As this episode of Death In Paradise begins, Ray Saunders (Guy Henry) receives a call from a man who asks if he caught him at a good time. The man tells him that he’s offering 400 all in. Ray says he can do the sunglasses, handbags, and T-shirts all in for 500. The caller agrees to speak to him about it. Jocelyn Pryce (Miai Leonie Phillip) receives a letter but she is hesitant to open it. She puts Marlon (Tahj Miles) in charge of doing it. He reads it and learns she has been offered a place in the school on a scholarship. Ray gets a call from Max. He tells Hoagie he feels negative energy and doesn’t answer the call. Jocelyn thanks Marlon for dinner before leaving to do her homework. Marlon checks the letter from the school in Kingston, Jamaica.

He receives a call from Ray who is hurt and struggling. Ray asks for his help so Marlon goes looking for him. He finds him in a blood of blood so he calls Neville before being hit by someone. After the intro, Neville (Ralf Little), Darlene (Ginny Holder), and Naomi (Shantol Jackson) wake him up. Marlon tells them that the man is Raymond Saunders. He used to work for Ray back when he sold dodgy DVDs and stuff, but he cut all ties with him. Marlon doesn’t know why Ray called him. Marlon insists Ray was a good guy. Booker St Jean (Kevin Garry) is shown with a gun. Neville checks the crime scene before telling Darlene that Ray was a bit of a contradiction. Darlene says he still had his wallet so it wasn’t a robbery. They wonder if the parrot, Hoagie, can tell them who the killer is.

Neville questions why Ray called Marlon instead of calling for an ambulance. Naomi tells Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington) that Marlon had no signs of concussion, but he must take it easy for the rest of the day. Selwyn checks on Marlon who says Ray’s son Max is in prison in Guadeloupe but he should be told. He also recommends speaking to Booker St Jean who would know if trouble was brewing. Marlon wants to check into it, but Selwyn won’t let him go. In private, Marlon tells Selwyn there is something he wants to speak to him about. He may have to hand in his notice. Neville and Naomi meet Booker to see what he has to say. He insists he doesn’t know who did it. Neville asks why Ray would call Marlon after he was shot. Booker finds it odd as well.

He claims he was home alone around 6:30 last night. Booker says he can’t say why Ray called Marlon and no one can vouch for him when Ray got shot. He insists he had no reason to kill Ray. Neville is told the parrot situation has evolved. Marlon tells Selwyn about Jocelyn and the school in Jamaica. His mother can’t go because she has responsibilities there. Marlon is going to move out there with Jocelyn so she doesn’t miss out. There are no openings in the force. Marlon says he’ll do something else until something opens up. Selwyn tells him he doesn’t need to apologize, but he is sorry to see him go. Marlon returns to Jocelyn. Neville isn’t thrilled to have Hoagie near his desk. Darlene found overdue utility bills suggesting Ray was having money problems. She also found a receipt from the off-license down the road.

The victim was spotted around six buying a bottle of rum. Naomi has found nothing suggesting a falling out between Booker and Ray. Marlon calls to ask them to meet him this evening at Catherine’s bar. Max Saunders (Mark Strepan) watches Booker go inside. Then, he calls him to say he knows what he did. Booker says the same. Max believes they’ll have to keep their mouths shut. Later, Marlon tells everyone that he’s leaving. He believes the policing situation will sort itself out. Catherine (Elizabeth Bourgine) steps away to speak to Selwyn who would feel better about it if Marlon didn’t have to give up his job. He has spoken to the police commissioner over there, but he is a busy man. He has no interest in recruiting an officer he has no budget to pay for.

In the morning, Darlene catches Neville texting Chloe or Sunset Chaser. He reveals she is a solicitor based in Leeds. Darlene wonders if he is going to ask for a picture. He’s already done it. Inside, Marlon tells Neville that Booker is loyal to Ray. They get a search warrant so Neville asks Marlon and Darlene to head over. Naomi says Ray’s cleaner said a man showed up threatening Ray a few days before he was killed. The man was Ray’s son, Max Saunders. He got released from prison a week ago. When they confront Max, he admits things got physical although he wishes he’d been even more physical with Ray. Max denies killing his father though. Max wanted to kill him although he won’t say why Ray owed him money. He says he was there at the time and his probation officer can back him up.

Later, Naomi confirms his claim and tells Neville that Max couldn’t have killed his father. Marlon and Darlene are unable to find a gun when they search Booker’s apartment. Marlon tells Booker his DI thinks there is something he isn’t telling them. Booker refuses to speak to Marlon. As Marlon leaves, he notices the manhole is loose so he asks for a crowbar. When they find a bag on the ladder, Booker runs and gets away. At the station, Neville confirms there is a gun in the bag. The gloves and gun have something sticky on them. They found nothing that would explain why Booker would kill Ray. Naomi just spoke to the governor at the Guadeloupe prison. Marlon says Max was caught with two kilos of cocaine three years ago by the Guadeloupe border force. It was supposed a pick-up for his father.

