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In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. There's Red Ron, the infamous former socialist firebrand, still causing trouble; gentle Joyce, widowed, pining for another resident, but surely not as innocent as she seems; Ibrahim, a former therapist who understands the darker side of human nature; and Elizabeth? Well, no one is quite sure who she really is, but she's definitely not a woman to underestimate. When a local developer is found dead, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. The friends might be septuagenarians, but they are cleverer than most. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before its too late?… (more)
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Cooper’s Chase retirement home is secretly harboring a group of four septuagenarians’ amateur sleuths who meet on Thursdays in the never used ‘jigsaw’ room to work on solving cold cases.
Meet Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim,
When the development's owner's partner is murdered, right after they witnessed the two men arguing, the gang suddenly has a current and very hot case on their hands.
Enter Police Constable Donna De Freitas, who has weaved herself into the case, only to find that the Thursday Murder Club is already a few steps ahead of her…
Oh, my goodness! What a fun book!!
Yes, this is a cozy mystery, short on graphic violence, and long on humor- but the plot is solid, with several nice twists before the big one I didn’t see coming.
The characterizations are fabulous, the dialogue superb, and pacing is precision perfect.
In short, I absolutely adored this mystery and can’t wait to read the second installment!!
4.5 stars
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is a delightful mystery debut from Richard Osman.
Set in a luxury retirement village in the south-east region of England, new resident Joyce is quietly thrilled when
The Thursday Murder Club is a cosy mystery, rather than a thriller, but if one death isn’t enough to satisfy your lust for murder, you are in luck, because Curran is only the first to die. The builder is barely in his grave, when his pompous partner, Ian, keels over dead, and then the bones of another murder victim are found in a graveyard. Osman offers an engaging plot that provides plenty of red herrings as the Club members, and police, try to determine what, if any, connection exists between the three deaths, searching for motive, piecing together clues and chasing leads, even all the way to Greece. I thought the story was well paced, and just unpredictable enough to keep me guessing.
Honestly though it’s the quirky, shrewd and lively protagonists of this novel, who despite their advanced age, or perhaps because of it, aren’t shy about insinuating themselves into the case, much to the exasperation and eventual grudging respect of local police officers, PC Donna de Freitas, and DCI Chris Hudson, that are the winning ingredient. I was absolutely charmed by the personalities of the foursome as they inveigled, manipulated, coerced, and traded favours in their race to solve the murders. Joyce, Elizabeth and Donna in particular are spirited characters who tend to steal the limelight.
Though there is plenty of humour to be found in The Thursday Murder Club, much of it dry in the way that only British humour can be, there are some poignant moments too, which gives the story some depth. Osman touches on some of the disadvantages of ageing, such as failing physical and cognitive abilities, the illness and loss of a spouse, and loneliness, but also reminds us that old age doesn’t have to mean giving up on passion or excitement.
Charming, witty and entertaining, I sincerely hope that we’ll be enjoying the antics of the The Thursday Murder Club again soon.
Brilliantly entertaining crime fiction set in a luxury retirement village, where you don't mess with the parking committee, and you underestimate the murder club at your own risk! This reminded me of Agatha Raisin, Mick Herron and Fredrik Backman,
The premise is fantastic. Four old folks who have all their marbles and are able to get out and about with no problem, who meet once a week to solve cold cases. What's not to like? The four-- a nurse, a spy, a psychiatrist, and a professional protester-- all bring their special skills and considerable intellect to the table, and they also get to help educate a detective constable who's new to the area.
There are poignant moments concerning growing old, death, and grief scattered throughout the book; this book is about more than your typical mystery. I did find myself smiling from time to time as I read some witticism, but at a quarter of the way through the book, that sort of humor seemed to vanish. I also didn't feel comfortable with a detective chief inspector working with anyone outside law enforcement so closely. The Thursday Murder Club also suffered from one or two first-timer mistakes. First, the mystery solving seemed to vanish occasionally because the author was so enamored of his characters he forgot about the story and just wanted to spend time with them. Yes, they're interesting characters, but please don't forget why they're there in the first place. Second, I found the mystery confusing. Too many bodies piled up. Too many killers were hauled out of the shadows. Motives were flying around like bats pouring out of a cave at dusk. It takes a lot for me to become confused when reading a mystery, and I have to admit that I lost the plot a few times. I finally got to the point where I was reading just to get it over with, and that's not good.
As much as I wanted to enjoy The Thursday Murder Club, I did not, but since so much of the enjoyment hinges on humor (and as I said before, humor is so subjective), your mileage may definitely vary.
It’s set in an upscale retirement home and discovering who everyone was before they came
Plus, the book has numerous laugh-out-loud bits of dialogue, just as I would hope for from Osman:
"He’s all the things that can go wrong with men if you leave them to their own devices."
"It’s great to be the fastest runner, but not when you’re running in the wrong direction."
"...So, we were all witnesses to a murder,” says Elizabeth. “Which, needless to say, is wonderful.”"
"“I’m ever so sorry.” “Would you like some sherry?” asks Joyce. “It’s only Sainsbury’s, but it’s Taste the Difference.”"
In all, a current bestseller well worth the hype, and I hope a mini series or movie comes out of it, because I would love to see this played out.
This book features the coolest group of seniors I’ve ever come across. I seriously loved these characters. They’re fun, intelligent, daring, irreverent, and often quite mysterious.
The plot is a whodunit mystery
The writing is engaging, quick-paced, and witty, while occasionally slipping in thought-provoking and bittersweet moments of reflection.
The Thursday Murder Club is the first in a series of the same title, and I can’t wait for book two!
Any such fears were quickly allayed. This book is well worthy of the hype that has accompanied its publication. Set in an affluent retirement village, the story follows the members of the Thursday Murder Club, a group of residents who gather each week to follow some of the more notable cases of one of their number, a retired Detective Inspector. Sadly she succumbs to ill health, but the Club decides to continue, and promptly find a murder almost literally on their doorstep. The victim is one of the key shareholders in the development company that owns the retirement village, and consequently the prime suspect is his former business partner who stands to inherit the victim’s shares under the terms of their business agreement.
Of course, things are seldom quite so straightforward, and the Thursday Murder Club members soon uncover a range of alternative suspects. Under the determined and dynamic leadership of their new Chair, the Club soon find themselves with privileged access to the police investigation, and apply some unexpected resources to move the case forward.
Osman has a dexterous touch. He has created a cast of appealing and very plausible characters, all of whom interact in a completely plausible manner. The plot is very soundly constructed and the characters are delightful. This is a far greater success than I dared to hope for.
I want to live at Coopers Chase. Apart from the carpets to sink your feet into, the swimming pool, the fancy restaurant, and all the other wonderful features of the retirement village, I also want to solve crimes alongside Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, aka The Thursday Murder Club. A more feisty bunch of older people you couldn't hope to come across. When a local man, who was involved with Cooper Chase, is found murdered the four of them set to working out who did it and from there it's adventures galore.
If you’re currently thinking 'cosy crime' then think again. Think Miss Marple with a few pals, some dodgy-dealings, skeletons in the cupboard and a lot of cunning on the part of the unlikely crime-fighters. Add in a couple of police officers who are delightfully manipulated and tamed by them and this book is just an absolute delight.
By page 4 I had sniggered several times. There's a lot of dry humour and wry observations in this story. It's also thoughtful and sweet at times. It really has a bit of everything in there.
In short, read this book. You won't be disappointed. I'm excited to note there is more to come from The Thursday Murder Club. There's plenty of life left in our intrepid quartet yet. Count me in!