The Thursday Murder Club ending explained: What was changed from the book?

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If you enjoy solving mysteries, particularly those in the cozy crime genre, you might have noticed that The Thursday Murder Club is now showing in selected cinemas across the UK.

In about a week, the movie, an adaptation from the initial novel in Richard Osman’s successful series, is set to debut on Netflix. Undoubtedly, devoted fans would be eagerly waiting to catch it on the big screen before it’s gone.

In the movie, similar to the book, we meet four detective residents living in a retirement community, portrayed by stars like Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie. Unexpectedly, they find themselves investigating a genuine murder case when property developer Tony Curran meets an untimely demise.

Right away, several possible suspects emerge: his questionable ex-business partner Ian Ventham (played by David Tennant) and previous employee Bogdan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes). Not long after, the gang manages to insert themselves into the investigation with the assistance of junior officer Donna De Freitas (Naomi Ackie), which understandably upsets her superior DCI Chris Hudson (Daniel Mays).

Subsequently, the movie presents several unexpected shifts and curves – some echoing the book’s plotlines while others introduce fresh developments exclusive to the film. To delve deeper into the climax of The Thursday Murder Club and explore the differences from the original novel, continue reading below.

The Thursday Murder Club ending explained: Who killed Tony Curran?

In response to the protest against Ian Ventham’s persistent development plans, which included digging up a graveyard, the situation suddenly became more challenging as the club was already pursuing multiple leads.

At the scene, Ian was standing against the protesters, but then unexpectedly fell unconscious. Later, it was confirmed that he had passed away there itself. The most likely reason for his death appeared to be a fatal Fentanyl overdose.

Not long after, as they began to understand they were all potential suspects, Elizabeth brought up the photograph discovered at Tony’s crime scene. In it, Tony was seen with Bobby Tanner, a well-known criminal, and what appears to be Jason Ritchie, Ron’s son. However, she chose to keep this last detail hidden from her companions.

It’s clear that Tanner previously shared ownership of Cooper’s Chase with Tony and Ian, who have since passed away. Now, being the sole survivor among them, Tanner becomes the sole owner. The group intends to locate him as they attempt to proceed.

Upon coming home, Elizabeth discovers that Bogdan (previously known as Marina), unexpectedly resides within her apartment, engaged in a game of chess with her spouse Stephen. Furthermore, it’s evident that Bogdan now knows her true identity, and later hints at something he wishes to exhibit her that very evening in the cemetery.

On that particular night, as agreed, Elizabeth encounters Bogdan and he reveals to her an unusual discovery from his excavation in the cemetery – bones stacked upon a coffin dating back several years, seemingly hinting at an attempt to conceal a corpse.

On the ensuing night, following their scolding by Chris for persistently meddling with police affairs after they’ve excavated the remains, Elizabeth observes an unwelcome guest in her residence. This mysterious individual had left a bouquet of flowers and a card warning her to stay clear, reading “keep your distance”.

The following day, Donna shares with Elizabeth that the discovered bones were from a gentleman named Peter Mercer. This revelation immediately stirs Elizabeth, causing her to escort Donna to visit Penny, who is now in a coma, along with her spouse John, an ex-member of the Thursday Murder Club.

Later, as Chris is interrogating Jason, who has been detained for Terry’s suspected murder, a group consisting of everyone except Elizabeth (the group) enters Chris’ office, aiming to disrupt the interview. In this disruption, Jason confesses that his evasiveness was due to the fact that he was with Ian’s wife at the time of the murder, and they had been having an affair. This revelation clears him as a suspect, allowing him to go free.

While Elizabeth investigates the origin of the flowers she received, she manages to identify the sender: Bobby Tanner. Accompanied by Donna, she decides to pay him a visit at his florist shop. They confront him about the possibility of him having Tony and Ian killed to acquire their shares at Cooper’s Chase. He denies these allegations and claims he wants to sell the property as quickly as possible.

During the conversation, one of Bobby’s employees entered and disclosed that he had recently acquired three more workers from Poland in Amsterdam and was holding onto their passports.

It seems that Tony and Bobby were involved in a shady activity of hiring people unlawfully for their businesses without allowing them to keep their passports. This revelation seems to make sense to Elizabeth, prompting her to urgently ask the entire gang and the police to return to her apartment immediately.

For quite some time now, Bogdan has once more been engaged in a game of chess with Stephen. However, as the match progressed, Stephen started expressing doubts about him regarding the murder of Tony. He suggests that Bogdan might be the one responsible for the crime.

Bogdan acknowledges that the man is shrewd and grudgingly confesses to the act he committed, explaining that it was unintentional – he never meant to kill Tony, but instead was simply trying to retrieve his passport.

