Tonight’s special episode of Women’s Murder Club takes us into the world of football players. But it’s not all glitch and glamour when starting San Francisco quarter back Joe Donovan is found dead at his home. While it was staged to look a suicide, the police are quick to rule it murder.
To be honest, I found this episode interesting in so many ways. First, I just finished a novel with the exact same staged suicide. Since that novel came out in April but I finally got around to reading it, that’s a big coincidence. Second, I grew up in the San Francisco bay area. Third, I identified a lot with Lindsay while working this case. I’m not a sports fan, so I would have known nothing about the game. And all that stuff she learned along the way was news to me. Still, going back to point number two, I couldn’t help picture this as the San Francisco 49ers, even though the team name was never given.
Anyway, the team begins to investigate, quickly ruling out the wife because of her alibi. But Joe’s agent and the second string quarter back, Maurice Jackson, both make good suspects. Who really did it?
But for me, it wasn’t the sports case that caught my attention the most tonight. It was the personal stories. And no, I don’t mean Cindy bonding with Claire’s family over sports, although that was nice. (And I did love the scene where Cindy laid down her rules before she showed them the disc.) It was Lindsay and Jill who interested me.
Normally, I don’t go for the soap opera. And I was perfectly willing to watch Lindsay get back in the dating game while working for a re-married ex-husband. But somehow, the fact that between last Friday’s episode and tonight’s episode (which was probably just one night), the two slept together really intrigued me. It put a different spin on so many of the scenes, which I know was the point. Yes, I do hope it was a one time thing. But the undercurrent it added to the scenes with Tom’s fiancee was quite interesting. And, for the record, the scene with the kids was classic comedy.
Jill’s storyline worries me more. Jill’s boyfriend was facing an investigation for the death of a child. A few weeks ago (and not on camera), a couple brought in their daughter. Luke thought she had eaten some crayons, so when her test came back fine, he sent the family home. That night, the girl died because she had swallowed too many vitamins. Of course, the irony of Jill going to her ex for advice for her current boyfriend was what this was supposed to be about. But personally, I am worried for him. Part of me says he’ll be fine, but I don’t have enough of a feel for the show to know for sure yet. What worries me even more is the writer’s strike. Will we find out before the new episodes run out? Or will we have to wait months to find out if at all? Only time will tell, I guess. But hopefully the story will really move forward during tomorrow night’s episode.