I received a free ARC of this via NetGalley and Penguin in return for an unbiased review. I had high hopes for this, as I do like Richard Osman a lot. The characters were quick to feel familiar due to the writing, although I admit I found Ian Ventham (the developer) to be a little over egged and almost pantomime villain-esque. And you do need to suspend a little belief in how Elizabeth manages to find so much out, and that police officers would share quite so much with civilians...

Once you accept those things though and the book beds down, I did find I got into it. And the last 1/4 where everything starts to tie together really did get me speed reading through and staying up a bit too late. All in all, a very worth entry novel and I’d look forward to future shenanigans from the Thursday Murder Club and Richard. Who I promise you, does write “old lady” thinking very well - male authors sometimes struggle to accurately portray women’s thinking and personalities, but Richard wrote Joyce very convincingly. Well done.

This was such a lovely delightful story. It was a murder mystery with a twist. It was full of humour and had some great characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope we have another book to follow it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like many readers of this book, when I heard that Richard Osman was writing a cosy mystery novel, I just knew I had to read it. I LOVE a good mystery, and this book sounded right up my alley.

This one has everything you would expect; likeable amateur sleuths, a detestable property developer, a motley cast of bit players and peaceful-little-village vibes. The Thursday Murder Club are four elderly retirees, who get together once a week to investigate old unsolved murders, until one day a body is found and the friends have a fresh murder to investigate.

I think I'm going to be in the minority on this one, but I was a little disappointed. I didn't dislike this book, not in the least, but I wasn't bowled over by it either. I appreciate that the author was aiming at the 'cosy' in 'cosy murder mystery' but for my tastes he takes it too far. It feels a little 'fluffy'. As a rule I don't enjoy gritty crime novels, and I do enjoy a good murder mystery, so I SHOULD have loved this, but somehow along the way it missed the mark.

On the whole I enjoyed my time with this book, and I would certainly pick up his next one, but I do feel that this one suffers from a lack of inventiveness. There is nothing new here. Perhaps this can be put down to being a debut attempt, and I will look forward to reading his future novels.

3 cosy stars.

This was a great first book by Richard Osman. The serious and light hearted elements were very well balanced. There was also a bit of a nostalgia for me as well, as he could have been describing my grandparents in terms of trips out to the seaside and meeting with friends once a week (not to talk about murders though!)

Every Thursday without fail a group of mismatched friends congregate in the activity room of a retirement village and they all have one thing on their mind......MURDER. Created by ex police officer Penny, who now lies ill in the medical wing of the  village, The Thursday Murder Club spend their afternoon's combing over old unsolved crime files, armed with tea and cake.

Ex-nurse Joyce is the latest recruit to their exclusive club, chosen for her medical knowledge and expertise, but before she knows it she is thrown into a real life murder case alongside the other club members. Someone with connections to the retirement village has been brutally murdered and the the elderly quartet know they have the combined skills needed to crack the case. But, one murder soon becomes two and things start to get complicated. Will it be too much for the elderly friends or will they be able to find the killer before the police?

I'm going to go all out and say it.....this is my favourite book of 2020 to date, by a long way. It's an engaging, multi-layered mystery littered with the wit and humour I wholly expected from Richard Osman. It's much more than your average crime novel, with layer upon layer of detail that kept me turning it's pages late into the night. Osman has a cosy, easy writing style yet the skill within to deliberately mislead the reader about the truth, whilst still moving the story towards a perfectly wrapped up conclusion( if that makes sense!)

The characters are written with wonderful attention to detail with fully rounded back stories that brought them vividly to life on the page. I particularly enjoyed the way the elderly residents switched from being kick-ass detectives to frail and confused when it suited their purpose. There is a real diversity to the cast of characters too, something I adore and am always actively seeking in my reading.

It's written alternating between general prose and frequent diary entries from the latest member of The Thursday Murder Club, Joyce. The diary entries are fabulous, filled with chatty snippets of information that often seem irrelevant, but that Osman has utilised to weave the fabric of the story together. I often found myself excitedly looking forward to the next diary instalment to gain a more personal insight into the others characters though Joyce's eyes.

Anyway, I could talk about this amazing title for days, but in the interest of avoiding any spoilers I will simply say you MUST read this book. I will certainly be recommending to everyone who will listen and I eagerly await the second book in the series. I loved every second of it and I have already ordered a physical copy after reading it on Kindle as I know it's one I will want to read again and to have on my bookshelf - some context; I rarely buy a physical copy of eBook I've read due to limited space on my shelves.

I loved this book. I took it on holiday and it was sheer unadulterated escapism and joy. There was mystery and intrigue, fabulous and unusual characters, swift plotting and underlying it all great charm and compassion. You just know that the man who can write like this is thoroughly humane and a lovely human being. Uplifting really.

