The Thursday Murder Club: The first novel in the multi-million copy bestselling murder mystery series: 1

What a treat this book has been! The Thursday Murder Club has filled a Famous Five-shaped void in my adult life that I hadn’t realised was there. Okay, so there are only four members of this amateur crime-busting cabal … no dog (yet!) … and the ginger ale has been replaced by pricey bottles of Malbec … and the bones may be creakier than my beloved childhood gang, but the derring do, the charm, the well-meaning bickering, and the fabulous ability to outsmart the rozzers are all heartily present. In a nutshell, The Thursday Murder Club has the potential to be the single most influential piece of marketing the (luxury) retirement village sector has ever seen. It vividly creates a setting of quintessential countryside chic, with rolling hills, farm shops, small stone bridges over a meandering river … and introduces an unexpected abundance of lamas … but generally very lovely. And the retirement village itself - Coopers Chase - boasts an array of activities and outings and gatherings to rival any Club 18-30, albeit of a more age-appropriate gentility … … Apart from the Thursday Murder Club, that is. It’s something of a covert black-ops group masquerading as a Japanese Opera Discussion Group to deter nosy parkers, and those who lack the constitution for the grisly and graphic cold-case murder scene and autopsy photographs. Founded by retired police detective, Penny, and glamorous spook, Elizabeth, the group of four gather each week to scrutinise the files of unsolved murders that Penny diligently ‘liberated’ in the run up to her retirement. Sadly, when we join the Club one they’re member down, Penny; lost to the advanced stages of dementia and now bed-bound in Willows; the village’s nursing home. As Elizabeth’s old friend, it’s her visits and her one-sided monologues that drive home the inescapable and rather poignant moments of the book. Because, whilst The Thursday Murder Club is a witty and chuckle-a-minute murder mystery, it’s also a compassionate window into the future, with the young-at-heart characters coming to terms with failing health, voluminous prescriptions, widowhood, and one or two regrets. But, exactly because this is a witty novel, these slightly scary truths are portrayed with just the right amount of light-hearted teasing, before romping off to solve the next puzzle. The club has always been a group of four, so Elizabeth wastes little time in enlisting Joyce; retired nurse, chatterbox, demon cake-baker, and with a countenance that people frequently underestimate. It’s Joyce’s fabulous, no-holds-barred diary that makes up a large chunk of this book, giving voice to a character that ripples with idiosyncratic quirks, unflinching observations, and the charming but casually caustic critique that only the older generation can get away with. Her chapters felt like settling down with long-missed grandparents and listening with relish whilst they viciously demolish whoever’s rankled them that day. The vernacular and colloquialisms are so pitch-perfect it took a Herculean effort to remind myself these words are really spilling from Richard Osman’s ‘pen’ and not really from Joyce’s. Ron and Ibrahim complete the Club; two chalk-and-cheese characters. Ron is a retired and very notorious trade union leader; a tattooed and rather shouty West Ham supporter whose cringingly outspoken and argumentative nature is generously explained away as ‘well, that’s Ron’. Heart of gold … salt of the earth … bull in a china shop … and surreptitiously endearing. Ibrahim, meanwhile, is neat, precise, immaculately dressed, and with a Gatsby-esque poise and politeness that won my heart immediately. In his hey day he was a psychiatrist … perhaps Elizabeth saw in him someone who could extract truths from unwitting suspects during their armchair investigations. Left to her own devices, I have no doubt that she has a painfully effective set of skills to deploy on more reluctant individuals. Batting for the youth team are PC Donna De Freitas - a cracking character who brings a sardonic wit and hint of jaded-London cool to the rolling Kent countryside - and her boss, DCI Chris Hudson who’s not quite braced for the ambitious and sharp-tongued whirlwind that’s just joined his team. On paper, they really shouldn’t gel as well as they do … but they do, and oh so well. Nor should they forge quite such a super relationship with the subversive Murder Club crew … but the chemistry is first-rate, giving rise to sparks and clashes that elicit so many laughs. It doesn’t take long for the Murder Club’s investigations to progress from the theoretical to the practical, with the first murder implicating the owner of their retirement village. The undisguised glee amongst the plucky foursome had me laughing out loud, and when the second murder takes place even closer to home the mood escalates from giddy excitement to down-right celebratory. The victims and the suspects are as colourfully characterised as Joyce and co, and although they’re an eclectic mix of the odious and the unlucky I found myself enjoying getting to know them every bit as much as I did the good-guys. None of them are quite prepared for the determined snooping of four unassuming pensioners, whose remarkable discoveries create headaches of their own for DCI Hudson as he struggles to keep up with their underhand fact-finding. Don’t underestimate the cosy nature of The Thursday Murder Club … the main characters may be elderly, the setting may be genteel, and the humour may catch you off guard … but this is a murder mystery of the most entertaining kind, with an unpredictable plot, and a large cast giving the puzzle plenty of capacity to twist and mislead. Whilst, at first, the murder seems to be quite obvious, take a moment to remind yourself of the enormity of the mind that’s created and authored this story. I can honestly say this has been the most enjoyable read … and I want more.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman was a joy to read. I was excited to read this book when I first heard about it a couple of years ago. For me, what really made this book were the characters. It’s what gave this book an original spin. I really liked the idea of the residents of the retirement village gathering each Thursday to discuss murder. It’s something I could imagine myself doing when I am at that age, which is many, many years away for me. The residents of Cooper’s Chase, ‘Britain’s First Luxury Retirement Village,’ as it is described, first get together on a Thursday to discuss old cases. The group is created by Elizabeth and Penny. Penny, however, is no longer part of the group as she is in a nursing home. The group now consists of Elizabeth, Ibrahim Arif and Ron Ritchie. Another character who appears is PC Donna De Freitas, and her idea of working for the police certainly isn’t giving a talk on security at Cooper’s Chase. But she certainly makes an impression on Cooper’s Chases’ finest detectives. When Richard Osman first introduces to the group, the retirement village does have a similar feeling to when you first start school. Here you are with all these new people, and you have to seek out the ones who you will click with. It is also clear that there will always be those people who you will not get along with. So, not long after Joyce joins The Thursday Murder Club, they soon find themselves in the midst of their first live case. A local builder, Tony Curran has been murdered. Now it’s time for the group to show off their skills and see if they can outsmart the police. It soon becomes clear that the mystery surrounding Tony’s death is a lot deeper than it first appears. The characters are really what made this book enjoyable for me. I particularly liked Joyce’s narrative. She keeps a diary, and throughout the book, we get to read extracts and hear her innermost thoughts. You can see that the group take the prospect of solving the recent murder seriously. I also liked PC Donna De Freitas. I could tell that she wanted to make her mark, particularly when early on it is revealed that she ‘would like to have a gun.’ I hope that she does make further appearances in this series and I would like to see where her career progresses. Richard Osman has created a diverse cast of characters which is what makes this book interesting as well, and I enjoyed seeing them all interact with each other. There are so many ways where I can see Richard Osman taking this series. I’m excited to see what will happen and what cases will come up next for The Thursday Murder Club. I’m certain as well that this isn’t the last the police will be hearing from our dynamic group. I loved reading this book. I thought it was well plotted and I loved spending time with Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron. It is also very witty as well, and I found myself smiling and laughing in lots of places. I can’t wait to catch up with them again in the next book.

