The Marlow Murder Club Season 2 Episode 4 Review

On The Marlow Murder Club Season 2 Episode 4, a killer with a surprisingly sympathetic motive is exposed amongst our somewhat tiresome cast of characters.

The second body uncovered at the end of the first half of this story is that of Seb, who died at the age of 20 more than a decade ago. The location and ages both connect him to Louis, though there’s no immediate evidence they knew each other.

Grace, who wasn’t in Marlowe for Seb’s death and who has an alibi for Louis’s, is quickly eliminated as a suspect. However, while all four members of both couples claim not to know Seb’s name, both Judith and Co. and the police learn otherwise.

Seb had a brief and toxic affair with Phii and Caroline’s daughter, Evie. He later confronts Caroline, who pushes him to his death in self-defense and asks for Carrie’s help hiding the body. Years later, when Louis starts to track her down, she kills him, too.

The couples are left in shambles and Judy’s investigations of her great aunt’s love life aren’t much happier. He was married and they were never able to be together—though she did get to be buried next to him many years after his passing.

Thankfully, not everything is so depressing. Tanika misses her daughter’s reading but gets to share her poem anyway and the rumors of Beck’s own “affair” are nipped in the bud when she shows a tattoo their art teacher gave her.

The second half of this episodic plot is much smoother and more fulfilling than the first. After a long and rather disjointed account of the various bitter feelings between the neighbors, we unpack them all for a satisfying conclusion.

As with many more domestic cases, the lines between perpetrator and victim are blurred. Though Seb was young, it’s hard to feel for anyone who treats a woman as he did Evie. Caroline was defending herself and protecting her daughter.

Still, she essentially got away with it with no consequences, the end result being the murder of a second man who’d only come looking for answers into an old friend. At least she tries to protect her accomplice in the end.

There’s also more time to spend with all three members of the club, and Tanika as well. The follow-up with Judith’s great-aunt, the reveal of Beck’s tattoo (to her friends—I hope we see it soon), and Tanika’s time with her daughter all provide lovely moments.

I’m also pleasantly surprised to see that the detective inspector has gotten her professional colleagues working smoothly with her amateur hires. The last case of the season will likely be the biggest, so it’s about time.

Finally, having read all available Marlow Murder Club books, I should note that the series is, after the first episode of the season, taking on its own plots. I’m excited for the prospect of all-new stories and hope that this can mean more seasons, too.

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The Marlow Murder Club airs Sundays at 9/8c on PBS

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