‘Such a beacon of pleasure’ KATE ATKINSON’So smart and funny. Deplorably good’ IAN RANKIN’A gripping read’ SUNDAY TIMESTHE FIRST BOOK IN THE #1 BESTSELLING THURSDAY MURDER CLUB SERIES BY TV PRESENTER RICHARD OSMANIn a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday … Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case.Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?__________________________________WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB’Thrilling, moving, laugh-out-loud funny’ MARK BILLINGHAM’A great read, I really enjoyed it’ GRAHAM NORTON’As the bodies pile up, and more is revealed of the lives and loves of Joyce, Ibrahim, Ron and Elizabeth, you can’t help cheering them on – and hoping to meet them again soon’ THE TIMES, CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH’Mystery fans are going to be enthralled’ HARLAN COBEN’Pure escapism’ THE GUARDIAN, BEST CRIME AND THRILLERS OF 2020’One of the most enjoyable books of the year’ DAILY EXPRESS’Smart, compassionate, warm, moving and so VERY funny’ MARIAN KEYES’As gripping as it is funny’ EVENING STANDARD’Funny, clever and achingly British’ ADAM KAY’An exciting new talent in crime fiction’ DAILY MAIL’A warm, wise and witty warning never to underestimate the elderly’ VAL MCDERMID’Delight after delight from first page to last’ RED MAGAZINE’I completely fell in love with it’ SHARI LAPENA’This is properly brilliant. The pages fly and I can’t stop smiling’ STEVE CAVANAGH’Charming, clever debut’ STYLIST’I laughed my arse off’ BELINDA BAUER’A witty and poignant tale’ DAILY TELEGRAPH’Clever, clever plot’ FIONA BARTON’An absolutely delightful read’ PRIMA MAGAZINE’Utterly charming’ SARAH PINBOROUGH’Funny and original’ THE SUN’Properly funny and totally charming… steeped in Agatha Christie joy’ ARAMINTA HALL’This is one of the most delightful novels of the year’ DAILY MIRROR’A bundle of joy’ JANE FALLON
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Veddy veddy British murder mystery. Lovely characters that you’ll likely want to have a cuppa with. Touching too in the way it handles long friendships.
Funny and uniquely interesting. Four older adults living in a retirement home who are all fascinated with crime, especially murder. So much so they have started a club for their entertainment. After a murder occurs on campus they try their best to help and solve the mystery. This one kept me turning pages to find the next witty joke and the real reason for the mystery.
Loved this story! This mystery features four clever septuagenarians who use their talents, life experiences & past contacts to solve murders. They charm the local police, operate outside the law as they investigate, share drinks & laughs & comments on modern life & kept me laughing through it all. Until they made me cry with stories of lost loves and life’s heartbreaks. This is really not a sweet, sentimental novel, but all throughout, the elderly characters express awareness that their time is limited. Against that backdrop, their loyalty to their aging loved ones, some confused, silent from dementia & otherwise slowly dying, seems even more touching.
This is a nice light read – I was expecting more and found it a little slow
Richard Osman’s book has always been on my reader’s radar but when a friend compared one of my stories on Reedsy Prompts with The Thursday Murder Club, I had to investigate it a little more urgently.
It was not a disappointment at all. Based in a retirement village called Coopers Chase, a group of four elderly people meet up once a week to peruse cold cases of murder that the police no longer investigate, to keep their brains active and to have a purpose. When an actual murder takes place of a person with close ties to their village, The Thursday Murder Club are keen to help the local police find the truth. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron make up the four members, all with different backgrounds before retirement and all bringing something to the team.
The narrative is split between a third person narration which is written in the present tense – perhaps for immediacy as if you are viewing things as they happen – and this runs alongside Joyce’s journal entries, which are full of her own observations, personal ruminations on her life and relationships as well as reflections on her past experiences.
When The Thursday Murder Club are visited by police officer Donna De Freitas, a connection to the local constabulary is made and an unlikely collaboration begins between the law and the pensioners, which leads to the revealing of the truth. Loose ends become neatly tied and long buried secrets are aired, even if justice is not necessarily served.
I have to comment on Osman’s ability to mislead too as the way that he writes means that you are stumbling across clues in the text that lead you to believe one thing, only to find that they have been deliberately placed for you to discover them; not knowing this, you think you have been clever in spotting them to which Osman firmly and embarrassingly plants you on your face as you realise that once more you have been tripped up and accidentally entered the bright crimson fishmongers where herring are distributed.
I like stories about old people who are not defeated by life and still have curiosity and vitality and, this book is reminiscent of The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules, another enjoyable caper involving seniors and a great read.
Gentle humour, human warmth and mischievous pensioners – a rewarding reading experience.
I kept hearing about the book so I had to give it a try. I wasn’t disappointed. This is a fun entertaining mystery. The characters are interesting and likable. The mystery is full of twists and turns and layers to give the reader a suspenseful journey. I recommend this book to mystery lovers. I look forward to reading the next in the series.
I liked the idea of four elderly residents in a retirement home forming a murder club to try to solve cold cases and looked forward to reading it. But after reading the first few chapters, I just couldn’t keep going with this book. I felt like I was visiting a senior who hadn’t had a visitor in a long time and who rambled on about the life and people in the retirement village. Which is fine if you are actually visiting them but not if you are reading a murder mystery.
Lots of reviewers gave 4 and 5 stars to this book so if you have the patience for it, you will probably like it.
Excellent read! I loved the storyline, the characters and the smile on my face reading about the cunning old people living like there’s no tomorrow! This book is filled with twists and turns and the characters’ Shenanigans will make you smile all day long. Can’t wait to read the next one!!!
I got boarded. Read to Chapter 21 and did not finish.
