As the opening episode of The Marlow Murder Club begins, Judith Potts (Samantha Bond) is shown at home. Stefan Dunwoody (Rufus Wright) tells Antonia to go to the river and have fun. The door is too hot to touch so Stefan has to use his handkerchief. Judith goes for a swim while Stefan puts on a classical record. Stefan walks outside and sits down on a bench. It looks like someone is stalking him. Judith hears a gunshot and rushes to help. She calls the police. Becks Starling (Cara Horgan) speaks to her daughter Chloe (Sophia Ally) at home. Chloe talks about going to a pub although Becks doesn’t want her to. Sam (Ethan Quinn) asks his mom to authorize a purchase for the new Hell Slayer game. Reverend Colin Starling (Niall Costigan) tells Becks that Mrs. Eddingham wants her to help set up Lisson Hall for the reception with the Bishop. Suzie Harris (Jo Martin) puts her dogs in her van.

She tells her daughter she can’t wait to see her. DS Tanika Malik (Natalie Dew) speaks to the team at the police station. She receives a call from Shanti Malik (Amelia Valentina Pankhania) and learns from her teacher that she’s not feeling well again. Suzie finds Iqbal Kassam (Umit Ulgen) sleeping in his cab. He promises he’ll be well rested when he picks up Zeta from Heathrow. Suzie takes his dog, Luna. Judith receives a call from Tanika Malik. Judith insists she heard a gunshot. She claims DC Jason Kennedy (Tijan Sarr) didn’t search the entire property. After the call, Judith decides to investigate on her own. She ends up finding a bullet casing and Stefan’s body. Judith calls Tanika Malik and waits for the police to arrive. She collects the bullet casing and takes a picture of it. DS Brendan Perry (Phil Langhorne) and Tanika speak about the crime. Tanika speaks to Judith who calls Jason a lovely young man.

Judith reveals she’s a retired archaeologist. It’s confirmed she found a bullet casing. Tanika asks her not to interfere. Later, Judith looks at the picture of the casing and it looks like a Nazi symbol at the bottom. Mr. Eddingham (Ian Barritt) speaks to Mrs. Eddingham (Rita Tushingham) about Stefan’s death. They see the new vicar’s wife, Becks, walking by. Mrs. Eddingham complains that she hasn’t invited her over for tea. Judith decides to go to Stefan’s workplace. She speaks to Stefan’s employee about whether he collected antique pistols. He did not. Judith asks if Stefan had an argument with anyone recently. The woman, Antonia, explains she went with Stefan to the Marlow Regatta. Stefan said the man’s name was Elliot Howard who owned Marlow Auction House. Elliot (Daniel Lapaine) came after Stefan and called him a fraud. Judith decides to visit Elliot Howard. She talks to him about the encounter with Stefan.

Judith asks him to pay for her dry cleaning since he spilled wine on her blouse. Elliot insists Stefan was a crook because he stole thousands from his clients. Stefan thinks he’s just a busybody. He tells her where he was yesterday before asking her to leave. Judith goes to the church and looks around. She finds Becks hiding in a cupboard. Judith explains she was looking for a list of people who sing in the choir. Becks learns about the shooting and the possibility that Elliot shot Stefan. She confirms Stefan was there the whole time. Judith admits she thinks Stefan is involved. Becks believes this is a matter for the police. Judith questions whether Becks could ask Mrs. Eddingham about it. Tanika speaks to the others about the case at the police station. Alice Hackett (Holli Dempsey) says she spoke to Stefan’s assistant Antonia Webster (Eleanor Nawal).

She had no idea what happened to him. Tanika says the bullet used to kill Stefan was manufactured in Munch in 1942. They want to look for a possible connection to any far-right groups. Brendan is told to check local antique shops. Daisy Howard (Juliet Howland) asks Elliot what Judith wanted. He lies to her. Later, someone seems to be watching Judith from outside. A brick is thrown threw her window. She finds a note telling her to stay away. Judith calls Tanika to say they need to meet. Becks deals with the kids in the morning. Her husband deals with business on the phone. Becks breaks a cup and seems upset. She calls Mrs. Eddingham to ask her out for a cup of tea. They agree to meet to talk about Stefan. Alice doesn’t find any connections to far right groups. DCI Vicky Greenly (Ella Kenion) speaks to Tankia about the case.

She agrees to let Tanika remain in charge of the investigation. Judith arrives to speak to Tanika. Suzie prepares for the arrival of Zeta Harris (Teagan Imani). However, she receives a call from Zeta who says she’s staying with her dad for another week. Suzie goes to Iqbal’s house and searches for him. She finds him murdered in his bed. Judith tells Tanika about the note and how she spoke to Antonia yesterday. She explains everything about Elliot who she believes is somehow involved. Jason interrupts to say there has been another shooting in Marlow. When they check the scene, Tanika finds a necklace in Iqbal’s mouth. Tanika speaks to Suzie about finding Iqbal’s body. Judith arrives on her bicycle. Suzie asks if she can take Luna home with her. Judith speaks to Suzie and offers to help her get home. Becks speaks to Mrs. Eddingham about Stefan.

Eddingham admits not everything about Stefan was good. Suzie makes it home and speaks to Judith about her daughter. She doesn’t know who could’ve done this to her friend. Judith explains she’s trying to find out who killed Stefan Dunwoody. She tells Suzie where she’ll be just in case she thinks of anything that might help. Judith works through the evidence at home. Suzie and Becks end up arriving outside at the same time. Judith invites them inside. Suzie reveals that Iqbal said he was coming into some money a few months ago. She felt he had been cheated or lied to. Judith also learns about the medallion the police found. Becks says Stefan used to run a scam at the Marlow Auction House with Elliot’s father Alec. Stefan would also give Alec a cut of the money. Sometimes, Stefan would keep the paintings for himself. Becks doesn’t trust Elliot so she thinks he could be involved in the scam now.

