I want to get one slightly embarrassing thing out of the way; I vaguely knew that Richard Osman was a tv presenter but he isn’t the one that in my head, I had associated with the name (basically if you’re not in a crime drama, classic or documentary, I’m unlikely to recognise you, sorry!). A bit sheepish but at least it proves I’m not a celebrity-chaser.

Anyway, back to the plot. This is such a lovely and refreshing take on the cosy crime novel. Unlike so many of this genre, it wasn’t at all predictable, nothing went the way you expected it to and yet you weren’t left staring at the page, one eyebrow raised and saying “Oh, really?” It made sense, you had just been gently misled into heading off in the wrong direction. That perfectly sums up the appeal of this book - presumably the first in a series - as well as its lead characters.

The main characters fall neatly into two groups, the professional detectives, Donna and Chris and the amateur sleuths, the Thursday Murder Club. All are sketched nicely but with plenty of areas left hazy around their backgrounds to have space to add to them at a later date.

Whilst the professionals are interesting but recognisable tropes, the amateurs are something much more refreshing. Not since Miss Marple have we been presented with such fantastic examples of older characters displaying intelligence and acuity but without Miss M’s prissiness. It made me wonder why that is? After all, if someone has been a bright, responsible professional throughout their life, why should this be assumed to stop on the day that their free bus pass is handed over? I love the way that these characters are individually drawn so lovingly, with such diverse backgrounds and that the device which brings them together - a sort of gated retirement community - is at once inventive and credible.

I have the feeling that these are characters which will continue developing and I’m really looking forward to more installments.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK and the author for my ARC.

This was not my usual read but I like the author so I thought I would give it a go and was pleasantly surprised. It is a cosy book with some absolutely fascinating characters and I am really hoping there will be more books about these characters. Highly recommend this book #TheThursdayMurderClub #NetGalley

This was just a very British and fun book. A good take on the genre and very enjoyable, have recommended to a few people already

Forget ‘Four Weddings and a funeral’ - this is more like ‘Four Funerals, no Weddings, and a Sprinkling of Mercy Killings’!
Warm and life affirming despite the deaths: Osman invokes deep affection and respect for the super-sleuthing residents of Coopers Chase retirement village. My favourite characters were the adorable yet vulnerable Joyce (watch out for those double doors!), and of course the hilariously ridiculous, and outstandingly vain Ian Ventham! Please can we have more adventures with this gang - I miss my new friends already!

Written from the perspective of Joyce who lives in an exclusive retirement village Coopers Chase.
Joyce joins the Thursday Murder Club, a group of residents who look at the evidence on unsolved crimes and try to solve them. Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Ron and Penny an ex police officer who is now seriously ill.
Ian Ventham is the vain, cocky majority shareholder in Coopers Chase who planning on extending the facility but doesn't want Tony Curran who owns 25% to be involved.
When Tony Curran is subsequently murdered the murder club decide to involve themselves in the investigation. Getting onside with the investigating officers PC Donna & DCI Chris Hudson they help and at times hinder.
When Ian Ventham is then killed they begin to wonder if the men were killed because of the planned extension to the site or if there is something else going on.
The idea was quite good but it was just badly written and far, far too drawn out.

Sometimes a book screams ‘TV rights already sold!’ before you start reading. This is certainly the case with this tale of murder solving OAPs in an upmarket retirement village. However, don’t let you put you off, this is a gem of book, and a joy to read.
Richard Osman has the gift of wonderful characterisation and description. The retirement village and it’s gang of octogenarian sleuths led by the formidable Elizabeth are brought wonderfully to life. If there is a lesson to be learnt from The Thursday Murder Club, it is not write retirees off; they have seen And learnt plenty in their lives and almost certainly know a great deal more than the younger generation.
I’m sure this will end up on Sunday night TV in the not too distant future, and this won’t be the end of their adventures. I think that’s a rather good thing.

I loved this book. The characters are not typically ones you would find as protagonists, and they are all so unique. A charming murder mystery from start to end, and I appreciated the nods and references to British culture, which I did not realise had been missing from other books until I read this one!

I loved the way the old people were portrayed in this novel. Richard Osman had created a foursome of funny, loveable characters with real spark and gave a fantastic insight into older age. There were plenty of very funny sections as well as a really engaging murder mystery. I can’t wait to read more escapades of the Thursday Murder Club or to see this novel as a film.

I really enjoyed this book. At first it reminded me of elderly tv detective shows like Murder She Wrote and Diagnosis Murder! The members of The Thursday Murder club were charming, funny and full of mystery - I'd love to know what Elizabeth's job used to be! At first I thought this was just going to be a fun comfort read, but the plot really developed and I ended up hooked! There were so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. A very clever story, very well written and full of humour. I'm really looking forward to the next in the series.

