. “Elizabeth went back to her question. How long would the girl stabbed with the kitchen knife have to live? I guessed that, unattended, she would probably die in around forty-five minutes.”

At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth first brings Joyce into The Thursday Murder Club after inviting her to lunch to ask about an unsolved murder case. The case is later brought up again at the end of the novel, when it is discovered that one of the discovered murders at Coopers Chase has to do with the case discussed in the quote.

“So I suppose you could say that Penny and Elizabeth never really got their wish. All those murderers remained unpunished, all still out there, listening to the shipping forecast somewhere.”

The assumption is that all of the cases Penny and Elizabeth worked on went unsolved, and the murderers still free without justice having been served. At this point, the quote is working as a tool of foreshadowing. It hints at the truth revealed at the end of the novel, when Elizabeth discovers that Penny really did take revenge.

“Ron looks over again. The conversation between the men looks tense. Talking fast and low, hands aggressive and defensive, but contained. ‘They having a little barney, you think?’ he asks.”

The conversation between Tony and Ian in the parking lot, seen by Ron, Joyce, and Jason, was an important clue when it came to figuring out the murder case. The tension seen between the two men by the others was enough for the police to want to investigate the conversation, and for The Thursday Murder Club to want to take steps to look further into what Ian would have gained from Tony being murdered. The question of who has the most to gain from Tony’s death is a reoccurring thought brought up by the characters as the mystery unravels.