Murder Most Puzzling has come to a satisfying conclusion, with an ending that left the door open for plenty more murder mysteries in Bakerbury…

In the three feature-length episodes, likeable busybody Cora Felton – aka The Puzzling Lady – found she “had a remarkable talent for solving murders”.

Having felt like she’d never accomplished anything with her life, she jumped at the chance to be ‘useful’ and help police with the surprisingly high rate of crimes in the village.

The character – who we learnt had been married five times – helped the police with three complex crimes during series 1 on C5. Here’s the ending of Murder Most Puzzling explained, including Cora’s secret, the mystery of Sherry’s ex, and news on a possible series 2.

What was Cora’s secret?

In episode 1 of Murder Most Puzzling, viewers soon realised that so-called national treasure Cora Felton was actually a big fat fraud. And journalist Anton worked it out pretty quick, too.

The truth? It was Cora’s niece Sherry – who acted more like her mother – who was the puzzle genius. Cora was just a front. So why the lie?

After being confronted by Anton, Cora explained: “I hate crossword puzzles. Sherry got the odd commission – very low paid for shitty little local papers. So she asked if I would be the ‘friendly face’ of The Puzzle Lady. Of course we had no idea it would make me famous. We’re not happy about living a lie, but it pays for the house. And, let’s face it, it’s hard to say no to that.”

Of course, breaking the story could have made Anton’s career, too… However, after he fell for Sherry, he decided to keep the secret. But it didn’t stay secret for long… Thanks for reptilian villain Mayor Firth.

Murder Most Puzzling ending: Episode 1 recap

In the first instalment of the C5 cosy crime, the town of Bakerbury had a serial killer on their hands. Someone had killed three women in the village, leaving all with a crossword puzzle clue in their pocket… But who was the self-proclaimed Graveyard Killer?

DCI Hooper asked Cora Felton, aka national treasure The Puzzle Lady, for help after the body of a teenage girl was found in the local cemetery. The victim had an enigmatic clue in her pocket. Cora threw herself into the murder case, followed closely by tenacious journalist Anton Grant.

When The Graveyard Killer claimed another two victims, Cora ultimately uncovered two killers – an evil husband and his secret lover who, between them, created a serial killer myth as a means to murder his wife for her inheritance.

Stuart Tanner was the serial killer in episode 1 of Murder Most Puzzling. He wanted to kill his wife Vicky and “get away with it scot-free”. The motive? Vicky had recently inherited an original painting by English landscape painter John Constable that was worth a fortune. In the ending, Cora said: “You found a troubled girl [Donna] who just happened to be in town late at night. A random victim would make Vicky’s murder appear random, too.”

His mistake? His third victim was far from random. Ally Brindle was a certified expert in art appraisal. She was helping Vicky sell her late mother’s possessions because she’d found something “priceless” in the house. His perfect plan was for the “final victim to take what she knew to the grave”. Ally filled in an art authentication certificate to give to Stuart, proving the value of the artwork. While Stuart was busy getting his alibi in the police station at 4pm, his accomplice – and lover – killed Ally.

Lastly, Casey Roth killed Bonnie Burnside 10 years before in a seemingly unrelated crime. Casey had been trying to scare her after she split up with him, but he scared her too much and her car hit a tree.

Murder Most Puzzling ending: Episode 2 recap

In episode 2 of Murder Most Puzzling, Cora celebrated her birthday – and was itching for another mystery to solve. So she was thrilled when lawyer Becky hired her to investigate a case.

Becky asked Cora to dig into the case of convicted killer Darren Duggan. Five years ago, a jury found him guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend Anita Dryver. She was found strangled with Darren’s DNA all over her body. However, Stacey Gallivan (his number one fan) was convinced he was innocent. She insisted he was with her at the time of the murder.

At Bakerbury Prison, Cora interviewed Darren, who subsequently pointed the finger at local weirdo, Roy Gleeson. Cora suspected Darren was telling the truth and her suspicions grew when prison boss, Governor Peacock, warned her off the investigation. Cora tracked down Gleeson at an up-market housing complex for ex-soldiers. Gleeson – a once-homeless army veteran – was seen following Anita days before her murder. But he denied killing her.

Darren Duggan went on to kill Anita’s sister Jason Dryver in jail – in, what he called, an act of self-defence. There were a LOT of deaths in episode 2! Twenty-four hours after Cora questioned Gleeson, he was also found dead, impaled on his army bayonet. But was it a freak accident, or murder?

Meanwhile, Cora was being followed by a private investigator, PI Burns. The mystery of who hired the PI and why deepened when he too was found dead – his body crashing Cora’s surprise birthday party!

Who killed Anita Dryver, Roy Gleeson, and PI Burns?

There was also Anita’s sister Bella, who had ‘disappeared’ a year ago – the week her brother robbed a bank and ended up in prison. So who killed Anita Dryver, Roy Gleeson, and PI Burns?

