confiscated passport; John Gray kills developer Ian Ventham with fentanyl to protect his wife Penny’s buried crime; and, in the 1970s case, Peter Mercer killed Angela Hughes before Penny eventually killed Mercer when police failed to punish him. Elizabeth then uses Bobby Tanner’s confession to save Coopers Chase, while Joyce inherits Penny’s place in the Thursday Murder Club. The adaptation keeps the retirees and their emotional bonds but rewrites Bogdan’s motive, removes organized-crime subplots and compresses the novel’s ending for a feature-length mystery.
Who killed Tony Curran in The Thursday Murder Club?
Bogdan, the Coopers Chase groundskeeper, is Tony Curran’s killer in both the film and the novel, but the Netflix adaptation gives him a completely different reason for the murder.
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The Thursday Murder Club: A Novel (A Thursday Murder Club Mystery) | $9.10 | Buy on Amazon |
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The film’s passport-confiscation motive
In the film, Bogdan confronts Tony because Tony has taken his passport. Bogdan needs it to travel to Poland to see his sick mother. The confrontation turns violent: Tony attacks Bogdan, and Bogdan kills him. Stephen’s recording of a chess game captures Bogdan’s confession, giving the club evidence that can be handed to the authorities. The film ends this thread with Bogdan’s arrest.
This motive makes Bogdan’s crime personal and immediate. He is not presented as a professional criminal or as part of a larger underworld plot; he is a migrant worker pushed into a desperate confrontation by Tony’s abuse of power. That change also makes the club’s investigation less dependent on a web of criminal associates and travel that would have taken substantial screen time.
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Does Bogdan kill Tony in the book?
Yes. The identity is retained, but the circumstances are not. In Osman’s novel, Bogdan’s motive is tied to Tony’s criminal history, stolen money and revenge. The book’s chain of events includes Turkish Gianni, a taxi-driver killing and a trip to Cyprus. RadioTimes’ comparison notes that the novel’s organized-crime material is removed from the film, and that Bogdan escapes formal arrest in the book rather than being arrested as he is onscreen.
Why did John Gray kill Ian Ventham?
John Gray kills Ian Ventham with a lethal fentanyl injection because Ian’s redevelopment plans threaten to expose Penny Gray’s secret.
The redevelopment threat
Ian plans to redevelop the Coopers Chase cemetery. That work would uncover the remains of Peter Mercer, the man Penny killed decades earlier. If Mercer’s body is found, Penny’s vigilante act and the failure of the police to prosecute Mercer would become public. John therefore treats Ian as an existential threat to Penny, not merely as a business rival.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The film frames John’s decision as an act of tragic devotion. He gives Elizabeth a final private moment with Penny, then injects himself and Penny. Their deaths are followed by a funeral, turning the resolution into a deliberate farewell rather than a conventional arrest-and-trial ending. John accepts that protecting Penny means sharing her fate.
What happened to Penny and John at the end?
Penny is the hidden link between the Thursday Murder Club’s old case and the present-day murders. She killed Peter Mercer after learning what he had done to Angela Hughes and seeing him escape meaningful punishment; John later kills Ian to keep Mercer’s grave from being discovered.
The Angela Hughes cold case
In the 1970s, Angela Hughes was murdered by her boyfriend, Peter Mercer. The police effectively excused Mercer, leaving Angela’s family without justice. Penny eventually killed Mercer herself and buried him in the Coopers Chase cemetery. That burial is the reason Ian’s redevelopment scheme is so dangerous: construction would expose physical evidence of Penny’s crime and reopen the old case.
The film does not treat Penny’s act as legally justified. Instead, it presents a moral conflict the club must understand: Mercer escaped punishment, but Penny became a killer. John’s final decision extends that conflict into the present. He chooses to kill Ian and then die with Penny rather than allow her to face public exposure and prosecution.
Why does the film show their funeral?
The funeral confirms that the injections are intentional and final. There is no last-minute rescue or hidden escape. It also gives the surviving members a public space to grieve, allowing the mystery to end on the cost of loyalty rather than on a victory lap for the investigators.
How does Elizabeth save Coopers Chase?
Elizabeth uses Bobby Tanner’s own confession to force a sale that keeps Coopers Chase in the hands of the residents’ community.
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Bobby Tanner’s leverage
Bobby has exploited migrant workers, and Elizabeth obtains a confession documenting that conduct. She uses the confession as leverage, compelling Bobby to sell Coopers Chase to Joanna, Joyce’s daughter. The arrangement prevents the property from being controlled by the redevelopment interests threatening the cemetery and the retirement community.
The solution is not a courtroom triumph. Elizabeth wins through information, pressure and a transaction that protects the residents. It also gives the club a practical future after the murders are solved.
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Joyce receives Penny’s Thursday Murder Club necklace and becomes an official member. The handover links the club’s past and future: Penny’s absence is acknowledged, but the group continues rather than dissolving after the deaths surrounding the case.
What is the difference between the Netflix film and the book?
