Sartaj Singh
Directed by Logan Giese, ‘The Book Club Murders’ narrates the story of a widowed mother scathed by a harrowing event in her past, forced to confront an unknown killer threatening her daughter. Natalie Johnston (Brittany Underwood) joins a small book club at the local bookstore, hoping to revive her social life as she is still haunted by the death of her husband in a house fire. The club serves as a welcome distraction, with its eccentric members inclined to gossip as much as discussing literature.
Natalie’s fragile peace is interrupted when an unknown individual calling themselves Aletheia begins writing ominous letters to the book club members, revealing their dark secrets. Those addressed by the letters meet an early grave at the hands of the vengeful killer who accuses them of crimes. When Natalie’s daughter becomes the subject in one of the letters and is accused of a crime she did not commit, Natalie must protect her and unmask the relentless killer targeting them. The Lifetime thriller may strike a chord of familiarity with some, sparking an inquiry into the inspiration behind it.
The Book Club Murders is a Fictional Whodunit
‘The Book Club Murders’ is a whodunit mystery thriller written by Logan Giese that introduces many twists and motifs typical of Lifetime productions in the genre. However, it is an original work of fiction that engages with its setup of multiple suspicious characters, involving the audience in a guessing game regarding the true motives and identity of the killer. The movie has no connection with the book of the same name written by Leslie Nagel.
The first novel in the ‘Oakwood Mystery,’ ‘The Book Club Murders’ does share some similarities with the Lifetime movies. It follows a clothes store owner who joins the Agathas Book Club, which is comprised of wealthy women who engage in ceaseless gossip. Much like in the Lifetime movie, it is implied that their tattletale nature incites a bitter killer to wreak havoc on the members, as the victims’ bodies are arranged identically to the murders described in the club’s reading list.
Parallels with Other Murder Mystery Films
Lifetime fans may have also felt a sense of déjà vu while watching ‘The Book Club Murders’ as it may have initially brought back memories of another Lifetime film with similar storylines, ‘Fallen Angels Murder Club.’ The story introduces the members of the eponymous club who are both lovers of books and possess criminal records. When a member is murdered in the exact recreation of their previous night’s murder mystery reading, the group must discover who among them is letting their criminal nature run rampant. The film also spawned a sequel, ‘Fallen Angels Murder Club: Heroes and Felons,’ which sees the book club members band together once more after someone murders one of them and proceeds to kill the investigative journalist on the case.
A more horror-leaning book club murder mystery film with similar story elements is Netflix’s ‘Killer Book Club.’ The Spanish-language 2023 film follows a group of horror book-loving friends who form a club to share their passions. However, their group is attacked by a killer clown who appears to know a dark secret held between them. In ‘The Book Club Murders,’ the killer also appears to know the secret of each of their victims. This motif can be traced back to the classic slasher horror film ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer,’ which sees a maleficent killer attack a group of teens after they cause an accidental death and dump the body into the sea. Lifetime’s ‘The Book Club Murders’ may thus evoke other films, including those of the network, but it is an imaginative whodunnit mystery created by writer-director Logan Giese.
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