The Marlow Murder Club

That evening, Judith is enjoying whisky when her doorbell rings. The visitor is Becks Starling, the vicar’s wife, who wants to discuss Elliot Howard. Judith invites her inside, and Becks is impressed by the house’s faded grandeur but notices the dust and clutter.

Becks explains she posted anonymously on a local online forum asking if Elliot could be trusted. The responses are mostly positive, though some describe his wife, Daisy, as ruthless. One comment from a user named John Wayne’s Horse claims Elliot’s father, Dudley, and Stefan Dunwoody were crooks who ran scams together at the auction house. Judith is stunned, recalling that Elliot had made a similar accusation about Stefan, and she begins questioning her judgment of him.

Suddenly, they hear glass smashing from across the river. Judith sees a flickering torchlight inside Stefan’s house. She tells Becks to call Detective Sergeant Malik and report the break-in, then grabs her cape and rushes out to confront the intruder herself.

Judith punts across the Thames to Stefan’s house and finds the back door forced open. She enters and confronts a figure dressed in black with a balaclava. The intruder shines a torch in her eyes, then throws it at her head. Judith drops to avoid being hit but injures her wrist in the fall. The intruder escapes.

Judith turns on the lights, revealing a room filled with dozens of perfectly arranged paintings in golden frames. Detective Sergeant Malik arrives and checks Judith’s injured wrist, advising her to get it examined. Becks rushes in, panicked about Judith’s safety. The two women recognize each other from their children’s music academy.

Judith recounts the confrontation and, prompted by Becks, tells Malik about an auburn-haired woman she saw first in Stefan’s garden after his death and then again on the Thames Path the following day. At the spot where the intruder stood, they find wood shavings, a hammer, and a chisel on a writing table. Becks notices one painting on the wall is slightly crooked and wants to straighten it, but Malik stops her from interfering with the crime scene.

Judith realizes Becks has found a clue. The crooked painting is the only one without a frame, and discoloration on the wall shows where a frame had been until recently. Judith deduces the intruder was interrupted while removing the painting’s frame and puzzles over why someone would steal only a frame. She likens the puzzling crime to a cryptic crossword clue where the surface meaning is misleading.

Becks spots a sticker on the painting’s backing. Malik reads that it was sold by Marlow Auction House on December 15, 1988. Judith sees this as proof Elliot is involved, but Malik points out the key flaw: Elliot has an airtight alibi for Stefan’s murder, verified by Becks and CCTV footage from choir practice. Malik also notes there is no evidence linking Elliot to Iqbal Kassam.

After giving their statements, Becks insists on driving Judith home because of her injured wrist. At Judith’s house, they find Suzie looking through the windows. Suzie admits she came to ask a favor about Iqbal and wanted to see inside the grand house. Judith invites both women in for drinks.

While pouring whisky, Suzie tries a locked oak door in the hallway. She jokes about dead bodies, which causes Judith’s smile to freeze. Judith discreetly touches a key on a chain around her neck.

Suzie explains that Iqbal’s imam, Imam Latif, called asking if she knew how to contact Iqbal’s family for funeral arrangements. Unable to find anyone else, the imam invited Suzie to attend so Iqbal would not be buried alone. Suzie asks if Judith will join her. Judith agrees, and Becks mentions she knows Imam Latif from food bank work.

Enjoying the company, Judith proposes they research the 1988 painting together over more whisky. Tipsy, Becks agrees, and the three women form an investigative team.

The three women research online while sharing personal stories. Suzie reveals she is a single mother to two adult daughters and a grandmother; her parents died when she was young. Judith discloses she was widowed at 27 when her Greek husband, Philippos Demetriou, died in a boating accident.

Judith discovers on the Marlow Auction House website that Elliot Howard was chairman from 1985 to 1988, when a man named Fred Smith took over until 2001. Elliot later returned. Judith notes that Elliot left in 1988, the same year Stefan bought the mysterious painting. Suzie reveals Fred Smith is her postman.

The next morning, Judith cycles to Suzie’s house and discovers the front of the house is an unfinished building site. A builder absconded with Suzie’s money three years ago. Downstairs is dedicated to dogs, while Suzie lives in a tidy upstairs apartment. While waiting for the postman, Judith notices old photos and a poster of The Lady of Shalott. Fred arrives, and they rush out to speak with him.

Judith and Suzie intercept postman Fred Smith, who is friendly and gossipy. Fred confirms Elliot is trustworthy though patronizing, but his father, Dudley, was a crook who ran scams. Fred reveals Dudley sabotaged Elliot’s teenage dream of professional rowing. When Judith asks about rowing, she has a fleeting thought connecting it to the case but loses the connection.

They accompany Fred on his postal route. He explains Elliot secretly loved art and painted in a mid-20th-century abstract style. Dudley forbade Elliot from attending the Slade School of Art. After Dudley died, Elliot left the business in 1988 to attend a different art school, leaving Fred as chairman. Elliot’s art career failed, and the auction house declined under Fred’s management, prompting Elliot’s return in 2001.

