If you’ve been devouring Netflix mysteries like The Thursday Murder Club and The Hunting Wives, you may be craving a twisty, suspenseful new murder to sink your teeth into.
If that’s the case, the Watch With Us team has your back — there’s an underrated Lifetime movie, The Book Club Murders, arriving on the platform on Wednesday, October 1.
This shocking poison pen murder mystery is at the top of our watch list for October 2025 — read on to learn why it should be on yours too.
It Combines Two of Our Favorite Mystery Genres With a Modern Trend
The Book Club Murders follows a mother and daughter who are reeling from recent losses in their small town. Months before the start of the film, a house fire left Natalie (Brittany Underwood) and Gwen (Eva Igo) trying to get their lives back in order after the loss of their home and the death of Gwen’s father.
Local bookstore owner Wendy (Ainsley Burch) tries to pull Natalie back into the world by encouraging her to join the book club that meets at the store. While she starts to bond with the other women, things quickly go off the rails when members of the club start receiving strange letters — and things escalate when people actually die.
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The Book Club Murders combines the “Poison Pen” trope — when a group of people receive threatening anonymous letters that they fear will expose their biggest secrets — with actual murders. And the book club setting feels oddly trendy. (In case you haven’t heard, reading is back in a big way thanks to BookTok.)
It Focuses on Friendship Rather Than Romance
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Many Lifetime and Hallmark movies — even the ones about murder — shoehorn in romances, but not The Book Club Murders. The core relationships in this film are the ones between Natalie and Wendy and Natalie and her daughter, Gwen. By focusing on platonic relationships, the movie transcends some of the clichés that usually weigh down the genre.
It Stars a Soap Opera Melodrama Queen
Brittany Underwood, who plays Natalie, is best known for her role as Langston Wilde on One Life to Live, and she brings that larger-than-life melodramatic energy to The Book Club Murders. This isn’t a subtle story, but it is a dramatic one, and if you want a movie where every scene is sold with high stakes, hire a soap opera actress to get the job done.
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Whether you’re a One Life to Live fan or just looking for a completely absorbing mystery, you’ll enjoy The Book Club Murders on Netflix.