Enjoyable mystery with an engaging cast of characters. The story keeps you hooked and I really liked Osman's style of writing.

The book is a great promotion for retirement villages! It was refreshing to have an older cast of characters who were depicted as real people rather than older stereotypes.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely LOVED this book and hope it becomes a series that goes on and on. The characters are simply wonderful and a brilliant worthy new addition to the amateur sleuth brigade that includes such luminaries as Miss Marple and Father Brown. Hugely entertaining, witty and the perfect distraction to a bad news day.

What a joy this book is - the older characters are fully drawn, interesting people. The plot is strong and engaging and it is also very funny. I didn't have high expectations, having been disappointed by other books written by comedians, but I am very glad to be proved wrong in this case.
Highly recommended. And thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron meet every Thursday to discuss old murder cases as a fun way to keep their minds active. When a man connected to the owner of their retirement village is found dead, the unlikely group of amateur sleuths are thrilled to find themselves in the middle of an active murder investigation. The two police detectives in charge of the case then have to deal with the gang, and their unorthodox detective methods, as they try to beat them in cracking the case.

I just loved everything about this book. It’s a funny and brilliant mash up of Miss Marple, Death in Paradise and the comedy horror film Cockneys vs Zombies (without the zombies of course!) My favourite thing about the story is the utter cheek of the four pensioners! The way they force their way into the major police investigation is both hilarious and endearing.

What was interesting to me was that on top of being a quintessential British murder mystery, The Thursday Murder Club also brings your attention to the value of older people in the community. As you get to know the lives of each character, the adventures they have had and the people they have lost along the way, they immediately feel like part of the family. I know I would love to befriend an ‘Elizabeth’ and see what kind of trouble we could get up to!

The Thursday Murder Club is the perfect cozy crime novel for Autumn and I can’t wait for the next in the series!

It’s the Golden Years of Joyce’s life and she is ready to put away her nurse’s uniform and enjoy them to the fullest at her new home in Coopers Chase retirement village. Everything is perfect: the flatlets are cosy; the dining hall is actually a contemporary, upscale restaurant; and the residents are welcoming … So welcoming, in fact, that at one of her first meals at Coopers Chase, Joyce is asked exactly how long it would take a girl to bleed out if she had been viciously stabbed by a robber who had broken into her home and attacked her. (About forty-five minutes, in case you were wondering).

So begins Joyce’s friendship with Elizabeth, Ron and Ibrahim, the three remaining members of the Thursday Murder Club, who meet in the Jigsaw room each Thursday afternoon between Art History and Conversational French. Each week, they delve into an old case file and try to solve what the police couldn’t. It’s a way of keeping themselves entertained, and as an ex-spy, nurse, psychiatrist and trade union leader, the four members of the Thursday Murder Club are always keen to solve a mystery.

But one day, they get a little bit more than they bargained for: Tony Curran, one of the part-owners of Coopers Chase is bludgeoned to death, and suddenly the Thursday Murder Club have got a real mystery on their hands … if the police would just let them get involved.

When I saw this book on NetGalley, I was immediately struck by the fact that it was written by Richard Osman. A big fan of Pointless, I was intrigued, and wondered whether this book would deliver the kind of entertainment experience I was used to from Osman. I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. The plot was good; the characters were excellent; and the writing was easy to read. All in all, this was a super book that has made me excited for the sequel (which, it seems, is already well underway).

The book as a whole had a feel-good atmosphere about it, despite being a murder mystery. The characters were warm and witty, and I loved reading their story. Joyce and Elizabeth stole the show for me: the dynamic between them was wonderful, and the intermittent excerpts from Joyce’s diary were a wonderful way to get to know these two ladies and understand their friendship. I found myself thinking of Joyce and Elizabeth almost as my own grandmothers: feisty, full of mischief, determined to help, and reminding you of your manners when sending a text message. Joyce is the more demure, soft character, while Elizabeth is a more forceful one, with a get-it-done attitude that would probably scare most layabouts into action. I thought this relationship was perfectly crafted, with just the right balance of emotion and comic relief to make me truly believe in and care for these ladies.

The plot was also well-crafted, with about three or four mysteries all circling at the same time. The book has many strands, but they all hold their own and each subplot progresses steadily as the book goes on. Although you may be able to guess some of the resolutions from the start, I think there is enough left in the ending of the novel to still hold a surprise or two, even for the most careful reader.

Richard Osman has crafted a really good book here, but for the die-hard mystery fan, this might come across as too twee for you. There is no grit, and there are no action scenes with gunslinging heroes. Rather, the book takes a sedate pace, and the most the heroes of this book sling around is a script for chronic medication. The slower pace is not for everyone, perhaps, but I found it a refreshing change of pace. If the average thriller is the hustle and bustle of London, this book felt like the quintessential English countryside. It is slower to progress and there is less urgency throughout the book, but it is an absolute gem nonetheless.

