I’m always a bit nervous when a household name writes their first book; will I love their book as much as I love what they’re already known for?!

No reason for nerves with this one – this is a cracking novel from Richard Osman, and I loved every minute of it. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I really hope it’s going to be the first of a series, and that we return to the Thursday Murder Club for more stories in the future.

Four residents of a very upmarket retirement village become friends and form a club to investigate cold cases, but then a local property developer’s body is found, and the friends find themselves right in the thick of a real-time murder case. Despite their ages, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron get totally involved, and are determined to find the murderer.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Books UK and Viking for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

What a wonderful fun read. At times very obscure thinking by the retirees but they resolve the murders so well and stay sympathetic to the other people. The story is set in a luxury retirement village and the characters are so wonderful. As the reader I was able to align the characters with people that I have met in the past as they were so well described. The characters covered a wide spectrum of society and the descriptions of the area, and those visited, were so clear. Richard very cleverly leads the reader by the nose as to who was responsible for which murder but then proceeds a bit later on to show that they were not guilty by giving such wonderful explanations to destroy the readers thoughts.
I can say that at times it took a while to follow the train of thought as the situation and the characters changed suddenly with no lead in.
I canonly add that I look forward to reading more of these octaganerians and their future escapades.

A funny read which feels like the start of a series. I loved the writing style and the characters. I could happily have kept reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

In Kent, England, four energetic elderly folk meet up once a week to solve cold case murders from police files secretly acquired by the leader of the group, and born organiser, Elizabeth. Former nurse Joyce, is a newbie to the exclusive luxury retirement village, and she soon finds herself recruited to the Thursday Murder Club (TMC). Retired psychiatrist, Ibrahim, and Ron, once a renowned union activist, are the other two members of the TMC. When a local property developer, Tony Curran, is found dead, the TMC find themselves slap in the midst of their very first active case.

Like many others, I'm a Richard Osman fan, thus I was very keen to read his début novel and it was certainly a cracker! With the masterfully created, diverse characters, the clever plotting, along with the numerous comedic moments, The Thursday Murder Club really is an enthralling and entertaining read. With secrets and reveals in plentiful supply, there is plenty of fodder for armchair detectives to dwell on. I particularly like that part of the narration is in the form of a diary kept by Joyce, as it offers a different perspective on life, happenings and events in the retirement village. Complete with a neat resolution, I recommend The Thursday Murder Club without any hesitation, and I am hoping there will be other TMC books to come.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Penguin Books/ Viking via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Such a breath of fresh air.
Richard has written a novel that you just fall in love with, the characters, the retirement village and of course murder!
Joyce has recently moved to the retirement village and is soon apart of The Thursday Murder Club which consists of Elizabeth, Ron and Ibrahim as poor Penny is far to ill to attend anymore.
They look at cold cases from Penny's past as a Detective Inspector but when a real life murder takes place at the retirement village they just can't wait to get their teeth into who murdered whom.
This is such a enjoyable book,it flows beautify I could never figure out who done it and the ending didn't disappoint.
Looking forward to the next book.

In a luxury retirement village in the countryside, a group gather once a week to investigate cold cases as a hobby. But then a local developer is killed, and the investigations aren't so cold anymore... This is a superb read - a really engaging mystery, a cast of brilliant characters, some genuine snort-out-loud moments, and a beautifully compassionate and emotionally astute portrayal of ageing and later life. The balance between these elements is astonishing, a real achievement. Even if you never read crime or mysteries, there is something here for you to love.

I read this having never heard of Richard Osman so had no pre-conceptions. Other, than the fact it sounded like a ripping yarn.

What a joy this novel was, tricky, slippery, full of red herrings and very funny at times. The sometimes poignant, sad and thoughtful.

Maybe some of the characterisation was a tad heavy handed but it provided an excellent short cut to driving the story forward and allowing use to relate to or hate a character.

A total delight and a novel that allows older people a voice and enjoyable life.

I love reading traditional murder mysteries and thought the premise of this story - a group of elderly sleuths investigating a murder mystery at a retirement village - sounded intriguing and original.

Four friends meet up once a month to discuss old murder cases to see if they can solve them. Except the four friends live in a retirement village and one day they find themselves with a real murder to investigate. They run rings around the police, who keep underestimating them, because each one of these friends has a particular skill, or a job they used to do in the past, that helps them work as a team to solve the murders.

It was refreshing to read about four characters who are pushing eighty and having a lovely time manipulating the police (who eventually realise they are completely outwitted and decide to just go along with the flow). Elizabeth was a fabulous character; we never did learn what she used to be in her former life - a spy? I also loved Ron, the mouthy ex-union boss.

The Thursday Murder Club is a classic murder mystery with lots of red herrings and clever twists. It's witty and smart but also poignant in places, and it tied my poor brain in knots as I tried to work out whodunit. The characters were brilliant and thoroughly engaging. I did find myself sympathising with the police as they were outwitted at every turn.

