The Book Club Murders quite literally begins with a house on fire. Like many Lifetime films, the film will eventually circle back around to the cold open, but for a long stretch the image of a burning home hangs over the proceedings.
Months have passed when the film proper begins: Natalie Johnston (Brittany Underworld) and her teen daughter Gwen (Eva Igo) are trying to get their lives back in order after the loss of their home and the death of the family’s patriarch. Gwen is also grieving the loss of her former best friend, Lauren McCain (Julia Zook), who is missing and presumed dead in a separate incident.
Naturally over the course of the film, the details of these events will be revealed to be in conversation with one another. Unlike some of the brand’s other mysteries, The Book Club Murders does a reasonable job of baiting the hook and settling in for a mostly satisfying mystery that isn’t as obvious as other Lifetime titles.
Written and directed by Logan Giese, the film follows Natalie as she joins a weekly book club run out of Back Forty Books, the local bookstore. She’s encouraged by bibliophile shop owner Wendy (Ainsley Burch) when the latter spots Natalie checking out a popular mystery novel and Gwen demands her mother socialize more.
From there Natalie is introduced to the rest of the group. First and foremost is Wendy’s best friend Meredith (Kate Dailey), who has a husband named Jeff (Deven Bromme) with a wandering eye. Intriguingly, Natalie already shares a connection with several other members, including Anita (Ebony Ramquist), the mother of Tori (Kiki Yellam), Gwen’s studious best friend, as well as Gwen’s guidance counsellor April (Joy Ford).
Then there’s gossipy Sadie (Nicole Weber), who also happens to be the mother of Gwen’s boyfriend, Tony (Aaron Goehle) and the wife of Detective Chandler (Mike Bredon), the cop we investigated Lauren’s disappearance and is still clearly suspicious of Natalie.
Mystery fans will immediately note that there are plenty of connections between the characters, so when blackmail letters in expensive black envelopes and sealed with crimson red wax begin circulating, it’s only a matter of time before tongues wag, fingers point, and bodies drop. It appears that someone knows all of the Book Club’s secrets, and everyone is a target.
If there’s one challenge with the central premise, it is that blackmail secrets and the subsequent attacks vary widely from person to person. The first victim is Tori, whose mother and counsellor are implicated in a College cheating scandal. It’s pretty low stakes; so is the revelation that Wendy had an affair with Jeff before he got together with Meredith.
Then someone gets suffocated with a plastic bag after a break and enter, and another individual is strangled with a scarf. The escalation from gentle “I Know…” notes to multiple bodies occurs pretty quickly. There’s also a few passing comments that suggest nearly everyone at Gwen’s school has been receiving threatening letters, though none of these are actually seen.
Considering the way that the danger seems to involve Natalie, Gwen and the period just before the fire, the film’s killer reveal makes sense, although the motivation is admittedly a little messy. Unlike many other Lifetime titles, though, The Book Club Murders knows enough to let its villain deliver an over-the-top histrionic monologue, in addition to placing multiple characters in danger.
It’s hard not to critique Giese’s busy screenplay, however. With so many interweaving subplots, The Book Club Murders struggles to balance its attention between the parents and the teens. This means that the clues, the suspicions, and the red herrings are all spread thin, and not all of it pays off satisfactorily by the time the credits roll.
The film’s action is also underwhelming, particularly the slightly amateurish fight choreography. This is especially disappointing considering that the majority of the violence occurs in close proximity to the villain reveal and pales in comparison to the killer’s scenery-chewing dialogue.
Arguably the strongest direction occurs with the asphyxiation murder. When the scene begins, the crime has been committed and the police are already working the scene. Then – without an edit or a transition – the murder is shown as the camera pans over to reveal the disguised killer sneaking in through the window. It’s a nice visual flourish that stands out from Giese’s otherwise straightforward direction.
There’s good stuff here, including Natalie’s fast friendship with Wendy, who is lovely and has her own tragic backstory. Burch is particularly skilled at infusing her mildly kooky shopkeeper with personality and the actor is as adept at invoking empathy as she is at delivering a quippy one-liner. For example: it’s immediately endearing when Wendy introduces the group to Natalie before whispering “I know that they look like a bunch of gossipy bitches, but that’s only because they are.” Is it the kind of tired line that male screenwriters employ too frequently? Yes, but Burch sells it – and by extension – the character in that moment.
Naturally the central relationship between Natalie and Gwen is the one that receives the most focus. As the lead, Johnston anchors the film well. She is convincing as both a burgeoning sleuth and a protective mother, although the age disparity between mother and daughter appears so slight that it might have been more believable if they were actually sisters.
Ultimately The Book Club Murders is another solidly entertaining Lifetime movie. The likeable cast understands the assignment and the script, while overstuffed, still manages to stick the landing with its killer reveal and subsequent over the top monologue.
The Book Club Murders airs Thursday, October 3 on Lifetime Movie Network.
The post Lifetime’s ‘The Book Club Murders’ Features a Great Over the Top Killer [Review] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
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