Chatty conversational style about a disparate group of older people trying to solve murder mysteries . Highly amusing

This is a quintessential English murder mystery set in and around a Retirement village, Cooper's Chase, where a group of friends as a hobby attempt to solve old crimes/cold cases, on Thursdays in the jigsaw room (the only day the room is available), hence their name the Thursday Murder Club. The four members Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Ron and Joyce find themselves a real murder to investigate when their village developer is found dead. The four get to work immediately ,Elizabeth, Joyce and Ibrahim start by ensuring their friend of Cooper's Chase, PC Donna de Freitas, is put onto the case. (I don't remember that we found out how?) From here, the fun starts and it is fun. The four insinuate themselves into the investigation, very cleverly. Richard has created characters that are believable, well observed and written with warmth, honesty, integrity and sensitivity. The four seem to be one step ahead of the police. Throughout, we learned more about our 4 sleuths, their personalities, history, opinions, ideas. I feel we learn more about Joyce as the way Richard has written the book is split into Joyce's 1st person diary entries and the remainder is 3rd person but all in fairly small quick chapters. Writers are told this is a no no, but I thought it worked perfectly on this occasion. The witty, intelligent conversation style dialogue is peppered with fabulous one liners that had me giggling to myself. Behind the murders we find the love, guilt, the basic human stories of our four and other characters Richard has given us. The plot was clever and well constructed, there are more twists and turns than a corkscrew. I couldn't work out the whodunit, my suspicions were always wrong, the clues were there, I just didn't pick up on them. Richard this was fantastic in my opinion and I had a great time reading it. I am looking forward to meeting your beautiful characters again soon. Highly recommended especially if you like the Agatha Christie style murder mystery tales. I know Spielberg is making a movie of this, but I, like many others, feel this would be a wonderful UK tv series.