Judith asks about Stefan Dunwoody. Fred confirms Stefan was a crook who worked with Dudley, running schemes to undervalue art from unsuspecting sellers and purchase it cheaply. Fred recalls the 1988 incident: Elliot had Stefan value his late father’s art collection. Stefan deliberately undervalued an unsigned abstract painting—three horizontal bands of color—and bought it from Elliot for almost nothing. Stefan then revealed the painting was a study by the abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, and refused to return it or pay proper value.

After Fred leaves, Judith theorizes Elliot painted a Rothko forgery to swap for the real one. She believes she interrupted him as he was removing the frame from the real painting to place on his forgery, so he grabbed the real Rothko with its frame and hung his frameless forgery on the wall. Judith resolves to call Malik about having the painting inspected. Suzie offers to arrange surveillance on Elliot through her contacts.

Looking again at the Lady of Shalott poster in Suzie’s house, Judith suddenly identifies the auburn-haired woman: Liz Curtis, who runs the Marlow Rowing Center. Suzie says Liz is capable of murder because she killed her own dog.

Suzie drives Judith to the Marlow Rowing Center in her battered van. She recounts how Liz Curtis had a Welsh springer spaniel named Crumble, which she inherited from her father. Suzie believes Liz paid a vet to euthanize the healthy dog because she did not want the responsibility.

They arrive at the run-down rowing center. Judith calls Malik and identifies Liz as the auburn-haired woman. Malik warns that she believes a third murder is coming and makes Judith promise not to investigate Liz herself. Judith promises but immediately breaks her word by approaching the center with Suzie.

They confront Liz, a tall, angular woman with flame-red hair who recognizes Judith and is clearly unnerved. Liz denies being in Stefan’s garden, knowing Stefan, and knowing Iqbal. When Suzie confronts her about Crumble, Liz becomes distraught, insists she loved the dog and was devastated when he went missing, and flees in her maroon car.

They speak to a man working nearby, who introduces himself as Danny Curtis, Liz’s husband. Danny contradicts his wife, confirming that Liz knew Stefan from his art gallery. He explains that the rowing center is struggling financially after severe winter floods. Danny mentions that he coaches a youth rowing squad and is taking canoes to Nottingham that night.

Judith asks if they knew Iqbal Kassam. Danny confirms that Liz used Iqbal’s taxi service a couple of weeks earlier for grocery shopping. After speaking with Danny, Judith and Suzie conclude Liz is deeply involved, having lied about knowing both victims. Judith notes that Danny said Liz is a regular churchgoer and suggests they speak to Becks.

Judith and Suzie arrive at the vicarage, where a flustered Becks tries to turn them away, worried about bringing a murder investigation to the vicarage. Judith persuades her by requesting a cup of tea, and Suzie is amazed by the immaculately clean house.

They tell Becks that Liz Curtis lied about knowing the victims. Becks reveals that Liz won an Olympic silver medal in solo rowing and describes her as extremely focused and determined. She confirms that Liz attends their church but is a very private person. When Suzie mentions Liz’s dog, Becks refuses to believe that Liz would commit murder. She admits that Liz can be a “queen bee,” allowing others to flock to her and dote on her, but is adamant that she is a good person.

During the conversation, Suzie observes that anyone can have dark secrets, which makes Judith uncomfortable enough to spill her tea. Suzie suspects Judith has secrets related to her husband and the locked door in her house.

Suzie’s phone rings. Imam Latif informs her that Iqbal’s body has been released and the funeral is the next day. Judith immediately agrees to attend. After brief hesitation, Becks also agrees to offer support at the funeral.

Judith, Becks, and Suzie attend Iqbal’s funeral at the mosque in High Wycombe. After the brief service, they speak with Imam Latif. Judith asks about Iqbal, and the imam describes him as sincere and private but also angry and frustrated. He recalls Iqbal saying that his dream of buying a boat had been stolen from him. Iqbal had expected to inherit from his neighbor Ezra, but someone made Ezra change his will at the last minute. Imam Latif recounts seeing Iqbal outside a shopping center where he angrily pointed out a man as the one who stole his inheritance.

Judith asks if the man was tall with long gray hair, expecting the description to match Elliot. The imam says the opposite: The man was very short, very “fat,” like a “big ball of dough,” wore a suit, and carried a briefcase (133). They are stumped, as this matches no one they know in the case.

Becks reveals extensive knowledge of the local property market, stating Ezra’s bungalow is for sale for 650 thousand pounds. The large sum explains Iqbal’s anger at losing the inheritance. Judith realizes that because the will has cleared probate, it is now public record. They decide to order a copy to identify the man who inherited Ezra’s estate.

Over the next few days, Judith returns to her routine of crosswords and swimming. Suzie finds herself lonely, missing the camaraderie and feeling stranded now that her children have left home. Becks feels increasingly irritated and invisible within her family, who show no interest in her recent adventures. She is not speaking to her daughter, Chloe, after catching her sneaking out with gin, an act that reminds Becks of her own rebellious youth. Becks realizes she has lost her identity in her role as perfect housewife.

Judith calls with news: Ezra Harrington’s will has arrived. The entire estate was inherited by Andy Bishop, who was both Ezra’s solicitor and sole executor. The same man drew up the will, administered it, and inherited everything. Judith notes this arrangement is legal but highly unethical. They agree to meet.