‘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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What a delightful book! Wonderful characters, an intricate plot, hilarious moments, heartbreaking moments. Told with an ironic and subtle wit, and layered with surprises, this mystery was very difficult to put down.
The club consists of four retired individuals living in a Kent, England, retirement community. They meet weekly to discuss cold cases purloined from the files of a past member, a detective. Meanwhile the developer of the retirement community wants to add additional housing by removing a convent’s burial ground and building on that space he now owns. Everyone else is opposed to it. As the conflict develops, his contractor is murdered. So the Thursday Murder Club are now investigating an open case.
The characters are delightful. The plot progresses logically yet with surprises. It ends satisfyingly. This book would be attractive to lovers of Golden Age mystery and traditional mystery.
The narrator is very talented but the recording quality is uneven. Still, if you aren’t British, I’d recommend listening to the audio because the performance brings out the British sense of humor you would otherwise miss.
This is a debut cozy mystery that is a delightful read. It features four residents, Elizabeth, Ron, Joyce, and Ibrahim, all of whom are members of the Japanese Opera Group, also known and the Thursday Murder Club. They meet for two hours every Thursday to try to solve cold crimes provided to them by a former member, Penny. They’ve solved quite a few, or at least were able to provide the police with a viable suspect, if only they had listened to them. When a young woman constable arrives at the retirement village to talk about home security, Elizabeth immediately sees the benefits of recruiting her to their team. When a murder of a local shady building contractor occurs in a nearby village, the Thursday Murder Club springs into action to solve the crime.
The Thursday Murder Club is a well-written, tightly plotted mystery with humor wound through the story. Osman’s characters are well-developed, kind of quirky, and believable.
The author does not stoop to using common stereotypes for the seniors living in a retirement community. He has, rather, created four like-minded people who enjoy working on cold crimes. These characters blow up the stereotype that all seniors living in retirement communities spend their time sitting around waiting to die.
This is a refreshing take on the cozy mystery. If you like your mysteries with unique and slightly quirky characters and twists and turns in the storyline, this book is for you and should be at the top of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Penguin Books and Edelweiss for an eARC.
4.5 Stars
In a peaceful retirement village in Kent, four unlikely friends meet up once a week on a Thusday to investigate unsolved murders. Then 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.
This is a debut novel by the TV celebrity & what an entertaining read it is. I’m always wary of books written by celebrities but this one is well worth reading. The members of the club are varied Elizabeth with her shady past & secrets, Joyce the cake making (liberally incorporating vodka), ex nurse, Ibrahim the ex psychiatrist & Red Ron ex trade union leader make for a wonderful mix. There’s also a middle aged detective & a female constable who the club take a shine to. There are moments of hilarity for example Chris being invited to tea as well as sadness & pathos as you would expect in a retirement village. There are plenty of red herrings & secrets, which make for a captivating read. I certainly look forward to more cases for the Thursday Murder Club
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
PC Donna De Freitas has downgraded from the London Met to come to Fairhaven. She is bored with everyday Police work and wishes for a Juicy murder. Our four residents from the Cooper Chase Retirement Village will become her guardian angels. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron with a knack for manipulating events and using past skills to develop being one step ahead when murder strikes. Donna comes to realise this friendship is her stepping stone to greater things. The Thursday Murder club set up by Elizabeth and Penny (ex Policewoman) to investigate unsolved cases suddenly becomes real and close to home with the murders of the contractors of the new development at Coopers Chase. This story is mainly told from Joyce’s diary entry’s which have plenty of moments to make you smile “Also, it was a well known fact that there were no calories in home-made cakes”. It keeps you entertained in a Miss Marple type way. The solving of the murders is like a giant jigsaw it’s just a matter of filling in the spaces. Four great quirky characters who really sell this book which make you never want to leave. I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly, you will come to adore the octogenarian Club members. They are something else! And they thrive on murder. Elizabeth, a female version of James Bond, in retirement. Ron, a geriatric activist and tireless instigator; quite an orator, when pushed. Joyce, quiet as a mouse, a once-upon-a-time nurse. Ibrahim, a psychotherapist with a sharp eye for detail (so sharp that it borders on compulsive-obsessive). This quartet of amateur detectives gathers once a week to solve cold cases. Until, one day, a brand-new murder lands in their collective lap; and another one a few days later. Not to mention the discovery of human bones in an old covent graveyard, which would be perfectly normal had said bones been found inside a coffin. And so the scene is set for a thorough and methodical investigation, which the actual police detectives, Donna and Chris Hudson, can hardly keep up with.
Osman builds the case skilfully, adding layer upon layer of wider social and personal background. The network of current and past events is smoothly woven together. As the unravelling of the two murders progresses, the characters develop and flourish. I particularly enjoyed the character of the Polish builder, Bogdan who started as a stereotype only to surprise me as I got to know him better (well, as Elizabeth and her husband, Stephen, got to know him better).
This is a classic cosy mystery: funny, full of observational humour, presenting the reader with a deliciously twisty and unpredictable case to get your teeth into.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman a truly hilarious five-star read. I love a story about older people as they always make me smile so much, I spend the majority of my life in a place similar to the setting of this story, so I knew I would enjoy it, what I didn’t expect was to enjoy it so much. The character descriptions in this story bring everyone to life, they are smart and clever individuals and the plot is well done. There are enough twists and turns that it will hook you and keep you hooked, but they are well done and plotted so you can easily follow and fall for, especially the false leads. If you like a good mystery then don’t miss this one, I would recommend this to everyone especially those who don’t normally pick up ‘celebrity authors’ as this is so much better than that.