The Thursday Murder Club would suit any reader who loves a 'puzzle' kind of mystery and authors such as Elly Griffiths and Kate Ellis. I was also reminded of Joanna Cannon's Three Things About Elsie.

One of my favourite reads this year. I do hope it is the start of a new series!

Thank you to Richard Osman and Viking (Penguin Books) for my copy of this book, which I received via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Part Marple, part Agatha Raisin and really just all around good fun.

Four retirement village residents get together every week- on Thursdays, of course- to investigate cold cases, until an actual murder happens right on their doorstep. Obviously the Thursday Murder Club must investigate!

Honestly this was such a fun read. I’m always a bit nervy when.it comes to celebrity authors, even if I like the celebrity, but Richard Osman really delivers here. I hope this is a series!

When a brutal murder takes place a group of pensioners take it upon themselves to help solve the murder. An interesting bunch of characters leads to a very entertaining book. Richard Osman has come up with a great concept which will no doubt become a great series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in return for an honest review.

An enjoyable cosy mystery with great characters. 4/5 stars.

I was delighted to get a review copy of this book and overall I really enjoyed it. However, I do think the blurb is a little misleading: the "before it's too late" line gives the impression that everyone at the retirement community is somehow in mortal peril or this is some sort of thriller. And it most definitely is not!

This is a cosy mystery which is more about the retirement village residents than the whodunnit. I enjoyed the focus on the older protagonists as they have all had interesting lives and are still making the most of their time. Elizabeth in particular is fascinating, and it was great how we find out bits about what she's done in the past and are left to come to our own conclusions about exactly what her fomer line of work was.

The characterisation of the most loathsome figure in the book was also brilliantly done. In only a few brief lines I had decided I hated him, but with each additional detail - from how he treated others to how he decorated his house - the author chipped away a little more at any reason why we might want him to survive the book.

My final rating is 4, rather than 5 stars for a couple of reasons...

The story is told in a combination of first person (extracts from Joyce's diary) and third person. When it's in third person there is, at points, a heck of a lot of "head hopping". We've settled into one character's thoughts and feelings, then suddenly we jump into another's and then quickly into another's! This left me confused as to what was going on a couple of times and I had to backtrack and re-read a page. And when you're reading a book with lots of characters, suspects and a fairly complex plot to keep up with, I could have done with staying in one character's POV per scene to help me stay on track.

My enjoyment of the mystery did start to wane towards the end. While I thought the red herrings and dead ends were good, I began to wonder just how many revelations about secret deaths and murders could possible come out! This meant I had little hope of being able to guess whodidit and I prefer mysteries when I have a fighting chance of keeping up with the amateur sleuths.

Overall: an enjoyable story with terrific characters. If you enjoy a cosy murder mystery and are looking for something a bit different, I'd definitely give this a try.

Four residents of Cooper's Chase luxury retirement village meet up once a week to solve cold cases. Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron and Ibrahim, therefore are delighted when a brutal murder takes place right on their doorstep and they get to collaborate with two local police officers to solve a murder...or three.

This is hilariously funny, the characters are well-rounded and all of the separate mysteries are tied up nicely. I was thrilled to hear that a Thursday Murder Club 2 is on it's way as I'm eager to spend more time with the Cooper's Chase gang.

This is a book that id be happy to recommend to just about anyone.

Thank you #Netgalley and Viking for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this. Thank you so much Netgalley. Not my usual read but well worth setting foot out of my comfort zone.

The Thursday Murder Club is made up of Ibrahim, Ron, Joyce and Elizabeth. Four seventy somethings that meet up once a week (on a Thursday!) at their retirement village to review cold cases. Imagine their excitement when a real murder takes place in the village and they get to insert themselves right in the heart of the action. Will they get to solve the case? And what secrets do the residents hide?

This book was fabulous. There are so many words to describe this book, fun, heartwarming, exciting, funny, dry, witty, touching and thoughtful to name but a few. I can't say more than I loved it. I am praying that the ending means we haven't seen the last of this brilliant group of friends.

Massive 5 stars and highly recommended.

It took me a while to get into this book, but I really enjoyed it. It reads a little bit like the Alexander McCall-Smith books about the lady detective, in that it is sweet and funny and gentle and meanders and sometimes not that much happens. But the story is in fact barreling along underneath the every-day lives of the main characters, all 'people of a certain age'. (meaning - not young). Richard Osman might have gleaned many ideas and impressions for his characters from listening to the bit in his TV quiz show Pointless, when his co-presenter says "Tell us a little bit about yourself".

There is indeed a slight quiz show feel to the writing - do people really talk or think in questions? Most of time? Or only sometimes? Hard to say, but in the book they do, so there you go. Do people still use hatpins nowadays? Who knows.

The storyline is clever, the characters are believable, the twists are good - and so I shall look forward to reading future escapades of the Thursday Murder Club.

Not having any idea who Richard Osman is and what he had previously written, I came into this with no preconceptions. I loved the premise of the story when I requested a review copy.