I absolutely loved this book not my usual genre. I requested it from net galley as I love Richard. I thought it started off very twee but it was a bit of a rollercoaster of a who dunnit. The characters were fantastic all with such depth and interesting back stories. A real page turner I was up u til 3am to finish it.

In a luxurious retirement village, four friends meet every Thursday to try and solve cold unsolved cases. When one of the owners of the retirement village is killed, the group have a present day case to solve. This book is so warm and funny and original. Respect for the generation who now find themselves in retirement villages/care homes oozes off the page. Richard Osman brings to life this community and you can easily picture Joyce and Elizabeth heading off to ‘interview’ one of their suspects. This novel is crying out for a TV adaptation and would slot seamlessly into Sunday evening programming. The only slight criticism I would have is that the pace of the novel is very gentle and I was not completely gripped by it so it took me a little longer than usual to read it. It is such a lovely read though and such a lovely world to inHabit while reading.

Set in a retirement village where 4 of the residents aid/hamper the police in solving a string of murders.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Richard Osman has come up with an absolute cracker of a first book.

Set in a retirement village, the characters are believable, funny and endearing. With every twist and turn, so the reader is drawn more in to the mysterious goings on.

Well written, and light of hand, I would thoroughly recommend this book.

Allow me to introduce you to the Thursday Murder Club members who all live in Coopers Chase Retirement Village in Kent. There’s Elizabeth who has a very mysterious and intriguing past, then there’s Joyce an ex-nurse, firebrand Red Ron Richie scourge of whatever needs scourging and Ibrahim Arif a retired psychiatrist. Now if you think because they live in a retirement village they are past it, let me disillusion you here and now. They’re sharper than the sharpest tacks especially Elizabeth. They cleverly rope PC Donna De Freitas into their coterie and before you know it DCI Chris Hudson is entangled too. They are investigating the murder of Tony Curran who owned 25% of Coopers Chase, the remainder by Ian Ventham who is well named as he often does vent. So far so good, except of course it is never that simple ..... what unfolds is a tale of dark deeds some of which are well buried. The story is told from the perspectives of most of the protagonists and interspersed with Joyce’s highly entertaining journal.

Well that was far from Pointless Mr Osman. Sorry, couldn’t resist and I’ll bet he’s never heard that one before. You can tell from the TV show that the author is one smart cookie and he’s a smart cookie who can write too. Rather well. The plot is fast paced, keeps you guessing as it’s got many a twist along the way, sometimes convoluted so you have to keep up but it’s very clever. The best thing about the book is the characters. They are simply fantastic, there is never a dull moment when the club members are about and Donna and Chris are terrific characters too. I must also mention Polish builder Bogdan too - phlegmatic and enigmatic, still waters run very deep there. It’s funny, darkly droll or wry, it’s witty, the style is very lively, it intrigues from start to finish and so is a very entertaining book. I love the TV references, some of from a while ago. Juliet Bravo, that certainly takes me back!

Overall, what a wonderful amusing read and I applaud the author for making the lead characters of retirement age and proving to be such good company as the story unfolds. Highly recommended as it’s just that little bit different.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK/Viking for the ARC

This quirky, quintessentially British, crime novel was so much fun - just what many of us need right now.

Richard Osman has a unique writing style, which took a bit of getting used to particularly as some chapters are written in the third person and some from the point of view of Joyce, one of the Thursday Murder Club's member and residents of the retirement village. But, his unusual rambling style fitted the theme perfectly, particularly Joyce's chapters, reflecting the chatty, scatty manner in which elderly people often muse. This extract, from Joyce, sums up what I'm trying to say perfectly:"It is called the Jigsaw Room, by the way, because this is where the bigger jigsaw are completed, on a gently sloping wooden table in the centre of the room. When I first walked in, there was a 2,000-piecer of Whitstable harbour, missing a letterbox of a sky. I once went to Whitstable, just for the day, but I couldn't really see what the fuss was all about. Once you've done the oysters, there's no real shopping to speak of. Anyway...."

Madcap yes but Osman manages to perfectly balance the mystery with the everyday preoccupations of his elderly characters, their opinions of each other and descriptions of daily life in the retirement village daily life. Whilst not something serious murder mystery fans will probably like, I thought the other elements provided a really nice touch and made sense as murders don't typically take place in a vacuum, after all. It does mean, however, that there's a lot going on and the plot becomes quite complex with lots of intertwining stories, some which are actually relevant to the murder and others more to individual characters (everyone has a story to tell after all).

There was probably one too many strands to the story line so it didn’t always flow smoothly, was a little too convoluted and confusing at times, and somewhat far-fetched. But, I did like the way the author didn't force a tenuous link between all the different strands, even though it meant I wasn't keen on all of the motives in the end.