Following his confession, Stephen experiences another episode of memory lapse, and Bogdan prepares him a cup of tea, momentarily contemplating adding some nearby medication. Elizabeth and the others return shortly afterwards, finding Stephen having taken a sip just then, and they prevent Bogdan from leaving as he realizes the situation.

Luckily, Joyce understands that Stephen isn’t suffering from poisoning, and moreover learns that as Stephen keeps records of all his chess matches, Bogdan’s confession was recorded on a tape.

In light of this information, Bogdan insists once more that it was an accident, and he acted in self-defense when Tony, who had refused to return his passport, attacked him. Furthermore, he clarifies that he did not harm Stephen, whom he regards as a friend.

Who killed Ian Ventham and Peter Mercer in The Thursday Murder Club?

Although it provides insight into Tony’s situation, it still confuses the circumstances surrounding Ian’s murder, which seems unrelated to Tony’s, and the fate of Peter Mercer.

As the group watches Jason perform on Dancing on Ice, Elizabeth steps away to review old files related to him. In the process, she discovers intriguing details that she later shares with her longtime friend John, who is still tending to Penny.

It comes to light that the file, which Penny had strangely never mentioned as one of the unsolved cases while she was part of the Thursday Murder Club, pertains to an earlier incident where Mercer’s girlfriend was murdered, allegedly by a mysterious intruder in disguise. However, there was no intruder; it was actually Peter who committed the crime and managed to escape detection.

Upon examining the photographs, Elizabeth discerned that, given Peter’s guilt, it appeared that Penny had taken decisive action. She had murdered him and concealed his body at the cemetery with John’s assistance long ago. Those very bones that Bogdan unearthed many years later were from the same unfortunate individual.

John openly acknowledges that Elizabeth’s hypothesis is correct, and furthermore, he confesses to having murdered Ian Ventham by administering a lethal amount of Fentanyl to preserve their shared secret and safeguard his cherished spouse, as the digging of the grave might have unearthed the crime.

Elizabeth acknowledges that she’ll need to inform the authorities soon, but shows understanding by granting John some initial time with Penny. It appears she understands that John might take this opportunity to administer a potentially lethal dose of the remaining Fentanyl, not only to himself but also his wife.

Moving forward, we find ourselves at Ibrahim’s funeral oration where he poetically notes: “There are times when good people make mistakes. Yet John’s actions were driven by love – his profound affection for Penny. Their eternal bond will traverse time and space, moving across the cosmos together. We will certainly miss them, and they will never be forgotten.

How is The Thursday Murder Club film ending different to the book?

In my perspective, while both the book and movie share similar events, they exhibit significant differences, particularly when it comes to the plot surrounding the murder of Tony Curran.

In the storyline, there are several elements associated with Tony’s connections to drugs and criminal organizations such as Turkish Gianni, the killing of a cab driver, a sum of £100k taken illicitly, and a visit to Cyprus – all of which do not make an appearance in the movie.

Instead, while Bogdan played the murderer in both the movie and novel, his character underwent a substantial transformation.

The entire plot involving passports is a fresh development in the movie, as the reason for the murder in the book revolves around the character having stolen £100k from Tony years ago after avenging Gianni’s shooting (who was shot to conceal Tony’s involvement in killing a taxi driver many years prior). This act of vengeance served as a significant backstory and motivation for the murder mystery.

He had long been biding his time, seeking the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge on Tony. This chance finally presented itself when he was called upon to help install a new security system for Tony. Taking advantage of this situation, he carried out his plan and eliminated Tony.

In my opinion as a movie reviewer, the on-screen portrayal of the narrative centering around Ian Ventham and Peter Mercer (renamed Peter Weber in the book) experiences a slight tweak, though not as drastic as you might expect. Certain elements, such as those featuring characters named Gordon and Karen Playfair, along with an expanded presence for Father Mackie, have been trimmed down, resulting in a more straightforward and focused film adaptation.

In February, during discussions about changes to The Rest Is Entertainment’s original plot, Osman clarified that some individuals had negotiated terms stating they would have full creative control and writing rights, a role he was not interested in assuming.

Upon the arrival of Amblin and Spielberg, they confidently declared, “The setting will undoubtedly be in England. We can guarantee that much, however, another writer will handle the script.

He explained that the film’s plot for ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ is primarily based on the first book, but with some changes, as adaptations often require modifications to stay true to the original work.

It might be challenging for someone to constantly monitor them, every few seconds, and restrict their actions with frequent reminders of what they cannot do.

The Thursday Murder Club is currently being shown in certain UK theaters, and it will be available to stream on Netflix starting August 28th, 2025.

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2025-08-22 15:50