Murder Before Evensong episode 3 ended with quite the cliffhanger this week – with the body count rising in Champton St Mary.

Viewers will know that the cosy crime drama, based on Reverend Richard Coles’ book of the same name, centres on the death of Anthony Bowness.

In episode 1, Canon Daniel Clement – or rather his dogs – found Anthony’s lifeless body at the back of the local church. He’d been stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs.

We were told: “As the police move in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his fractured community together… and catch a killer.”

In episode 3 of Murder Before Evensong, another villager turned up dead. And this time it was one of the prime suspects!

***Warning: spoilers from Murder Before Evensong episode 3 ahead***

Is Ned Thwaite dead in Murder Before Evensong?

Some viewers may well have been shocked at another death in the small village of Champton St Mary. In the closing minutes of Murder Before Evensong episode 3, we saw Ned Thwaite bobbing face down in a lake. Did he kill himself after finding out his wife Jane had left him? Or was he murdered?

Well, the Acorn and Channel 5 series IS called Murder Before Evensong! Ned’s death was the second murder to take place in the village after the initial killing of Anthony in episode 1.

Was Ned’s death connected to the earlier murder? And, if so, what links them? Of course, fans of the crime drama will know that Ned was up until that point the prime suspect in the death of Anthony Bowness.

He certainly had motive, after his wife Jane was seen having clandestine meetings with the victim. But with Ned dead, we can only assume the same killer targeted them both. So who killed Anthony and Ned?

What else happened in episode 3 of Murder Before Evensong?

As the series continued on Acorn (with episode 3), Daniel’s interfering mum encouraged her son to interview Champton gamekeeper Edgy, whom Stella witnessed near Anthony’s murder site. Although Edgy probably isn’t the one who killed Anthony – too obvious! – he certainly isn’t the sort of chap we’d like to encounter on a dark night.

After all, he threatened Stella Harper with a knife warning her to stay out of his business.

Meanwhile, Daniel began to think that Anthony’s research might have had a bearing on his death… Before his death, Anthony had written the words “the five Towers” in his notebook. Daniel discovered that on the night of his death, Anthony had been looking at an old gravestone in the graveyard.

The gravestone? That of Nathaniel Tower, his wife Mary, and their three children – the five Towers. But what does this have to do with his death?

Biggest spoilers from Murder Before Evensong episode 3:

1. Alex was the forger of the paintings that Anthony sold behind his cousin Bernard’s back. When Alex tried to disentangle himself from the sordid affair, Anthony blackmailed him. If Alex refused to paint the forgeries, Anthony would tell Alex’s dad Bernard about his involvement. But why was Anthony so desperate for money?

2. Jane was actually Anthony’s sponsor at AA. So that explains the secret meetings. Ned’s wife Jane told Daniel she was a former alcoholic and subsequently became Anthony’s sponsor after she’s been clean for two years. However, Anthony misunderstood the relationship and fell in love with her.

3. Anthony Bowness’ adopted son continued to look for clues about his real parents. He discovered that there may be a connection to a “big house” owned by a cousin of Lord Bernard de Floures.

4. Ned was murdered in the lake. Why, and by whom remains to be seen!

Who killed Ned Thwaite?

We don’t yet know who killed Ned Thwaite at the end of Murder Before Evensong episode 3. Although it could be any of the suspects in the Anthony Bowness case. Of course, there could be two different killers.

The prime suspects in the Anthony Bowness case include his cousin Lord Bernard de Floures, gamekeeper Edgy and his grandson Nathan, Bernard’s son Alexander, and Stella Harper. But why would any of these people want Ned dead? What’s the link?

Of course, Ned’s wife Jane Thwaite was connected to both victims… Could she be the killer?

Read more: Sally Phillips leads new cosy crime drama The Hairdresser Mysteries on BBC, described as a ‘nostalgic nod’ to the 70s

Murder Before Evensong continues on Acorn on Mondays, and Channel 5 on Tuesdays at 9pm.