Osman says he based the story on a visit to a retirement home and some of the characters he meet there. However, he dreamed them up it really is the diverse characters that make this book - nothing else matters. I love stories featuring young at heart older people and felt real affection for the eccentric crew of amateur detectives. And, that's really part of the charm, the way the characters show that just because they are all old and rightfully worried about their mortality, they are also living very much in the here and now. They use all their charm and wile to gain any advantage they can to try and solve the murder. As Elizabeth aptly says: "Imagine if we only ever did what we were supposed to?"

When reprimanded by the police, Elizabeth also says: "You might try to explain to the CPS that four people in their seventies and eighties have failed to report digging up a body....With what evidence, other than the inadmissible confession you've taken from us this evening? And with four suspects, all of whom are quite happy to go to court, smile happily and pretend to mistake the judge for their granddaughter."

Despite being a light-hearted comedic type murder mystery, because of the age of the main characters it does also touch on some pretty serious subjects including medical issues, physical decline, loneliness, grief and loss. But, once again Osman manages to juggle the two seamlessly and with respect.

Not without its issues, but take it as it's meant (not too seriously) and you've got yourself a fun, entertaining, and eccentric mystery which makes for a wonderful break from the dark and grisly nature of much of this genre. I, for one, am looking forward to the next in this crime series and seeing what Joyce and the gang get up to next.

This is a delightful murder mystery story with a certain charm. The characters are wonderful and the story was definitely good fun. Although it gets a little complex at times, with all the different subplots and characters, it's wrapped up nicely.

When Tony Curran is found dead, there is no shortage of suspects, and there are plenty of people trying to ascertain the identity of the culprit. The members of the Thursday Murder Club, a spritely collection of retirees from various walks of life, the local CID, and PC De Freitas, desperate for something more interesting than giving talks on security to the residents of the local retirement village, are all only too anxious to play their part.
Told from various viewpoints, including diary entries from former nurse Joyce, the newest member of the Club, the characters are revealed as the story unfolds. Managing the Club and benignly manipulating the activities of the unfortunate detective inspector, is the formidable Elizabeth with an apparently limitless number of favours to call in from her unspecified former career. Witty dialogue and deft plotting create a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable police procedural with a twist, shot through with dry humour and great characterisation. I hope the Thursday Murder Club will be back with a new mystery very soon.
I can't buy this for our library as our oldest readers are only eleven years old, but I enjoyed this book immensely and will recommend it to all my fellow bookworms.

I enjoyed this book but found the end a bit confusing as there were so many people involved in a variety of scenarios. Might be my age - I could the heading to Coopers Chase. Certainly a very different story with a sofa of Miss Marples

Persevere...initially I found the number of characters confusing and their role in the storyline too subtle.. However, as the book progressed the main characters became more defined and easier to identify with. Also in the beginning the writing came across more as a script than a novel but was easy to adjust to.
However, keep reading as the novel becomes to flow and the characters grow on you.
think "New Tricks" meets "Last of the Summer Wine" set in a retirement village.
looking forward to the next instalment.

Ooo... Richard Osman from Pointless has written a book. Now, not being scared of a drop of "celebrity writers" even those who cheat a little, I knew that this would be in a whole class above the rest. For no reason than I know he is a smart cookie at the best of times as well as being a crime fiction aficionado. So... I had high hopes and expectations going into this book. And I'm very please to add that it did indeed tick all the boxes I need to make a good book a great read. Well, there is just one more I'd like - for it to be the start of a new series... please :)
So. We meet Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Roy. Four golden oldies living in a retirement village who also happen to be members of The Thursday Murder Club where they ponder on, and offer solutions for, old unsolved murders. One day though, they are thrown into disarray when they all get caught up in a real murder, that of a property developer, and pretty soon realise that they are best placed to assist in their very own first "live" murder case... Much to the consternation of the police, I hasten to add!
And so begins a cracking story, an interesting plot, interwoven around and about some very well crafted characters as we follow our gang's endeavours to bring the perpetrator to justice... before the police!
I loved this book, and I do hear a whisper that it could well be the start of a series - yay - I'm so glad about that as during my time with the characters I kinda got to know them a bit, got to like them too. You know the type of characters that you are sad to say goodbye to at the end of a book.
Plotting is amazing and executed so very well that I really hope most of you go in as blind as you can so as not to pick up early clues from reviews. Everything should, and must, be discovered at the right times for maximum impact. So, I'll say no more about it other than I do admit to sitting back and applauding the author in several places when the penny finally dropped - or was revealed to me.
All in all a cracking read that I thoroughly enjoyed and am really looking forward to what I hope will be the next in what looks like it could become a favourite series. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.