Suzie says they need a sample of Elliot’s handwriting to see if it matches the handwriting on the message thrown through Judith’s window. Tanika confirms the bullet used to kill Iqbal came from the same gun used to kill Stefan. They really don’t have anything useful. Tanika asks the team about the medallion. Jason suggests it could be linked to a ship or something like SS Hope. Brendan thinks they need to be looking in London. The Marlow Auction House hasn’t gotten back to him yet. Alice is told to speak to Elliot Howard. Judith keeps in touch with Suzie and Becks while they try to get a handwriting sample from Elliot. A detective enters to ask if they’ve sold a Second World War German Luger. Elliot says they did last year to a local collector. Suzie creates a scene so Becks can snap a picture of the information. Judith immediately says the handwriting is not the same. She also learns that a man named Chris Bott purchased the Luger.

Becks knows Chris (Tristan Sturrock) so they visit him together. Judith and Chris talk about their memorabilia. He agrees to let her look at his collection. Chris admits it may not be legal. Judith asks if he has a Lugar pistol. The police surround the house just as Chris notices that the gun is missing. After the police raid, Tanika asks Judith and Suzie what they’re doing there. They explain they want the killers caught. Tanika lets it slip that the gun was used to kill both victims. She threatens to arrest them if she sees them at another scene. Becks has to pick up the Bishop of Worcester (Matthew Bates). They go back to the church. Becks hopes they’re not going to stop investigating. Suzie and Judith say no. Danny Curtis (Mark Frost) checks on Liz Curtis (Philippa Peak). He finds out that she’s been reading the news about the second murder. Daisy asks Elliot why he didn’t give the police the receipt. He claims it’s nothing important.

Elliot says he told the police they were in bed together asleep at 6 a.m. Daisy told them the same thing. He believes that means they’re in the clear. In the morning, Tanika speaks to Shamil Malik (Rishi Nair) about his gig. She talks to him about the murders. Shamil believes she’ll get the person responsible. There is a funeral and Liz watches from a distance. Suzie talks to Becks about her husband and kids. Zeta left school this summer. Judith comes in with the book of condolence for Stefan. She points out the entry from Daisy Howard. She believes it’s the same handwriting on the brick. Judith approaches her outside to confront her about it. Daisy wants to talk about it elsewhere. In private, she says her husband had affairs. Daisy admits she thought Elliot and Judith were having an affair when she came over the first time. She says Elliot hated Stanley.

Daisy tells them about Elliot being a painter. When his dad died, he left an expensive painting to Stefan instead of Eliot. Daisy insists they need to look for the killer elsewhere. Later that night, Judith tells Suzie and Becks that she used to be married. They hear an alarm and find out that someone is in Stefan’s house. Judith tells them to call the police and meet her there. She takes a boat over. Judith finds a broken window at Stefan’s place before going inside. She is hit by someone with a flashlight. Judith wakes up when the police make it over. Becks thinks there was a bigger painting on the wall based on the amount of dust there. Judith suspects a Stanley Spencer painting is missing. Suzie and Becks offer to stay with Judith tonight. She says her husband was not a good man but she survived him. She’ll also survive this. Judith thinks about the case that night as well as her husband. He asks her to say he was with her if anyone asks.

The next day, Judith goes for a swim. She says hello to old Tom and young Tom. Then, she goes to the police station to speak to Tanika Malik. Judith is told she should go home. Instead, she sneaks inside and Jason gives her access to a restricted area. Alice tells Tanika that Elliot Howard was supposedly home the whole evening. His wife was at the cinema. Chris Bott went to Amsterdam. They found fingerprints, but they don’t match anyone. They also don’t know how the medallion is linked. Tanika asks why the killer left it at the second crime scene and not the first. Judith claims she knows and she also knows why the medallion had “hope” written on it. They go to the property and Judith tries to find another medallion at the scene of Stefan’s crime. She finds one. This time, the medallion has “faith” on it.

She says “And here abideth faith, hope, and charity, all three.” The greatest of these is charity. Judith says they’re dealing with a serial killer and there will be a third murder.

 

The Marlow Murder Club

The opening episode of The Marlow Murder Club was very familiar and not necessarily in a good way. It’s another bored elderly woman who becomes an amateur sleuth and manages to solve murder cases. This time, Judith Potts is paired with a dog walker, Suzie Harris, and the wife of a local reverend, Becks Starling.

Not only does the episode feature two murders but there’s a possibility that Judith is investigating a serial killer with a third murder in the waiting. Unfortunately, that means the hour and a half episodes are compounded and the entire story is drug out for four episodes. Sadly, the story is already moving at a snail’s pace with lots of nothing going on in many scenes.

Some performances are better than others, but it doesn’t matter because the script is so farfetched. The poor dialogue certainly doesn’t help matters either. For instance, Judith was belittling Jason and the police at one point only to call him lovely moments later. That’s another familiar trait for shows like this, incompetent police.

Unsurprisingly, the first episode had to have a link to Nazi German and mentions of the far-right just because. Judith isn’t the likable sleuth who has some degree of morals. Instead, she’s constantly bending the rules and putting herself in trouble. She breaks into a police station and nearly gets herself slaughtered by a possible serial killer.

In the real world, the killer wouldn’t leave Judith alive, especially since she’s going to be the one solving the case. The Marlow Murder Club is dumb, unoriginal, and downright boring. However, it’s also convenient. If it’s found on television late at night, it’s not bad enough to turn off immediately. That’s probably the show’s biggest saving grace.

The opening episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of The Marlow Murder Club can be found here. Learn more about supporting our independent site at this link. Find out how to advertise with us here. See what others are saying here.