This is a very unusual, slightly numerous, version of a ‘who done it’. The first third of the book , usual set the scene, but also enabled the reader to get used to the chit chatty style of writing that the author has used. The characters are well portrayed as energetic, enthusiastic elderly individuals who are definitely likeable. I would recommend this book, once you have got used to the writing style.

I began reading anticipating a light-hearted jaunt with some oldies. This was the case for the first part of the book as the fearsome and dedicated quartet tried to solve an old, then a recent, murder.
The characters are recognisable and there is warm and witty humour in Joyce's diary jottings. The murder plot is complex but also amusing and the police officers adopted by the quartet, Chris and Donna, add a nice accountability for the retirees.
What began as an amusing tale becomes more sombre as the age and fragility of the residents becomes clear. Their pasts are not as innocent as their demeanour suggests and their future hovers on the horizon.
The irrevocable nature of aging caught me unawares and even the skill of chief investigator Elizabeth and a happy ending, or beginning, for Chris, could not lighten the mood.

Joyce is the newest member of the Thursday Murder Club – a group of friends living in the Cooper’s Chase Retirement Village who don’t find jigsaws and tea dances quite thrilling enough. No – they’d rather work through cold cases from former member Penny’s days in the police. Ex-nurse Joyce joins forces with retired psychiatrist Ibrahim, Ron a former rabble-rouser who likes to keep his rabble-rousing hand in and the mysterious Elizabeth whose past is shady but, obviously, dramatic – and they are all ready to leap into action when their detecting moves on from unsolved crimes of the past and onto the sudden death of Tony Curran, co-owner of Cooper’s Chase. As all and sundry underestimate the detecting power of a group of senior sleuths, they work their way to the bottom of Curran’s murder and more with a combination of intelligence, guile and sheer stubbornness. With a supporting cast of Polish builders, slightly iffy priests and actual police officers (whether they want to or not) the plot thickens into something you could stand a spoon in…

Richard Osman is showing precocious signs of National Treasurehood. In these troubled times (I refuse to use ‘unprecedented’…) this is a reassuringly British crime caper which has, quite rightly in my view, been compared to a classic Ealing Comedy. A wet Sunday afternoon and endless cups of tea kind of book – to misquote the late lamented Douglas Adams, this is a book which makes the tea-time of the soul a little less dark.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for an ARC of this book!

I'm usually wary of reading books by celebrities, especially novels, but this one I found so enjoyable! I've been really into mystery lately, and the premise of this book really grabbed my attention. Senior citizens setting up a Thursday Murder Club to solve old crimes suddenly being confronted with a real murder just around the neighbourhood? It's something I never did quite expect.

I loved the way he wrote his characters, and I felt that they all managed to come alive in their own very distinct ways. Not spoiling the ending- but though the book got confusing at times, it all ties up neatly and I found the ending very clever.

It was a wonderful read and a great debut novel! Can't wait for more.

I don't really know where to begin with this review because it was so flipping brilliant! I found it hard to put it down! It was a fun murder mystery which had me guessing until the end. The tone of this book is fantastic from the get go, you really understand who each character is pretty quickly and their personalities shine through. The heroes were wonderful and the villains pretty villainous with some surprises from some characters as the book nears its conclusion and secrets become unearthed. It was a perfect read as the autumn evenings draw in. Highly recommend!

A highly enjoyable read. A little far fetched in places (would the police really liase with a group of pensioners to solve a murder?) but I'd still recommend it as a book not to be taken too seriously. Funny in parts, sad in parts and moving in parts. An easy read when you want something a little light.

When four retirement home residents gather each week to amuse themselves by attempting to solve unsolved murders, little do they expect a real-life opportunity to investigate to present itself. But when a murder takes place nearby, these four unlikely sleuths rise to the occasion. This is a gentle and often humorous book, full of likeable and quirky characters. An enjoyable read!

The Thursday murder club is a group of four septuagenarians living in luxurious retirement village that have a weekly meeting to look at cold cases to try to solve them. But everything is suddenly much more interesting when two murders happens in their town. It was a very entertaining book with a lot of twists. The characters are very diverse and enjoyable. I will definitely be waiting for the next book.

A cosy crime with interesting characters. Set in a retirement village with some giggles along the way. Very clever storyline. An enjoyable read which I’d recommend to anyone.
ARC copy.

4.5 stars - This was a wonderful read; witty and laugh-out-loud funny. I loved the setting of the retirement village, and the cast of characters was entertaining and unique.

I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series (and was very excited to hear Richard say on the Between the Covers book club on BBC2 that there are going to be at least 4 books!).

I loved this book! It was fun and witty and very clever.

I was hooked from page one and I wanted to know how the mystery would be solved. And whether I could piece all the clues together before the professionals.

oved it, couldn’t put it down. This twisted and turned all over the shop, and no I didn’t guess. I look forward to the next in the series. If you enjoyed Miss Marple I think you’ll like this.

