Welcome to Coopers Chase, the kind of retirement village you’d expect to see on a glossy postcard from the English countryside. Think fine wine with dinner, apartments nicer than most dream homes, and a social calendar that’s anything but sleepy. But in Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club — adapted from Richard Osman’s hit novels — this idyllic haven hides a knack for solving cold cases.
The club’s core trio — Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), and Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley) — meet every Thursday to dig into unsolved crimes. Their latest recruit, Joyce (Celia Imrie), brings a medical background and a sharp eye for detail. Together, they’re about to face a mystery that hits dangerously close to home.
Trouble in Paradise
Coopers Chase’s co-owner Ian Ventham (David Tennant) is desperate to sell the property to developers. His partner, Tony Curran (Geoff Ball), vows to block the sale — until he’s found beaten to death in his own home. Days later, Ventham himself turns up dead. Suddenly, the Thursday Murder Club has two fresh murders on its hands.
Who Really Killed Tony Curran?
At first, suspicion falls on Bobby Tanner (Richard E. Grant), a long‑missing third co‑owner with a reputation as a ruthless crime boss. But when Elizabeth tracks him down at a flower shop, she discovers he’s not involved in either killing. Instead, she uncovers a disturbing secret: Coopers Chase’s owners were running an illegal scheme importing cheap European labor, seizing workers’ passports so they couldn’t leave.
The real killer? Bogdan (Henry Lloyd Hughes), the groundskeeper. Brought from Poland and trapped without his passport, Bogdan confronted Curran to get it back. He claims Curran attacked him, forcing him to kill in self‑defense — though the truth remains slightly murky.
The Cold Case That Started It All
The club’s original obsession is a 1970s mystery: Angela Hughes, found with a knife in her stomach after falling from a second‑floor window. Her boyfriend, Peter Mercer, claimed a robber pushed her — but the details never added up.
While digging in the cemetery for a development project, Bogdan accidentally unearths Mercer’s remains. Elizabeth pieces it together: Penny Gray (Susan Kirby), a former detective and club member, killed Mercer after police failed to charge him. Her husband, John (Paul Freeman), helped bury the body.
How Ventham Met His End
Ventham’s death ties back to the cold case. Fearing Mercer’s body would be discovered during construction, John injected Ventham with a lethal dose of fentanyl to protect Penny’s secret. When confronted, John doesn’t deny it. The club lets him spend one final moment with Penny, knowing he’ll end both their lives to avoid arrest.
The Future of Coopers Chase
With the murders solved, one question remains: who will own Coopers Chase? Salvation comes when Joyce’s daughter, Joanna (Ingrid Oliver), buys the property and vows to keep it just as it is. The film closes on warm, personal moments — Ron watching football with his son, Elizabeth dancing with her husband, Ibrahim and Joyce sharing photos — but the sense lingers that another mystery is just around the corner.
