In the episode, titled Jackal, chaos unfolds when a woman is fatally shot at a bus stop near La Couronne. Caron discovers she’s clutching a bag from Jean’s store.
Jean learns from Caron that the victim, Belinda, had recently acquired a rare first edition of Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend from Charlie at Brodeur and White.
Belinda, a beloved nanny to a single father’s daughter, leaves the father, Otis, heartbroken and uncertain about how to explain her death to his child.
A conversation about accuracy during a darts match at the pub leads Jean to speculate that the real target of the shooting might have been someone else.
Enter Fayette Moreau, an expert in scarce books. The Dickens novel, originally hers, links her to ominous letters and potentially to the bullet that killed Belinda.
As Keith, Belinda’s bereaved father, looks for comfort at the pub, Jean and Dom focus on a singular objective: to apprehend the murderer and bring solace to the grieving family.
The Madame Blanc Mysteries airs on BBC One on Thursday, 18 January 2024 at 9:00PM.
The episode is the third from the show’s third series.