The episode begins with Jeremy Lloyd James (Robin Askwith) listening to a voicemail from his wife Judith Lloyd James (Sue Holderness) who’s concerned about his well-being. In another voicemail, she angrily tells him to sleep on the boat. Upon arrival, he descends the steps to the cabin before passing out on the bed. The next morning, he discovers a deceased woman lying face down on the deck.
Brodeur & White Antiques – Jean White (Sally Lindsay) and Charlie (Sanchia McCormack) host a grand opening. Charlie informs her that her wife, Simone (Djinda Kane) is due to be released from prison in six months. She says the fraud makes her question if any part of their seven-year relationship was real.
Simone talks about returning home to Charlie. She says the world is her oyster.
Judith gets a visit from Vernon Bradley (Lee Boardman). She tells him that Jeremy is at a business meeting. Rose Bradley (Jennifer James) warns him that he’ll need to bake the cakes because Brandie’s missing.
Jean tells Dom Hayes (Steve Edge) that sapphires and rubies have the same chemical (corundum) composition, only the color is different. He says she’s a ruby expert. She informs him of selling a ruby ring for 350,000. He asks what her plan would’ve been if the ring was worth one million. She says probably returned to Sainte Victoire. Celine (Margeaux Lampley) says officers were escorting Jeremy into the police station. Dom suggests Jeremy drank too much last night. Jean calls Judith to update her on Jeremy’s location.
Jeremy tells Caron (Alex Gaumond) that when he returned to the boat at about 9:45pm, the victim wasn’t there. Caron asks if there are witnesses who will vouch he wasn’t in any condition to kill anyone. Jeremy asks how the woman got on his boat. Caron suggests she fell from a cliff. Jeremy questions if someone pushed her. Caron says the police will need to make that determination.
Judith’s irate about Jeremy being taken to the police station. He informs her of the deceased woman on the deck of his boat.
Rose prepares for Vernon Bradley’s (Lee Boardman) photo shoot. She tells Margarete (Sarah Junillon) to keep him focused on his new book, “Vernon’s Vista Cook Book.”
Gloria (Sue Vincent) acquires a vase from Jean’s antique shop. Dom informs her that Judith is in dire need of having a door painted. She asks why the police took Jeremy to the police station. He claims it had to do with parking permits.
A prison guard informs Simone that she has a visitor. She tells her cellmate that she’d recently spoken to her wife.
Judith informs Jean that Jeremy killed his mistress on their boat. She claims the woman was lying beside Jeremy when he woke up. Jean asks if Jeremy was next to her. Judith says she was on the deck. Jean agrees to speak with Caron about the case. Judith tells her that Jeremy’s staying at their summer house.
Vernon signs a copy of his book for Jean.
Jean tells Caron that Judith believes Jeremy murdered his mistress. He says the police haven’t identified the victim or established the cause of death. The woman had a unique comb on her person. After inspecting the item, she says it’s a Victorian, sterling silver comb.
Celine tells Gloria about the dead woman on Jeremy’s boat. Dom gets defensive when he overhears their conversation. He says Jeremy isn’t a suspect in the woman’s murder. Jean fills him in on the evidence.
After dinner, Dom tells Jean that Vernon’s cake was “rubbish.” She reminds him that Vernon’s one of the best chefs in the world. He shows her a photo of the cake in Vernon’s cookbook. She points out that the comb in the photo is identical to the one found on the victim.
Jean tells Caron that the victim’s comb is a cake comb. He compares it to the photos in Vernon’s cookbook. A cross-reference identifies the victim, Brandie Ndaba as Vernon’s domestic who recreates his recipes.
Caron informs Vernon and Rose of Brandie’s murder. Vernon admits to seeing Brandie at 7:45pm the night she was murdered. He assures him that she was alive when he left.
Margarete tells Jean and Caron that she and Jean left Vernon’s house around 6:45pm. She was at home at about 8pm when Brandie called to complain that Vernon unexpectedly dropped off a recipe. She claims Brandie was planning to leave her position with Vernon and Rose.
Caron and Jean search Brandie’s home. Brandie had an anaphylactic reaction to nuts. Vernon admits to knowing about Brandie’s nut allergy. Caron asks if he was aware of her plans to leave. He tells them that he’d be lost if Brandie left because a skiing accident five years ago left him without a sense of taste and smell. Caron suggests he had to stop Brandie from leaving and going to the media. He claims to have prepared the ingredients left with Brandie before returning home. When they produce a CCTV image of him, he admits to having a painkiller addiction. Caron charges him with suspicion of murder.
Rose assures Margarete that Vernon’s lies will eventually catch up with him. Margarete reminds her that his being devastated over Brandie’s death. Rose sarcastically says “poor Vernon.” Margarete grabs her bag before leaving.
Margarete is hit by a car while crossing the street. Dom says they refuse to install CCTV cameras because there’s a police station in the square. He describes the vehicle as a white sports model with a kiddy-like flower sticker in the rear window. Jean asks him to draw it. She tells him that it’s a logo for a prestigious European food award, which Vernon has many.
Rose prepares to leave when the police arrive. Caron asks why she ran Margarete down. She says Margarete was always loyal to the “stupid fool” who controlled them. She and Brandie were in love for three years. Margarete saw her add nut oil to Vernon’s ingredients. Rose hid Vernon’s Epipen. She admits to accidentally killing Brandie. Jean asks why dispose of Brandie’s body in the sea. Rose says since Brandie was an orphan, she didn’t have a family, only she would miss her.
Vernon pops some painkillers as several fans approach for a photo.
Simone rushes to the waiting room hoping to see Charlie but finds Barbara (Olivia Caffrey) there instead.
The Madame Blanc Mysteries Review
Jeremy falls asleep right away after returning from a night out with friends. He awakens to find the body of an unknown woman on the deck. Coran’s unable to immediately identify the victim because she doesn’t have any prints on file.
The woman works for famous TV chef, Vernon Bradley. She fell or was pushed off a cliff, landing onto the deck of Jeremy’s boat. Judith believes the woman’s Jeremy’s mistress which he insists is untrue.
Brandie had an anaphylactic reaction to nuts. Vernon unexpectedly drops off the ingredients for a recipe at her home the night she was murdered. The ingredients contained nuts that both Vernon and Brandie are allergic to. Coran arrests him on suspicion of murder.
A skiing accident left Vernon with the inability to taste and smell. He relied on Brandi to prepare all his recipes. She was planning to leave which would have been a devastating hit for him.
Margarete walked in as Rose was adding nut oil to Vernon’s recipe before he dropped it off at Brandie’s. Rose mows Margarete down in a car to keep her quiet. The plan to kill Vernon resulted in the death of her lover, Brandie. She knew no one would come looking for Brandie because she was an orphan. She tossed her body over a cliff, landing on the deck of Jeremy’s boat below.
The actors did a wonderful job bringing their characters to life. The cinematography was good except for off-centered shots. The investigation failed to hold my attention throughout the episode. It wasn’t predictable but boring at times.
The episode deserves a 6. Get more The Madame Blanc Mysteries recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Advertise with us to reach a wide audience.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