In the dramatic ending of Murder Most Puzzling episode 2, Cora realised that Bella Dryver was Ida Blunkett – Governor Peacock’s PA and lover. Bella/Ida and her brother Jason Dryver worked together to kill Darren Duggan, who they believed killed their sister Anita.

Jason staged a very public bank robbery, so that he would be sent down. When the authorities sent him to the wrong jail, Bella stepped in. She changed her name to Ida, landed a job working closely with the Governor, and instigated an affair. Bella then hired private investigator Burns to ‘break in’ and make a tape of her having sex with Peacock (no pun intended). The blackmail worked, and Jason was subsequently transferred to Bakerbury prison – the same jail as Darren Duggan. But then it all went horribly wrong when Darren killed Jason in self defence.

As for Anita, she had witnessed a homeless man being killed in a hit and run in 2019. Cora realised that Mayor Firth had been behind the wheel. Anita subsequently blackmailed him for money to keep quiet. But she overplayed her hand, and asked for more – which was when Firth decided to have her killed. Roy Gleeson killed Anita for the Mayor, in exchange for a rather cushy life. The Mayor then pinned the murder on Anita’s stalker/ex-boyfriend Darren.

Roy Gleeson subsequently killed himself due to the “guilt” he felt over Anita’s death. Sadly all evidence of Mayor Firth’s crimes were long gone… So Cora didn’t have a smoking gun with which to prove his guilt. But did she put her own life in danger?

Finally, Stacey Gallivan killed PI Burns to protect Darren. When she discovered there was a plot to kill Darren in jail, she suspected PI Burns of being involved and murdered him.

Murder Most Puzzling ending explained

In episode 3 of Murder Most Puzzling, wealthy businessman Ray and his wife Gloria sponsored Dennis Pride to play a gig in Bakerbury. Fans of the indie rock star went wild for him, while Anton was excited to cover the story – until Sherry dropped the bombshell that Dennis was her abusive ex-husband. And Dennis still wanted Sherry back.

Anton heroically vowed to protect Sherry and kept tabs on Dennis. Which proved to be quite a task, as Dennis ended up being a suspect in a double murder case. Both Gloria and, later, Ray’s CEO Olivia ended up dead. Dennis was the last to (knowingly) see both women alive, and both were drowned. While everyone suspected Hooper’s old friend Ray of killing his wife, Hooper couldn’t see it. Even though Ray’s first wife died in equally suspicious circumstances.

In less deadly news, Cora was distracted by a charming suitor called Gilbert. When Sherry said he seemed too good to be true, it caused a rift between the women – but planted a seed of doubt in Cora’s mind.

Cora went on to put her life on the line to catch the killer, and faced her toughest choice yet. When Hooper fell victim to her nemesis Mayor Firth, only she could save him. However, everything Cora and Sherry had built was at stake…

Of course, viewers will know from episode 1 and 2 that Mayor Firth was corrupt, running – among other things – “prisoner sweat shops”. He illegally exploited workers and misused convicts as cheap labour. That’s as well as being a murderer obviously!

Who killed Gloria and Olivia in episode 3?

At first, Ray confessed to killing Gloria. He told Hooper that he’d lost his temper with her after she met Dennis Pride in his hotel room. Of course, we knew that Gloria was just asking Dennis to help her with a secret anniversary surprise she was planning for her husband.

The rich businessman also admitted to killing Olivia. He claimed he murdered her because she had found out about his involvement in Gloria’s death, and was blackmailing him. Under police investigation, Ray also admitted to murdering his first wife Harriet. For a copper, Inspector Hooper proved to be pretty rubbish at choosing friends!

But was Ray really a triple murderer!? Dogged detective DS Sam Brody smelled a rat about Ray’s convenient confession… Who was he protecting? In fact, Ray was protecting his son Julien. Julien had killed his stepmum Gloria – and he had an accomplice. He used his boyfriend Dante as a decoy on the office CCTV footage. Although Julien was at the scene of the crime, Dante was posing as him in his office to give him an alibi.

Julien killed Gloria to be next in line for daddy’s fortune. He also believed that his dad had killed his mum years before (he hadn’t). That’s why Julien murdered Gloria in a similar way (drowning). The vengeful son then persuaded his dad to murder Olivia, who was blackmailing him with incriminating footage of him and Dante. He fabricated a story to make it sound like Olivia had killed Gloria.

Of course, Cora set up a meeting with Julien and got him to confess. Although she nearly died in the process! Inspector Derek Hooper then had the unfortunate task of arresting Julien, a boy he had seen grow up and taken camping.

Infuriatingly, Inspector Hooper was sacked at the end of Murder Most Puzzling series 1 – despite Cora’s deal with the Mayor (see below). In fact, it was Cora catching the killer that showed Hooper was a “lousy cop”.