The adaptation preserves the central retirees and the emotional purpose of the mystery, while changing motives, narrative form and several supporting plots to fit a feature film.
| Story element | Novel | 2025 film |
|---|---|---|
| Tony Curran’s killer | Bogdan | Bogdan |
| Bogdan’s motive | Revenge connected to Tony’s criminal history, stolen money, Turkish Gianni, a taxi-driver killing and Cyprus | He kills Tony after Tony attacks him when Bogdan demands the return of his passport so he can visit his sick mother in Poland |
| After Tony’s death | Bogdan escapes formal arrest | Stephen’s recording supports the confession, and Bogdan is arrested |
| Joyce’s narration | Joyce’s first-person journal is a major narrative device | The film removes the journal narration and uses a more direct ensemble structure |
| London investigation | The club travels to London as part of the investigation | The group remotely reviews financial records instead |
| Supporting material | Includes additional threads involving Father Mackie, Bernard and other subplots | Those elements are reduced or removed |
| Ibrahim’s role | Handled differently in the novel’s structure | Receives a new funeral eulogy scene |
| Jason’s characterization | His insecurity exists in the broader character work | His anxiety about reality television is made more explicit |
| Club meeting place | An internal meeting room at Coopers Chase | A glass-sided orangery overlooking the estate |
| Third-act structure | Uses the novel’s longer chain of clues and criminal connections | Streamlines the murder plot and its red herrings for a feature-length conclusion |
Why did Netflix change the murder plot?
The film had to condense a roughly 400-page novel into a single feature, so the adaptation removes or combines material that can work in prose but would slow a screen mystery.
Streamlining the third act
Director Chris Columbus said his aim was to remain as faithful as possible, while also describing the need to streamline the murder mystery, especially its third act. The result is a cleaner chain of cause and effect: Bogdan’s confession resolves Tony’s murder; John’s fentanyl injection resolves Ian’s threat; and the Mercer case explains why the two present-day deaths matter.
Different storytelling tools
Joyce’s journal gives the novel a personal, reflective voice and lets readers move between viewpoints. Removing it allows the film to stay with the ensemble in real time. The orangery performs a similar visual function: its glass walls make the club’s meetings public and picturesque, replacing an interior room that is easier to describe than to make distinctive on screen.
Richard Osman has said, “The film is a different thing to the book, and you have to let it be.” That principle explains why the adaptation should not be judged only by whether every subplot survived. Its goal is to preserve the characters’ relationships and the emotional question beneath the murders while making the mechanics legible in one sitting.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the ending say about justice?
The conclusion separates legal justice from moral sympathy. Mercer committed the original crime, yet the police excused him; Penny punished him outside the law; John kills Ian to protect Penny; and Bogdan kills Tony after being attacked. Each act grows from a grievance the characters believe institutions have ignored, but the film still shows the consequences of choosing violence.
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That is why the emotional centre is not simply “who did it?” Richard Osman has explained, “To me, whodunits are never about what happens, they’re about why do I care what happens?” The ending answers that question through the club’s loyalty. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron solve the crimes, but they also decide what kind of community can remain after the people at its centre are gone.
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The club survives the deaths of Penny and John and the sale of Coopers Chase. Joyce’s induction signals continuity, while Elizabeth’s deal with Joanna protects the place where the members live and investigate.
The film also gives the surviving characters distinct emotional moments rather than treating them as interchangeable detectives. Ibrahim’s eulogy provides a formal act of remembrance, Jason’s reality-TV insecurity is made more visible, and Joyce moves from observer to inheritor of the club’s symbolic responsibilities. The final effect is an ensemble ending: the mystery closes, but the friendships remain the story’s lasting resolution.
Is the Netflix ending faithful to Richard Osman’s novel?
It is faithful to the novel’s central premise and principal relationships, not to every plot event. Bogdan remains Tony’s killer, the Mercer-Penny history still drives the danger around the cemetery, and the four retirees remain the emotional anchor. However, the film changes Bogdan’s motive and legal outcome, removes Joyce’s journal narration, trims supporting characters and replaces several investigative detours with faster visual clues.
That balance is deliberate rather than accidental. The film keeps the question of why the characters matter while changing the route by which the audience reaches the answer. Readers who want the organized-crime connections, Cyprus material and Joyce’s interior narration will find them in the book; viewers who want the film’s passport storyline, arrest and funeral resolution are seeing a substantially reshaped version of the same core mystery.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Stephen’s recording important in the film?
The chess-game recording turns Bogdan’s private admission into evidence the authorities can act on. It also gives the club a concrete way to resolve Tony’s murder without relying on a confession delivered only for the audience.
What does the orangery represent in the movie?
The glass-sided meeting space makes the club visible against the Coopers Chase estate, matching a film that emphasizes community and shared observation. It replaces the novel’s more private meeting room with a setting that can be read instantly on screen.
Why does Joyce become a full club member after Penny’s death?
The necklace formally transfers Penny’s place in the group to Joyce. Symbolically, it shows that the club’s identity belongs to its shared investigation and friendship rather than to one founder.
Does the film explain why Mercer escaped punishment?
It establishes that police excused Mercer after Angela Hughes was killed, which is the injustice that drives Penny to act. The film focuses on the consequences of that failure rather than adding a separate courtroom explanation.
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