Moonflower Murders ending explained: Who were the killers?

Somehow, the two were connected to Cecily seemingly finding a clue in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, one of Conway's novels, which prompts Cecily's parents to hire Susan to investigate.

As with Magpie Murders, the show follows both Susan's digging and and the plot of the Conway novel, which revolves around Pünd’s investigation into the death of Hollywood star Melissa James (based on Cecily's sister Lisa).

Was it as simple as a jealous husband taking his revenge? Or was there more to it than that?

Let's break it down.

Moonflower Murders ending explained

Initially, Melissa's husband John Spencer confessed to the murder, but he himself was later found dead, mysteriously stabbed when he was about to be taken into police custody.

The real culprit was, in fact, Melissa's doctor Leonard Collins, who she had been having an affair with. She had called him and asked him to come over after a fight with John.

A short time later, he killed her in an attempt to get his hands on her estate.

As for John's killer, the reveal proved to be too close for comfort for Pünd, who was staggered to learn that his assistant Madeline Cain, a huge fan of Melissa's films, was responsible.

Read more:

• Moonflower Murders star Lesley Manville explains key change from book
• Moonflower Murders star Lesley Manville says series is "quite unexpected"

There were plenty of similarities between the novel and Frank's murder, with initial suspect Stefan confessing to the murder and being placed behind bars, which also mirrored the fake confession from John. But it turned out that Conway knew Frank from his days as a school teacher and before he became a successful writer.

He hid plenty of clues within the novel that could identity Frank's killer, with plenty of red herrings to keep readers guessing.

As with other Conway novels, many of the characters in the book were modelled on people Conway had met, so Frank appeared as film producer Oscar Berlin (both played by Mark Gatiss), and Cecily and Lisa's parents who both hired Susan appear as crooked hoteliers.

Daniel May's Inspector Locke also appears as Inspector Chubb, who helps Pünd in his investigation.

Aiden MacNeil had been a male sex worker in London before he met Cecily and Frank, a former client. Frank had then recognised Aiden, who previously went by Leo, and was planning to expose his identity.

Aiden, desperate to cling onto the new life he had created with Cecily, murdered Frank and staged it to look like Stefan had stolen money from him, leaving ink stains to look like blood.

After Cecily had found out the truth from reading Atticus Pünd Takes The Case, Aiden staged her disappearance and killed her in the woods, where a local dog walker discovered her.

Conway had left plenty of clues to the killer's identity, dedicating the book to Frank and Leo with numerous lion references hiding in plain sight.

It also emerged that Stefan had been having a relationship with both Lisa and Cecily and was potentially the father of Cecily's daughter Roxanna.

One of the main reoccurring plot threads this season was Susan's own future. Would she stay in Crete to run the hotel or return to publishing?

As it turns out, both were an option and she secured a freelance publishing role that allowed her a chance to continue doing what she does best, but this time from Crete alongside Andreas.

Susan truly thought she had flunked what seemed to be her only chance of a return to the publishing world, but her forthright nature and razor sharp intellect mean that her services remain in demand.

And Horowitz isn't done with Ryeland and Conway just yet. The third instalment, Marble Hall Murders, is due to be published in 2025, so this likely isn't the last we've seen of Susan's sleuthing skills on the small screen.

Watch this space for updates.

Moonflower Murders is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.