Harlan Coben’s Missing You Ending Explained: Who Killed Clint Donovan?

Warning: contains finale spoilers for Harlan Coben’s Missing You

DI Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar) may be tough, handy with a meat tenderizer, and unafraid to walk towards danger, but you do have to question her instincts as a detective. Despite already being a police officer when her dad was murdered, for 11 years she was oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend, best friend and boss had colluded in a cover-up over his death.

Kat had no idea, either, that her father had concealed both a long-term gay affair and multiple instances of corruption for a local criminal kingpin. Nor did it occur to her until episode four of five that the ex-boyfriend she’d matched with on a dating app might just be somebody using his picture as part of a catfishing scam. All of which is to say that If I ever go missing, DI Donovan wouldn’t be top of my investigators wish-list.

Still, Kat can’t be blamed for her naivety; she’s the lead character in a Harlan Coben thriller and part of a universe where lurid twists, unlikely coincidences, and melodramatic secrets mean more than realistic psychology. To wit: why was she so delighted at the thought of reuniting with a man who’d cruelly disappeared from her life without so much of an “It’s not you, it’s me” by way of explanation? Any real person treated that way would have hunted Josh down to tear him a new one, not to kiss and make up.

Putting judgment aside, let’s sift through the Missing You ending and see where everything landed.

Who Killed Kat’s Dad Clint Donovan?

It wasn’t Monte Lebrune (Marc Warren), despite Monte having confessed to the crime and the murder weapon being found at his home. That was all planted by Staggers (Richard Armitage) to cover up the identity of the real killer: Josh.

Kat’s fiancé Josh (Ashley Walters) accidentally stabbed Clint (Sir Lenny Henry) in a struggle while he was trying to stop him from attacking Aqua (Mary Malone). Aqua had seen Clint arguing with his lover Parker (Cyril Nri) and, enraged, followed her home and threatened her not to tell Kat what she’d seen. Aqua said that she wouldn’t tell, but urged Clint to tell his wife and daughter the truth that he was in love with another man and had been in a 14-year relationship with him. Clint lashed out, hitting Aqua, and Josh fought him off to protect her but ended up fatally stabbing him in the fight.

Seconds after Clint was stabbed, his police colleague Staggers entered the scene and heard Clint’s last words pleading for no police involvement and for his wife and daughter not to be told what happened. Staggers took Clint at his word and so covered up the crime, paying off Monte Lebrune – a killer who was already going to prison for two other murders – to get him to take the blame for stabbing Clint.

Why Did Josh Visit Lebrune in Prison?

He and Staggers went to see Lebrune to bribe him into accepting responsibility for Clint Donovan’s murder. Lebrune agreed to let them plant the murder weapon in his home and to confess to the killing in exchange for sweeteners in prison life. Gangster Calligan (James Nesbitt), whom Lebrune worked for as a hitman, had nothing to do with Clint’s murder.

Was Clint Corrupt and Working for Calligan?

Yes, but only because Calligan had found out that Clint was secretly in love with Parker and that they’d been having a relationship for 14 years. Calligan used the info as leverage on the police officer and threatened to out Clint as having a gay, adulterous affair if he didn’t join his side. To keep him quiet, Clint agreed to do his criminal bidding and used the illicit cash he earned to buy the flat where he and Parker would meet, and which Clint later gave to Kat.

When the guilt of corruption became too much for Clint to bear, he tried to stop working for Calligan and broke up with Parker, but fatefully, Aqua witnessed them together, which led to Clint’s death that very night.

Why Did Aqua Steal Brendon’s Phone?

For an end-of-episode plot twist, is the real answer, but the in-world answer is that she’d overheard Brendon planning to report Josh to the police (because he wrongly but understandably thought he was involved in his mother’s disappearance) and wanted to protect Josh because he’d protected her on the night of Clint’s murder.

Why Did Josh Disappear?

Because he couldn’t cope with the guilt of having accidentally killed Kat’s beloved father (see above). Josh loved Kat dearly, yet thought that disappearing out of her life without a word of explanation would be the best course of action. He wiped himself from the internet, changed his name to Reggie Cross, got arrested after a bar fight in Scotland, had a baby daughter named Sadie with another woman who later died, and moved to a beautiful loch-side cottage with his little girl and her maternal grandfather. That’s where he’s been for the past decade.

So Josh Was Never on the Dating App?

No, that was all just a huge coincidence. The same catfishing operation who had kidnapped Rishi Magari – the missing person Kat was investigating – happened to have also chosen a photograph of her ex-fiancé to use as part of their scam. When Kat matched with the fake profile they’d set up, they weren’t expecting her to know the man in the photo and so that’s why they (in the guise of Josh) told her it wasn’t a good idea for them to talk and blocked her on the app.

What Was Titus’ Operation?

It was an extensive catfishing scam that involved multiple of his goons chatting to vulnerable, wealthy people on an online dating app called Melody Cupid. Titus (Steve Pemberton) and his gang had created false identities on the app using photographs stolen from deactivated Facebook accounts, and used those to target widows and widowers. Once on the hook, they would arrange to meet their mark and then hold them hostage in the stables of Titus’ farm, forcing them to make large bank transfers in Titus’ favour and then killing them and burning their bodies when they’d stolen all the money they could. That’s what they did to neuroscience professor Rishi, and what they would have done to Brendon’s mother Dana if she hadn’t led her successful escape mission.

Why Didn’t We Hear Any More From Brendon’s Aunt Clara and Uncle Arty?

Probably because Missing You only had five episodes to do everything, so some plot threads were left dangling. It was obvious that Brendon’s aunt and uncle were in on the scam against Dana. Brendon’s Aunt Clara lied to him that she’d spoken to his mother on the phone from Costa Rica, and his Uncle Arty lied about Dana buying a house abroad and marrying her dating app boyfriend. We didn’t see either of them get justice, but now that Dana is free and reunited with Brendon, hopefully that’s exactly what happened next.

Why Was the Book/Show Called “Missing You”?

It’s both thematically appropriate (Kat was missing Josh and her dad, along with any hint that everyone she knew was in on a massive conspiracy), and also the name of the John Waite song was Kat and Josh’s special song and the one they sang at karaoke together on the night of their engagement.

Harlan Coben’s Missing You is streaming now on Netflix.

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