The Thursday Murder Club ending explained: How four musketeers get entangled in two murders 

Netflix's freshly baked murder mystery, The Thursday Murder Club, is taking a quirky spin on the crime-solving and whodunit genre. Based on Richard Osman's eponymous novel, The Thursday Murder Club follows a mismatched team of four retired oldsters, who are set on solving a crime that takes place in Coopers Chase, a picturesque retirement village. At the heart of it is a fresh blend of dark territory, some kickass humor, and a plot twist that successfully messes with your head.

What starts as an obsession with unsolved crimes soon turns into an actual crime that they suddenly end up getting deeper into. Here's what happens at the end of The Thursday Murder Club, and who the killer is behind all the cackles and curiosity.

What is The Thursday Murder Club about?

The Thursday Murder Club welcomes you to Coopers Chase, the retirement village that looks like a postcard but functions more like a crime podcast. Forget knitting circles and watercolor classes, here, the hottest ticket is The Thursday Murder Club, a squad of retirees who spend their afternoons re-investigating cold cases.

The club’s founders are a mismatched but irresistible bunch. There’s Elizabeth, played by Helen Mirren, an ex-MI6 agent who can still out-maneuver most spies; Ron, played by Pierce Brosnan, a fiery ex-trade unionist whose stubborn streak could move mountains; Ibrahim, played by Ben Kingsley, the polite psychiatrist who notices every little tic; and Joyce, played by Celia Imrie, a widowed nurse whose warmth makes her the unexpected glue of the group. They once worked alongside Penny, a former detective whose instincts were legendary, though she now lies unconscious in a hospice; her shadow still looms over their work.

The Thursday Murder Club's first shared obsession? A chilling cold case from 1973. A woman named Angela Hughes was murdered with a knife as the weapon, and the cold body was thrown from the window. A prime suspect, including her boyfriend, who swears that he saw someone at the scene, but the details don't exactly add up. Penny's instincts say otherwise, as she suspects that there's something deeper in the case that is unsolved.

But the past isn’t the only thing pulling them in. When Coopers Chase’s co-owner, Tony Curran, turns up dead under brutal circumstances, things suddenly feel very, very real. His business partner Ian Ventham, already despised for wanting to bulldoze the convent's church and cemetery to make way for condos, becomes a prime suspect. Then, before the dust can settle, Ian himself collapses in the middle of a protest. It’s clear this isn’t just one murder; it’s the start of a storm.

Working with PC Donna De Freitas, played by Naomi Ackie, an under-appreciated young officer who finds herself oddly energized by these seniors, the club dives deep. Their sleuthing turns up dangerous connections, from washed-up celebrity boxer Jason Ritchie, who is Ron’s son with more secrets than victories, to crime boss Bobby Turner, played by Richard E. Grant, who has his hands in more than one dirty deal. There's also Bogdan, the groundskeeper of the house, who seems like he carries more than he lets on.

Suspects pop up everywhere, and it's pretty soon clear that there's more to the story than what everyone lets on. As investigations, cold opens, and questions all pierce through The Thursday Murder Club, we finally come to a conclusion that sets up a finale both shocking and unsettling.

So who killed Tony Curran?

One of the biggest clues to Curran's murder is bought by Stephen, Elizabeth's husband, who is slowly losing himself to dementia. During a chess game between Bogdan and Stephen, the former confesses that Tony died at his hands while he was defending himself from the owner during a confrontation. The groundskeeper just wanted his passport back so he could visit his mother in Poland. A rejection then turns lethal as Bogdan ends up murdering Tony.

Bogdan thinks the confession will vanish along with the game. What he doesn’t realize is that Stephen records every match, hoping it will sharpen a mind slipping into shadow. When Elizabeth arrives, she quietly flips the board, revealing that Bogdan’s words are now immortalized on tape. What he thought would dissolve into forgetfulness is instead undeniable evidence, and soon after, he’s taken into custody.

What's the relevance of Angela Hughes' murder in The Thursday Murder Club?

Angela Hughes’ murder was the heartbeat of The Thursday Murder Club’s moral maze. Penny Gray, before falling ill and going comatose, knew the truth: Angela was killed by her boyfriend, Peter Mercer. The law, predictably sluggish and male-dominated, let him walk free, so Penny took matters into her own hands by burying Peter in Coopers Chase Cemetery. Decades later, Bogdan, the ever-curious groundskeeper, accidentally unearthed the body while digging under Ian Ventham’s orders to redevelop the grounds, threatening to expose Penny’s secret.

Enter John Gray, Penny’s fiercely devoted husband. As he knew the truth, he injected Ian with a huge dose of fentanyl, taking away the witness who had seen what his wife did, thus protecting her from the law.

What happens to John and Penny in the end?

After the truth about John and Penny's murders comes out, it is implied that John injects both himself and Penny with fentanyl to get away from arrest. During their funeral, Ibrahim reads a speech and says,

"Sometimes, good people do bad things. But what John did, he did for love. For the love of Penny. And their enduring love will span time and space, dancing into the stars together. We shall miss them, and we shall remember them always."

What happens to Cooper's Chase in the end?

The ending of the film shows a positive note as the murders and murderers cease (for now) and the group takes a refreshing break. Elizabeth discovers that Bobby Turner, the retired crime boss, has left his darker schemes behind and now runs Thorny Blooms, his beloved florist shop. Spotting an opportunity, she blackmails him into shutting down his migrant trafficking operation and agreeing to sell Coopers Chase. The perfect buyer? Joyce’s daughter, Joanna, who has both the means and motivation to secure the community her mother loves.

With Joanna stepping in, Coopers Chase’s future is finally safe. Joyce officially joins The Thursday Murder Club, while Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim remain on the case, proving that even in retirement, solving mysteries and protecting the people they care about never ends.

The Thursday Murder Club is available to stream on Netflix.