I pride myself in figuring out who the killer is before the episode is over, but guys, this one was a shocker to me. I thought for sure it had to be someone from the feuding families that did it, right? Tell me I’m not alone in thinking this.
In tonight’s new episode of Murder in a Small Town, The Tait and Connolly family come together for John Tait and Sylvia Connolly’s wedding. As I’ve said before, these two families hate each other. Griffin, Sylvia’s father, was less than welcoming when Jocelyn, John’s mother, arrived at the resort. A few words were exchanged; Jocelyn reminds Griffin that it was the anniversary of the day he killed her husband (what?!).
At the rehearsal dinner, John and Griffin were nowhere to be found, but that’s okay, Sylvia’s brother, Jacob, kept things entertaining. It started off okay, but then when he made it very clear how much he didn’t care for the Tait family, things started to get heated. He even took a jab at John’s best man, Doug, who was apparently responsible for the reason he was missing an eyebrow. Things quickly escalated and he punched Doug in the face.
“Blood Wedding” – MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN, Pictured: Camryn Manheim as Jocelyn Tate. Photo: Kailey Schwerman/ FOX © 2025 Fox Media LLC.
John arrives after everything and I thought him being responsible was too obvious, so he was never a person of interest to me. He was, however, extremely sketchy. How do you miss your own rehearsal dinner? With almost everyone accounted for now, the only question is where’s Griffin?
Well, he was dead. His body was found near the shoreline, close to the resort. The cause of death was ruled strangulation between the hours of 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM. Come on, of course we’re going to think it’s John; he was the only one missing. Griffin was dressed but didn’t have shoes on, so the assumption is that he was strangled in the hotel room.
Interrogations begin– first it’s Sylvia’s brother. He was on my list (wild card choice, I know), but the way he threw out Jocelyn’s name, that rage? He moved to the bottom of my list, he couldn’t have done this. Jocelyn was up there. She hated that man and didn’t hide it at all. Couple that with the fact that Griffin was responsible for her husband losing his job which caused him to spiral. One day while drinking and driving he drove his car off the road, so yeah – she had every reason to want him dead. I could see her strangling that man.
“Acts of Murder” – MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN, Pictured: Rossif Sutherland as Karl Alberg, Marcia Gay Harden as Mayor Christie Holman. Photo: Kailey Schwerman/ FOX © 2025 Fox Media LLC.
After a caterer said they saw a woman pushing a man in a wheelchair late the night of the murder, Karl goes to have a chat with the Bucholtz, the owners of the resort. Mrs. Bucholtz and her husband, who is bound to a wheelchair, told Karl they were out that night but didn’t see much except for a young man walking down to the beach. They identified John.
Now this is when my theory started to shift on who did it, but I was still wrong. When Karl went to check out the trail where the Bucholtz said they went on a stroll, he noticed that the view was clear, so why would Mrs. Bucholtz say that she could hardly see? Yet, she saw John clear as day? John’s story wasn’t adding up either, but still I didn’t think that he did this. As Karl continues to question John his lawyer arrives – his fianceé, Sylvia. They’re arguing and when they finally come together to talk to Karl, John admits he was getting drugs (yep – knew something was sketchy about him). So who killed Griffin?
There was a ripped up photo in Griffin’s room of a rendering of the resort for redevelopment. Karl was confused because he thought the resort belonged to the Bucholtz; Griffin was just an investor. After further investigation of Griffin’s finances, Griffin was the owner of the resort, the Bucholtz lied. I thought it was Mrs. Bucholtz, but it was Mr. Bucholtz who did it. Well, team work makes the dream work here; Mr. Bucholtz killed Griffin, but it was Mrs. Griffin who discarded the body.
Karl got his confession.
“Acts of Murder” – MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN, Pictured: Kristin Kreuk as Cassandra Lee. Photo: Kailey Schwerman/ FOX © 2025 Fox Media LLC.
Someone should’ve informed Jacob sooner, because he basically kidnapped Joeclyn, holding a knife to her neck, demanding she confess. Thankfully Sid got a hold of him and told him that his father’s killer was in their custody. This was the breaking point needed for Jocelyn to start putting an end to the Tait and Connolly feud. Enough was enough.
A feud I don’t see dying out anytime soon is that between Cassandra and Mayor Christie Holman. At the New Counselors Forum, she tried to turn the room against Cassandra, claiming that the library restoration project is a waste of money and funds should be allocated elsewhere. Good on Cassandra to hold her own though (I didn’t think she had it in her if I’m being honest). When her attempt to get Karl to persuade Cassandra failed, this was Mayor Holman’s next attempt and, yeah, she failed again. Something is telling me she won’t go down lightly.
This was a solid 9.5 episode to me, but I’d like to hear your thoughts. Share below, or connect with me on X/Twitter @chenfordhugs.