Now I see what all the fuss is about and why The Thursday Murder Club has been in the top ten for yonks. An absolutely cracking read. I laughed, I cried and I was there with these brilliantly-drawn characters every step of the way. I can’t wait for the second instalment. It also made me Google retirement living. I can’t wait!
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is a delightfully amusing contemporary novel set in a retirement village.
The lead characters are four octogenarians who meet on Thursdays to discuss cold cases. Their raison d’etre is heightened when murders – old and new – land in their vicinity. They reckon the police could do with a helping hand!
I loved the banter and the friendship. This is not a gruesome read, more like an afternoon drama. I found it reminiscent of Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders.
Richard Osman has a charming style of writing, with his dry wit and many observations of human nature.
I found the whole novel very engaging and entertaining. I am looking forward to book two now.
The Thursday Murder Club is every bit as good as any mystery Agatha Christie wrote. So many twists and surprises. I loved it. Pages 11 & 12 made me laugh out loud. A very clever and entertaining book for mystery lovers.
There seem to be an abundance of books this year about older folks and I have loved all the ones I’ve read. “Exit” by Belinda Bauer, “The Postscript Murders” by Elly Griffiths, and now this novel, what a run of good reads!!
I did not know that Richard Osman was a BBC announcer and celebrity, but I applaud him for writing this engaging, offbeat British crime novel. I enjoyed the plot of this novel but it’s the characters that make it special!
I thought it started off a bit slowly, having to introduce all of the members and keep us updated as to what is going on behind the scenes at Cooper’s Chase. The pace picked up quickly and I was enjoying it after 30 pages or so.
The members of the club who all live in Cooper’s Chase, are a sprightly and witty group. Cooper’s Chase is an upscale retirement village and the residents want to see it stay that way.
Elizabeth is the organizer of the group, she has a background in crime solving, probably a former spy. She has a wide network of friends in high places who know how to get things done. Her friend Penny is an ex-detective and it is her cold cases that they work to solve every Thursday.
Ibrahim is a retired psychiatrist and his skills at reading human behavior and being a detail oriented man are his strong points.
Ron is a retired union boss who is a “get things done” kind of guy, he was known during his career as Red Ron, because of his red hair and fiery personality. He always roots for the underdog!
Joyce is an ex- nurse and our narrator. She is a recently arrived resident who was quickly recruited into the group. It is her entries into her daily Journal that keep us updated as to what is going on throughout the novel.
PC Donna de Freitas meets the Thursday Murder Club members while she is set to deliver a boring speech to them about security. They make her an offer to join them in being able to actually solve murders. It doesn’t take much for her to join and help the group.
The Club is intrigued and excited when there are two real murders in Cooper’s Chase to investigate and solve! It’s great fun to read along as they all use their skills to solve these murders. I thoroughly enjoyed the British humor in this book, it certainly added to my enjoyment.
I will leave you to enjoy the mysteries and all of these unique characters without any spoilers.
This novel has already been published, so this is a great book to put on your Christmas list!!!
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.
Starsky & Hutch + Cagney & Lacey + The Golden Girls
Coopers Chase is a dream retirement community. There’s Zumba, sprawling estates, and the best durn parking commission in the country! Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron live for Thursdays. The Jigsaw Room is free to try their hand at unsolved murders..well, when a murder takes place, they feel they can show the police a thing or two…
I absolutely ADORED this! Golden Girls is my favorite show of all time. As a reader, I always wonder why there aren’t more books about old people. I would seriously read the heck out of a book about a granny (or grandpa, or even better, an older person that never had kids) falling down a hole or fighting crimes with knitting needles as their weapon and a multitude of cats at their side.
I tend to stick to the 80s and 90s when it comes to entertainment, plus I’m from the States, so I’m sad to say I was not already familiar with Mr. Osman. But you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be following this series and anything else he writes from now on!
Buy this book for yourself or anyone who loves a good mystery. If you’re twisted, get it for someone who doesn’t believe the elderly are capable of FANTABULOUS things!!
I’m not sure what character I loved best, they were all amazing. Author Richard Osman did an excellent job giving life to multifaceted humans. The Interaction is thought provoking as well as entertaining. He did a great job of capturing the best and the worst of us. The story lines are complicated but plumb. I am in agony now waiting for the third installment. May these petitioners live long!
Not close to being finished but it is a lot of fun, especially if you’re a big fan of British cop shows and I am.
Loved. It. The author’s writing style reminds me of Fredrik Bachman’s books – endearing characters written with such great wit and warmth. It’s a cozy mystery set in a senior village, and the sleuths are seniors. They ain’t dead yet! I just loved it and can’t wait for his next book. Highly recommend.
What a delightful mystery! Four clever seniors who live in a retirement community investigate two murders. Told from multiple points of view, the four investigators have no compunction about questioning suspects and sleuthing until most of their questions are answered.
Fabulous book about a group of highly capable seniors in a retirement village taking on a murder case.
If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would in a heartbeat. This may have been my favorite read of 2020 so far!
What happens when you put 4 septuagenarians/octogenarians together for a weekly meeting to investigate old murder mysteries? So much more than you could ever imagine!
Osman did such a great job with this book. The characters leap off the page. They are witty, full of life, mischievous, and vulnerable. The writing is so good that I had an emotional reaction to a character that literally has no dialogue!! I just can’t say enough about the character development.
Furthermore, while the general gist of the story may be similar to others, the uniqueness of having seniors doing the sleuthing gave a nice spin to the familiar. I also liked the detectives in the story. They couldn’t be any more different and yet they function so well together.
This book had laugh out loud moments and also times when I felt tears gathering in my eyes.
I would highly recommend this book to others. It’s a perfect weekend read!