Murder Most Puzzling ending explained: Who was Gilbert Sullivan?

Mayor Firth hired an actor to get close to Cora Feldman and “dig some dirt on her” – enter Gilbert Sullivan (Kevin McNally). After falling for him, Cora revealed her biggest secret. She told him she wasn’t really The Puzzle Lady, after all, and was rubbish at puzzles. If the truth ever got out, no one would believe her again.

Of course, Firth now had enough knowledge to blackmail Cora into compliance. He gave her two options. He would save Hooper from being sacked, only if Cora sacrificed herself. Or he could sack Hooper, and keep Cora’s secret. She choose to save Hooper. He kept his job, and got off with a warning. Until the Mayor reneged on his deal.

But things were worse for Cora. Within minutes, the local press were at her door, calling her a “national disgrace” for lying to the public. The paper subsequently terminated Sherry’s contract with the paper.

Despite solving several murders in Bakerbury, the series ended with Cora being something of a social pariah. But it did throw one curveball. Gilbert – real name actually Harry – turned up again. He told Cora his feelings for her were for real. Her reponse? A firm hand to his face!

Who was Dennis Pride?

In episode 1 of Murder Most Puzzling, Sherry Carter was running scared from something. She jumped when the phone rang and, when no one spoke, she whispered the name ‘Dennis’. So who was Dennis, and why did Sherry say she didn’t want him to track her down?

Viewers soon found out that Sherry was actually the puzzle genius and NOT her auntie Cora. She had fled London for a “quiet life” in Bakerbury to escape her abusive rock-star ex-husband. He was the lead singer in the preposterously-named Psychic Buffalo – and Sherry used to be in the band with him too!

Throughout the series, Sherry was worried Dennis would “track her down” – not helped by Cora’s attention-seeking antics.  Talking to love interest Anton, she explained: “I am recently divorced. Things were difficult between my ex and I. Things have happened to me that I need to work through.”

In the first instalment, Dennis left a voice message on Sherry’s phone. He said: “Hello Sherry, I’ve just seen Cora on the news pretending to be an expert to the police. I’m sure the world would love to know The Puzzle Lady is fake. Maybe I’ll put a call in to the press. Maybe I’ll swing by Bakerbury, too, pay you a little visit.”

In turn, she threatened to expose him as a “wife-beater” if he ever went public about The Puzzling Lady’s real identity. Of course, her fear of her ex made Sherry reluctant to start a relationship with Anton which would have potentially put him in danger.

In episode 3, Dennis arrived in Bakerbury. He was dressed like a charity shop version of Michael Hutchence, with a voice only 40 fags a day could achieve. Although he made it clear he wanted Sherry back, she was adamant she didn’t want to forgive and forget.

Murder Most Puzzling ending: Do Sherry and Anton get together?

Anton clearly had the hots for Sherry, and the feeling was mutual. But… Sherry was reluctant to embark on a relationship after her abusive marriage to Dennis. She also had good reason to worry for Anton’s safety. After all, Dennis was a violent man, and could well have gone after Sherry’s new boyfriend.

In episode 1 of Murder Most Puzzling, Anton made his feelings for Sherry clear when he leant in to kiss her – until she pulled away and explained she wanted to stay friends.

However, in episode 2, the tables were turned. Sherry drunkenly tried to snog Anton. But, being a gentleman, he stopped her from kissing him while she was under the influence.

In the final episode of Murder Most Puzzling, Sherry and Anton finally got it together. They sealed their relationship with a passionate kiss (and the rest). However, of course it was too good to be true. Anton later confessed that he’d kissed Becky. Or rather that she’d kissed him and he’d “let her”. And it was the night Anton had turned up at Sherry’s and they’d ended up in bed together. Furious, Sherry ended the series by saying she was “100% sure” she’d given up on him.

But we see a real future for the pair – if there’s another series that is…

Will there be a series 2 of Murder Most Puzzling?

Channel 5 has not yet confirmed if there’ll be a series 2 of Murder Most Puzzling. But we’d be very surprised if it wasn’t recommissioned.

In fact, during the Murder Most Puzzling ending, Cora had been slipped an anonymous note. It said: “You broke my heart. Now I’ll break yours.”

So there’s plenty of loose ends dangling for a possible series 2. We’d like to see more of the will-they-won’t-they relationship between Anton and Sherry, as well as Cora’s ‘unique’ way of solving crimes. We’d also like to see Hooper reinstated, and Mayor Firth get his comeuppance!

Murder Most Puzzling is based on Parnell Hall’s best-selling books The Puzzle Lady Mysteries. There are 18 books in total, so plenty of scope for future series… Watch this space for more information about a possible series 2 of Murder Most Puzzling.

Read now: Murder Most Puzzling filming locations and if village of Bakerbury is real

Murder Most Puzzling series 1 is now available to watch on Channel5.com.