Ray turned to dealing drugs because the DVD market was crashing. Max took the fall for his father. Marlon says Max is a hothead so he isn’t surprised he went after his father. He also tells them that Hoagie can speak, but he can only say what he’s heard Ray say. Later, Neville tells Darlene that Chloe has gone quiet since he asked for a photo. Darlene tells him to give the girl a chance. Naomi checks in with Jocelyn and Marlon later. She tells Marlon she managed to get the last two Hummingbird cupcakes from the bakery. Marlon gets them beers. Naomi confesses she is really going to miss him. Marlon believes a position on the force will open up soon enough. He knows he could’ve been busted just like Max because Ray asked him to do the pick-up first. He was seriously considering it because he could use the money.

Before he could give Ray an answer, Max had already agreed to go. Marlon admits he doesn’t want to give up being a police officer. Next, Naomi calls Selwyn to ask if there is more they can do to help Marlon find police work in Jamaica. He tells her to focus on the murder investigation. Selwyn is outside the West Jamaica Police Headquarters. He says hello to Sergeant Hooper (Tobi Bakare) and thanks him for helping with this situation. Hooper is glad to do his bit for Marlon. They agree to go get him a job. When Naomi catches up with Marlon and Neville, she learns it wasn’t an accident that Max Saunders got busted three years ago. Ray tipped them off because tension had risen between them and Max wanted him out of the way. They listen to Ray’s deleted voicemail messages. Max is questioned about the message threatening his father.

He tells them they’re entitled to their opinions. Max is adamant he didn’t shoot his father. In private, Neville tells Naomi it feels like it’s too easy for it to have been Max. Naomi thinks they should focus on Booker, but Neville argues he doesn’t have a motive. Naomi recommends they just keep digging. Booker calls Max to tell him he is going to the police to confess. Darlene finds out that Ray’s finances were bad. The savings he had have disappeared and the bank has taken action to repossess his house. It started around the time Max was arrested. Marlon claims Ray was so set on taking Max down that he didn’t care about the financial loss. He got into the spiritual stuff to make peace with what he did. The lab confirms there was gunshot residue all over the gloves.

The stick stuff is glucose. Only Booker’s prints and DNA are on the items. Someone drives towards Booker who is on a motorcycle. Naomi and the others arrive and tend to Booker’s injuries. Darlene says the car was reported stolen earlier today. Marlon tries to get Booker to tell him the truth. Neville believes Max did it, but Booker isn’t willing to tell them anything. Marlon can’t see Booker and Max joining forces. At the station, Marlon goes in with Neville to feed Hoagie. Marlon is convinced something is going on between Max and Booker. Neville praises him for remaining focused and composed throughout the case. They agree to get a beer. Hoagie asks if they fancy a cocktail. Ray was always making cocktails. Marlon finds it odd that something isn’t in the picture.

Neville figures out who the killer is, but he wants to check Booker’s apartment. They visit Booker at the hospital. Marlon suspects Booker knocked him out although he didn’t murder Ray. They think Max did that. When Marlon arrives at Ray’s village, it had been staged to make it appear that Ray was dead. Booker was helping him fake his own death. Fake blood had leaked onto the gloves and gun. They found corn syrup and red food dye in Booker’s apartment. Booker fired a bullet into the glass doors to give the illusion that Ray had been shot. Ray phoned Marlon claiming to be hit. Once Marlon had been knocked unconscious, Ray was supposed to disappear into the night. Booker admits Ray had a boat moored and some cash. Ray was going to go to another island and Booker would join him once the heat had died down.

Ray thought it would give him a new start with no money problems. Neville suspects they phoned Marlon so a police officer would witness Ray’s death. Booker says the plan was to plant the gun at Max’s guest house. Booker heard a shot five minutes after he knocked out Marlon. He saw Max running and knew right away what he did. Booker insists Ray was a good man. Marlon and Neville explain that Hoagie helped them figure it out because of what he said about the cocktail. Max took the cocktail shaker because that’s where the bullet was lodged. Naomi calls to say Max has absconded. Booker tells them where Ray’s boat is. Neville and the others manage to catch up with Max before he can escape on the boat. Neville finds the gun and a cocktail shaker in a bag.

Selwyn calls to ask everyone to meet him a Catherine’s Bar. At the bar, Neville gives Marlon credit for solving the case. Marlon is surprised to see JP there. Selwyn leaves Sergeant Hooper to fill in Marlon on the next part of the surprise. JP explains he and Selwyn visited the superintendent in Jamaica. As a result, there is a job waiting for Marlon as soon as he arrives. Selwyn tells Catherine it needed fixing. Marlon comes over to thank him. Neville admits to Darlene that Chloe hasn’t contacted him. His ex Zoe shows up moments later. In private, Zoe admits she is Sunset Chaser.

 

Death In Paradise Review

This episode of Death In Paradise was a mixed bag with some strong parts and many weak parts. The episode did very well with Marlon’s departure and how everyone rallied around him. The investigation into Ray’s death was better until it turned into an unbelievable mess at the end. The ending wasn’t particularly great either.

These bad points didn’t really take away from Marlon’s exit, but they did hurt the episode and the future of the series. Nevertheless, this was easily the strongest episode of the series thanks to Marlon’s strong departure. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Death In Paradise can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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