Richard Osman appears to have slipped very easily into the role of the cosy/witty mystery for a comfortable middle class readership. This is high praise as it is a genre that desperately needs another voice, one with an edge, but not too much. I have seen Richard on television and his presenting style transfers to this chatty and tongue in cheek writing admirably and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The only criticism could be that I did find it very forgettable as a few weeks after reading the novel I had forgotten the storyline....however, this is in a very strange way a good thing too as I now want to re-read it. In these strange times we need all the light hearted distraction we can get. Many thanks to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for this honest review.

Disclaimer - I am a massive fan of Richard Osman, and will watch anything that he is in. I think he is funny, clever, and kind, and so I was really looking forward to this, his debut novel. And I was not disappointed. It is an old-style murder mystery, set in a retirement village, with a cast of characters to rival Agatha Christie at her best. I hope Joyce and Elizabeth and the Thursday Murder Club are set for many more adventures - the sooner the better!

What an uplifting read! Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron were an absolute joy to spend time with. A must-read for all fans of contemporary cosy crime. I've recommended it to the other attendees of #CosyCrimeClub on Twitter.

From the moment the deal had been announced for this book I was very curious, I'm a huge fan of Richard Osman on Pointless, House of Games, and any other programmes he crops up in, so was very interested to see how good this writing endeavours would be.

And well, I'm still largely undecided having read The Thursday Murder Club. And I think the reason I didn't fully love the book, was I initially had big formatting issues with the advance copy from Netgalley, which kept taking me away from the story, but at around 60% when I was on the verge of wondering if I could read more with the issues my copy had, I thought I'd try re-downloading in case a newer version had been uploaded.

That fixed things, and I wish I had thought of it earlier as it felt at that point I was reading a much more polished book that I believe to be closer to the final version that is available, and I was able to lose myself within the pages a lot more.

I have many questions unanswered from finishing this but I know its the first book in the series, so the odds are I do want o read the next book, now that I'm used to the writing style and the characters.

I may be sounding negative, but its awkward to write a review when all the best bits happen far too far in for me to comment on, and that possibly due to the issues I had initially I may not have quite taken in all the background supplied for the characters - which is on me, and nothing to do with the book itself.

I loved the concept of these four members of a retirement village being completely delighted when a real live murder falls into their laps as they are determined to solve it ahead of the police.

Elizabeth is an intriguing character, who seemed to be able to get everyone around to her way of thinking, Then there is Joyce who we get to know through her diary, but I'm nor really sure why she was writing a diary.

There is a huge cast of characters and I think I would have followed it a lot better had it been a film, which may just mean I wasn't quite in the right frame of mind to read this when I did, as normally I don't struggle with that.

It's a book and series that shows promise, it improved for me as I continued reading, but at the same time, I couldn't really tell what it was trying to be. Not really a murder mystery, not really cosy crime, not really general fiction, not really enough character development for me, or background to the characters.

At times I was really enjoying it and other points I was wondering how I had been reading for a while but felt like I'd made no progress with the book.

I'm just so conflicted but I'm glad I was able to read it, and I am curious about book 2, especially if I get a properly formatted copy to start with as I suspect a lot of my issues were caused by that.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Cosy and compelling - vivid characterisation, fun story, laugh-out-loud funny in parts, and poignant in others.

I'm afraid I had high expectations of this novel, given all the hype and praise prior to publication. It was a middling read and not bad but I found the pace quite slow and some of the characters (and their thought processes and comments) a bit irritating. I really wanted to love this but felt that it was grossly misrepresented and there are far superior authors who don't get a fifth of the attention. I'm mystified as to why Spielberg would want to film it but perhaps he might improve on it?

An absolute joy to read with amazing characters that I hope learn more of in further books. A brilliant debut novel, really looking forward to reading more

I was looking for something to read that was a little different. I needed a distraction but something that didn’t require too much concentration and The Thursday Murder Club looked like just the right fit.

How can a murder investigation be described as charming, funny, warm and moving?

This one certainly is, and so much more besides.

I loved reading about the group of four friends who live in a retirement village and meet every Thursday to discuss unsolved murders. When Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibraham find themselves involved in a real-life murder on their patch there is only one thing to do, and that is find out whodunnit.

I was so intrigued by the eccentric characters in this story. We are given entries from Joyce’s diary where she gives updates on the case. However, in the typical style of an elderly lady, her brain goes off on tangents which are so authentic and utterly adorable. Elizabeth gives the police a run for their money and seems to have contacts in the most surprising places. The story highlights that elderly people may not possess physical fitness but put them together and there is nothing they can’t (and won’t do). In fact, their senior years give them a zest for life and fearlessness, unlike much younger generations.

The writing is clever and flows brilliantly with red herrings which keep you guessing and twists around every corner.

I just wish The Thursday Murder Club were real people because they would sort out the complexities of a Worldwide pandemic in no time at all!

I can’t recommend this book highly enough and can’t wait to see what comes next.