Thank you to Penguin Books UK, Viking and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Such an original and thoroughly enjoyable book! The characters are truly brilliant and I really enjoyed Richard Osman's writing style. It's very original, quirky and witty. This is a great one to curl up with on autumnal evenings - cozy murder mystery at its finest. I'll definitely be looking out for the next few books in the series - I've heard more are coming!

I am so happy I am able to be part of the instagram tour for The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Thank you to the amazing team at Penguin Random House and Viking, for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

Synopsis:

We follow Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, who all meet up on Thursdays and solve mysteries. But when a murder happens in their environment, they cannot stay idle. Having their own tricks up their sleeves, they uncover evidence and keep getting closer to solving the mystery. But one mystery leads to another, and another, and before they know it, they are tangled in a mystery where everyone is a suspect and no one can be trusted.

My Thoughts:

Their personalities, especially the ability to be brutally honest and not care what they say or do is what kept me giggling throughout. Their resilience and perseverance, and the ability to trick people as well as be a nuisance was so refreshing to read, because it was so real, and I have seen it before.

I used to work in a care home with people that were suffering from dementia, and I am glad that there is a book like this one, that realistically describes how the elderly spend their free time and how mischievous they can be.

Sometimes they help the police, and sometimes they hide things and manipulate so much that I just couldn’t believe the audacity (which was funny on its own). But I think what I loved the most was how much fun they have while they are doing what they want to do – solve mysteries. And they are very good at it!

“In life, you have to count the good days. You have to tuck them in your pocket and carry them around with you.”

As a foreigner, I thought I wouldn’t understand the British humor.
But I suppose living with a British partner and working in the UK does help a lot. Damn, I’ve been here too long 😀 Although, there was one part that I did not get, and my partner had to assist me with.

I didn’t understand the meaning of “What forty-six kilos was in real money”. And when explained, let me tell you, I was not impressed. 😀

“People without a sense of humour will never forgive you for being funny.”

On the subject of mystery, because in the end, this is a mystery novel, it does deliver. There are multiple mysteries, shall I say multi-layered, and some of the mysteries did keep me wondering until the end. Some of them, I did guess quite early in the book. I kept thinking that all the mysteries would somehow end up connected, and they do, but not in the way I expect – that’s all I will say, without revealing too much.

I loved the The Thursday Murder Club.
It made me giggle, it made me wonder and try to solve the multi-layer mystery, it made me sad and surprised. It got all the emotions out of me, and I loved it! I would definitely recommend this book!

“Tony is not a believer in luck, he’s a believer in hard work. If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.”

It's taken me a while, as I had to put it down due to uni and work but I've finally finished The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - a fantastic read. I loved the characters, the intriguing mysteries and can't wait for more from this team of amateur sleuths! 4 Stars

I have been excited about this book since it was announced more than a year ago. If you're in the UK, you'll know Richard Osman as the one with all the answers on Pointless or the host of House of Games. He's got a lovely way about him on Twitter, he always comes across very well any time you hear him talking and the plot synopsis sounded great. In fact it all sounded so good that I was worried it couldn't live up to my expectations - especially as a debut novel. I mean murder mysteries aren't exactly easy to pull off.  The fact that I'm writing about this here, indicates that I have good news for you! Anyway, to the plot.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron all live at frankly rather nice sounding retirement village in Kent. Every Thursday they take over the Jigsaw room meet up to discuss unsolved murders (under the guise of a society for fans of Japanese opera to keep away the nosy). Then the owner of the retirement village is found dead, just after a consultation meeting about an expansion. Now they have a live case to solve - they've got the skills to do it, but will they manage it before it's too late?

Now reading that plot synposis you'll think that you've read stories like this before. And yes this does have some similarities with cozy crime series featuring an older protagonist. But it's not really a cozy crime. The mystery is twistier and more complicated. I can't say much about the solution, because that would be spoiling things and you know that I don't do that, but it doesn't quite fit the cozy format. And as well as the mystery, there are proper side plots. It's all told as a mix of narrative and Joyce's diary - which really works as she is the newest member of the club and gets to do a lot of the exposition - but all four members of the Club are properly realised characters with backstories that you hear about, hopes, worries and fears. And the two police officers are great too. It's also got a strain of melancholy to it - they are old people and they're not done with life, but they do worry that this might be the "last time" that they do something and worry about the things they have lost (and in some cases develop strategies to try and combat this). Oh and it's funny. Dryly funny and witty not pratfalls and stupidity funny. Wry observances and witty asides type funny. It's great. I would happily have spend another 100 pages with the gang.  If there's another one, you can sign me up to read it now.

