Review of The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Thursday Murder Club Cover

📖 I’m always a tad sceptical when I come across these celebrities turned author type books. There seems to be so many of them at the moment (especially in the children’s range) but I had heard good things about Richard Osman’s book, watched/listened to several interviews with him discussing it) and in general was quite intrigued by the premise so when I saw it on special offer I thought I would take the punt and I am so pleased I did.

✍️ The story takes place primarily in a retirement village, where most of the central characters reside. Each week a small group of residents meet up and review unsolved murder cases. When the builder who built the retirement complex and then the owner of it both are murdered, the team find themselves intrigued and soon very much involved in the police investigation. Can they help catch a killer?

🗣 I often think it’s useful to see an extract of a book to get an idea of the writing style. Here is a brief extract so that you can see a sample of the writing yourself:

So it seems we are investigating a murder. And, better still, I have been in a police interview room. This diary is bringing me luck.
It was interesting watching Elizabeth in action. She is very impressive. Very calm. I wonder if we would have got along if we’d met thirty years ago? Probably not, we are from different worlds. But this place brings people together.
I do hope I’ll be of some help to Elizabeth in the investigation. Help to catch Tony Curran’s killer. Perhaps I will, in my own way.
I think that if I have a special skill, it is that I am often overlooked. Is that the word? Underestimated perhaps?

👓 The book switches between viewpoints but the primary character recording the anecdotes is Joyce, a retired nurse and general newbie to the group. Adding Joyce into the mix was a stroke of genius from Osman and I love how her thoughts ramble across the page. I think most people will have a relative that they find is very much like Joyce. The “Club” is made up of: Elizabeth (unknown, perhaps ex-spy, she seems to have a lot of contacts), Joyce (former nurse), Ibrahim (retired psychiatrist) and Ron (ex-trade union boss).

💔 Any Negatives: None really. The only thing I can think of is Joyce seems to be far too sweet and far too nice. I hope she has a really interesting back story or thing from the past that comes out of the woodwork in later books of the series.
The correspondence with the police is perhaps a tad far-fetched at times but I think is needed to drive the story forward and it certainly doesn’t detract from the story.

💭 Overall View: A truly cosy crime mystery. An enjoyable read with a great pace. An interesting cast of characters. I can see this series being around for a long time with the characters’ stories developing and being explored more as the series goes on. I looking forward to reading more from this series and indeed book 2 is on my Christmas list.

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At the time of reviewing this book, it is on sale for £4.50 (2 for £8.00) at Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3ti04k8

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