No surprises - I loved it! The story follows the first person narrative of newly arrived Joyce (as diary entries) and the standard third person narrative for the rest of the book. The setting is an up-market retirement village, populated by a vast range of retired (or semi-retired) professionals, four of who make up the Thursday Murder Club. This group meet together to look over cold cases from the files of one of the groups' former members - however, when real life steps in, the group decide to get in on the sleuthing themselves. This reminded me slightly of Charlaine Harris' "Aurora Teagarden" series - so if you love that, then you will also love this one.

The story builds up slowly and has a great twist at the end. It is witty, suspenseful, serious, fun. I do hope there is more.

This book is very funny, cleverly plotted and a great crime mystery all at the same time. I particularly liked the portrayal of elderly people as clever, witty and above all human, instead of all old dodders. Towards the end there may have been a few too many red herrings but this is only a tiny gripe. Read it for yourself and be truly entertained.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron are The Thursday Murder Club. They meet once a week in the Jigsaw room of their sleepy retirement village to investigate unsolved murders and see if they can shed any light on past crimes. However, when a murder takes place on their doorstep they find themselves trying to catch a killer in their first ever active case...
I loved this book from the minute I started it. Think classic whodunit with a side order of OAPs and a massive scoop of humour and you're on the right track. The idea is fresh and the writing style made it incredibly easy to read. There's a friendly, gentle nature to the writing similar to Alexander McCall Smith but with an edge all of its own. The plot was well paced with a few red herrings and the characters were well rounded, relatable and believable. I would give this book 100 stars if I could but I'll have to settle for 5. Can't wait for the next case!
Thanks to Viking, Netgalley and Richard Osman for the ARC.

This is one novel which lives up to every quote about it; it IS smart, it IS funny and best of all, it is the FIRST in a NEW SERIES!
Coopers Chase isn't your usual retirement home - oh no, this is a pretty upmarket retirement village where the residents dine on the best of food and have more in the way of entertainment that most of us. But not all the activities are as innocuous as they sound - while Knit and Natter, Chat and Crochet and Learning French are exactly what they say, The Thursday Murder Club is a clandestine and very small, select group accessed by invitation only. When a brutal murder takes place with connections to Coopers Chase, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim get their first 'live' case and set about their investigations . . .
What an absolutely fantastic read! I'm a big fan of Richard Osman; having enjoyed Pointless for many years I love House of Games which - if you haven't seen it - is one of the most entertaining half hours on tv. Don't be fooled by the gossipy style of this one; it could rival any Agatha Christie for proficiency and is an exciting and thrilling read laced with wonderful humour throughout. I was completely enthralled and awake far later than I should have been last night reading to the end. The characters are beautifully drawn and I felt privileged to get to know them. I remember thinking about half way through that I hoped this would turn into a series and was delighted to discover that it is what is planned. Yay! Whilst the 'whodunnit' part of the read is very perplexing, taking stoic detective work to discover the real murderer there was so much going on that I didn't really have time to ponder on it. Clever and enigmatic with some very plausible red herrings, this is a novel which easily earns all five sparkling stars and the highest recommendation I can offer.
My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I have always liked the quick wit of Richard Osman on Pointless, so on dicovering he had written a book, I could not resist giving it a go. As you would expect he is a competent writer, but can he ‘invent’ a story with sufficient depth and character that will hold the reader’s attention for several hundred pages? Well the answer to that is most certainly “yes”.
The rather informal style belies the eventual complexity of the story which, rather than being revealed in the final pages, emerges gradually. I would definitely recommend reading this, but do not expect a conventional crime novel.

Reviewed from a pre-publication draft obtained through Net Galley.

Multi-layered, witty, and unorthodox, The Thursday Murder Club is a breath of fresh British air.

This cosy murder mystery follows a group of four elderly (but crafty) people who live in a luxury retirement village and catch up every Thursday to solve cold cases. That is until a real murder happens right on their doorstep. Make that two! Actually three but keeping my lips sealed on that one... The foursome, along with the actual investigating officers, hunt for clues to solve the many mysteries they've suddenly found themselves in the midst of. It seems that a couple of people in the retirement home, including those in the murder club, are keeping more than their fair share of secrets.

There were so many things I loved about this book! As a huge Richard Osman fan, I was happy to see his personality shining through with plenty of witty one-liners throughout. The characters were diverse with some really interesting backgrounds that were well explored. At the same time, each had an element of untrustworthiness about them which made you constantly question who was hiding something. There was plenty of intrigue, mystery, and red herrings with a few secondary storylines to pull our attention away at all the right moments.

I really thought I had this one worked out but I was happy to be proved wrong (as always). My only small complaint was I felt the tenses got mixed up at times and they made me do a double-take. Other than, I loved the plot, characters, ending, everything! Absolutely recommend to anyone who loves a whodunnit. Can't wait for book two!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books (UK) for a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.