I was looking forward to this debut novel series from Osman. Starts off intriguing but towards the second part feels clumsy with a whole range of characters and settings to follow, changing each very short chapter. Somewhat jarring with the third person and then Joyce being a POV (is she supposed to be the main protagonist?) I know red herring is a staple of murder mystery but it feels Osman overdid it here. New names being introduced and new potential murders that it stopped being engaging. That being said if you are looking for a light hearted read with some British humour, it will probably do it for you.

I loved this book! I've not felt like I've had time to read the last few years so took the plunge and purchased a kindle. Then where to start this new style reading journey. I'd seen this about a few times, quite like Richard Osman and love watching a mystery so thought I'd give this novel a go. Best decision ever! The characters are great, took to them really quickly and loved the twists and turns and felt like I could keep up with it. Didn't want to put it down. Thoroughly enjoyable and I've gone from taking months to read a book to just two weeks for this one. First chapter in this Toddler Mums return to reading is complete and looking forward to the next in the series.

‘Killing someone is easy. Hiding the body, now that’s usually the hard part. That’s how you get caught’ The Thursday Murder Club by TV presenter Richard Osman was published September 5th with Viking and is the first book in a new series. It has received huge acclaim from many quarters with Val McDermid describing it as ‘a warm, wise and witty warning never to underestimate the elderly’ The Thursday Murder Club is based in the very plush retirement village of Coopers Chase where four friends meet weekly to discuss old crime cases that were never solved. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron are all fighting fit and not ready to relax into an aging lifestyle just yet. To keep their grey matter in order, they swap titbits of information relating to these past cases, each bringing their own expertise to the table. An original member of the group, Penny, has been moved to a dependent ward with a decline in her health, making Joyce the latest addition to this motley crew of amateur investigators. It was Penny, an ex policewoman, who was the founding member of the group and Elizabeth still talks to Penny daily, filling her in on the activities of the club. Can Penny hear Elizabeth? Who knows but the relationship between the two of them is very gentle, very touching. The tale is woven around Joyce’s transcripts into her diary which are interspersed throughout the book and provide some wonderful insights into the feelings and the activities of the residents. Miss Marple springs to mind when reading The Thursday Murder Club, except this time we have four characters with a similar curiosity. When the body of the owner of the residence, a man with a dubious past, one Ian Ventham, is discovered bludgeoned to death in his own home, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron are immediately on the case. Elizabeth is a canny individual with a furtive history that suggests a rather colourful past, possibly a secret agent. She is living in the village with her husband Stephen. His condition is on the decline but Elizabeth refuses to accept this. Joyce is an ex-nurse who is there with her daughter’s encouragement (although it does appear that her daughter is quite happy to have her mother at a slightly inaccessible distance from her). Ibrahim is a psychologist who still has old clients who call, but is ‘almost’ retired and Ron is an ex trade-unionist, one well known throughout the UK for his passion on the picket lines. Now it is his son Jason, who is stealing the limelight, as an ex-boxer not ready to retire from the public yet. These four septuagenarians are a force to be reckoned with. When the local police come calling, they are unprepared for the manipulation that awaits them. PC Donna De Frietas and DCI Chris Hudson are a wonderful pairing and they soon come to realise that the members of The Thursday Murder Club are always one step ahead of them. (Yes suspending belief is a necessary requirement) There are a number of mysterious happening in and around Coopers Chase as the chapters unfold, but all are scrutinised, dissected and neatly tied up in a bow as the story progresses. The Thursday Murder Club really is a gentle, entertaining and cosy read, the perfect ‘curl-up-by-the-fire’ on a cold Winter’s evening book. Much of the crime fiction that is currently on the market is fast-paced, heart-pounding and, ofttimes, quite gruesome. You will not find this here in Richard Osman’s first outing. The Thursday Murder Club is a real pleasure to read. It provides much-needed light reading during these very strange days. It is a return to the Agatha Christie style of crime fiction that will be very welcome on the bedside locker of many a reader. Richard Osman also highlights age and the expectations that our society has of the older population. As is the case here, every person, no matter their age, has experience and opinions and is deserving of the respect of the world at large. I can only hope to have the stamina and the determination of this dynamic bunch when I’m older. Illness, grief, tragedy and death are all handled very poignantly, with some very moving goodbyes but none take from the overall humour and pleasure of this warm hug of a book. The Thursday Murder Club is a delightful and light-hearted mystery. It is a very enjoyable first book in a new series that I am guessing will be very popular across all age-groups. There is a deliberate innocence to it all that is both refreshing and very charming. Endearing. Smart. Engaging.

I wasn't sure about this book when I first got it to be honest, but its turned out to be a warmly humorous read