If Jessica Fletcher moved to a plush assisted living community and got bored she would start the Thursday Murder Club but Elizabeth has got there first! She and her group of plucky old friends strive solve the unsolvable then a real hot murder lands in their doorstep and with newcomer Joyce and a handy (W) PC looking for just as much excitement as them and a step up the career ladder they aim to solve it.
The Thursday Murder Club is a lot of fun. The core group of OAPs are all very different characters with their own distinct voice obviously Elizabeth the the best, she’s bad ass and get things done and has so many favours to call in its a wonder she not running the country (or is she?). However the real strength of the novel is in how it shows people struggle with many issues no matter their time of life; loneliness, dissatisfaction, stagnation, fear of the future are things everybody struggles with. There are also real poignant moments that tug on the heart strings like saying goodbye to the love of your life or worrying that you will never even find the live of your life or just that life hasn’t turned out how you thought it would.
These moments are balanced with light however as our heroes battle through with each other’s help. There’s a real optimism and zest for what’s left of life and being 70 sounds pretty good fun and apparently you can get away with murder!

Let me begin this review by saying I don’t read crime. Ever. I think it’s a horribly conflated genre which gets a lot of hype but is boringly predictable and formulaic. However, I wanted to try The Thursday Murder Club because I find Richard Osman to be one of the most intelligent and erudite celebrities currently gracing our screens, and I was curious.

The Thursday Murder Club mainly takes place in and around Coopers Chase retirement village, formerly an old convent and graveyard, and now host to an array of characters — a wonderful blend of eccentric and poignant — enjoying the latter part of their years in companionable community. The titular club meets on a Thursday and was originally set up for the impressive Elizabeth and her friends to explore the cold cases to which fellow neighbour (and former police detective) Penny still has access. After Penny’s health declined, the Thursday Murder Club was down one member, and so in steps Joyce, former nurse and relative newcomer to Coopers Chase, enticed by Elizabeth. The rest of the club is rounded out by Ibrahim, a former psychiatrist, and Ron, the former leader of a trade union — and when a real murder takes place, the Thursday Murder Club just can’t resist…

Alongside the club members, we are introduced to other members of the community, such as Bernard and John, plus the owner of Coopers Chase (Ian) and his questionable business dealings and contacts. Then there’s the actual police, Donna and Chris, who are leading the investigation into the murder but who spend a lot of the time trying to both corral and catch up with the likes of the very persuasive Elizabeth and her friends. Add to this a mix of poignancy, potential romance, humour, and the fate of the graveyard itself, and you have the makings of a very clever, very intricate, and very entertaining story.

The characters are brilliantly British and are incredibly well-drawn. I was constantly kept within the story and whenever I wasn’t reading I was thinking about them and the murder. I didn’t see some of the twists and turns coming and I certainly didn’t work out the identity of the murderer. The structure of the story is deep and complex, and as well as the investigation the reader is kept occupied by the relationships between the characters and their various past careers and connections. The humour is top-notch and never once threw me out of the book — there’s a scene involving tea and cakes which had me in literal tears of laughter.

As well as the mystery and humour, there’s a lot of gentle poignancy, some of it bittersweet and some of it absolutely heartbreaking. I did weep over this book, several times — something I wasn’t expecting. As a reader I appreciated the gentle layers of emotion and the implied (and otherwise!) motivations of each character; as a writer myself I appreciated the care and attention taken to crafting each scene and the weaving together of the various plots to create a net in which to catch both the murderer and the reader themselves. The ending was brilliantly wrought and I was left seeking the next adventure.

I have since had to retract my comments about crime being a horribly conflated genre which gets a lot of hype but is boringly predictable and formulaic. The Thursday Murder Club was none of these things and was a most entertaining, captivating, clever, and emotional read. I have since ranted about this book to friends all over the world, my medical team, and my family — my poor husband has had to put up with me reading aloud sections, between tears of mirth and tears of heartbreak, at all hours of the day and night. Richard Osman has produced a brilliant debut, proving himself to be a fantastic author, and I can’t wait for the next one.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Viking Books UK/Penguin Random House, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Brilliant! I loved this. Well fleshed out characters, who seem to have become quirky in old age. I chuckled all the way through. The solving of murders was also fascinating. Not the usual murder mystery but very enjoyable.

This is, I suspect, my book of 2020. A clever, heartwarming, well-crafted whodunnit crime novel. Four pensioners meet every Thursday to try and solve cold cases...but then a real life murder falls in their laps - and then another one does. But with the second murder all four are witnesses and also potential suspects. This is a wonderfully charming yet rather clever debut from the fabulous Richard Osman. I laughed, I cried, I was genuinely moved by the characters and the plot. I did not guess the ending and you won't either. I will be purchasing this cosy clever crime debut for many of my loved ones as Christmas presents this year!

I adored this book! It was brilliant, hilarious and I could not not put it down. It made me laugh out loud on more than 1 occasion. Highly recommend it! Thanks netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.