I enjoyed the murder mystery, particularly the unlikely heroes of the elderly super-sleuth residents of a care home.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron set out to crack a murder on their doorstep, staying well ahead of the local constabulary and my own thoughts on whodunnit.

Love, love, love this book!
There are many marvellous laugh-out-loud moments, and Osman brings us characters we would all love to know better. The setting is unusual - how much fun could a care home possibly be for those of us some decades off? - but be prepared to have your assumptions upended. The storyline is suitably twisty and holds your interest - and you won't guess whodunnit till the end.
I do hope he is planning sequels.

This is very much the book I was hoping it would be. Warm, clever, intelligent, funny - the story of a retirement community hunting down murderers sounds - well, actually it sounds as ingenious as it is. There are some wonderful characters in this book. It's such an easy read, but so absorbing too.

This is a great idea for a book with a clever setting and vibrant characters. It would make a great tv series, and in places I felt it read more like a TV spinoff than a standalone book . But it was an enjoyable read.

What a fun book! Picture a bevy of Marples relocated to Exotic Marigold Hotel.
With a fantastic cast of characters and a clever plot, this rip-roaring mystery takes place in an exclusive retirement village in Kent. The residents from the Thursday Murder Club set up initially to solve cold cases purely for their own enjoyment end up investigating murders that directly involve themselves and their friends. Will they solve it?
Charming and highly enjoyable with a lot of chuckling. Great stuff.

I really love Richard Osman and was really excited to read this. So excited that it jumped to the top of my pile of books to read.

I feel bad saying this but I just didn't enjoy the book at all. It was much too wordy and I struggled to connect to the characters at all or being interested in them.
There is some great dark humour but overall this book wasn't for me and I am really sorry to say that.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did find that this book jumps between characters a lot and I would often find myself a bit confused and having to reread a sentence or two. Having said that, the characters are all very likeable, the storyline kept me interested and I did enjoy it. 3.5 stars

Thank you to #netgalley and #penguinuk for the free copy in exchange for an honest opinion. #thethursdaymurderclub

I hadn't even heard that Richard Osman had written a book before I came across The Thursday Murder Club on Netgalley, so my thanks to them and the publishers for my copy.

Richard Osman is such a clever, clever man; we love Pointless and for the last few years our family Christmas fun has been based around his quiz Two Tribes so I was going into this a little bit on the biased side. And, oh my word I was not disappointed, the book is a joy and nothing like I expected. If you remember the British TV series Waiting For God, also set in a retirement village, I felt it was a cross between that and Miss Marple and, in fact would probably also make a great TV series in itself.

This is probably the funniest murder story I have ever read and yet it still gets the old grey cells working as it has lots of twists and turns and maybe I should warn that tissues may be required at the end.

All in all a very entertaining read and I hope it's the first of many as it's refreshing to see the older generation starring in a great plot.

It's one of those books that make you want to grab a hot cup of steaming tea, and a sink under a duvet as you read. I did just that!. 

The Thursday Murder Club is a short crime fiction novel, but set in a retirement village. This place is home to a quirky group of four 80-year-olds who like to play detective. (It's how I wish my retirement to be!)

If Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie would have planned a book, it might have been something like this. Of course, we cannot compare Richard Osman to such legends! Yet the characters
reminded me, at times, of The Secret Seven and sometimes of the Miss Marple series. 

My verdict is that it is a good one time read. It seems like the start of a new series, so we might as well jump right in! 

Will be posting a longer review a fortnight or so before the publish date on: https://thebookbuff.com/ https://www.instagram.com/therealbookbuff

I have heard a lot about Richard Osman's debut novel and was keen to see if it lived up to the hype. It did - and some. I couldn't put #TheThursdayMurderClub down. It is such a novel idea and will undoubtedly sell quicker than M&S lemon drizzle cake. I can think of at least 10 people I want to buy it for.
The main characters are four friends living in what sounds like a very nice retirement community in rural Kent, and they pass their time working on unsolved police cases shared by their neighbour a retired police officer. The elderly Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron are spirited, funny and engaging. Everyone needs an Elizabeth in their lives. She is the unspoken leader of the Thursday Murder Club and clearly a retired M16 operative or such like. I loved her.
The book also introduces the likeable police officers, Chris and Donna, who become involved in a crime that occurs and find themselves working alongside the Thursday Murder Club, whether they like it or not.
A fun and yet poignant book that sensitively considers growing old and the fear of losing meaning and independence.
I am hoping there will be a sequel - I would definitely read it.
Thank you to Richard Osman, his publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this charming novel.

The Thursday Murder Club is the debut novel from Richard Osman, he of Pointless and House of Games fame. He’s always come across as an intelligent guy with a way with words, so giving it a go was a no-brainer. I’m so glad that I did – I absolutely adored it.

Set in Coopers Chase Retirement Village, an upmarket retirement home in Kent, the novel follows the amateur sleuthing efforts of a small group of retirees who meet on a Thursday (they can only get a two-hour slot in the Jigsaw Room then, in between the meetings of the Art History Club and the Conversational French group) to try to solve a number of cold murder cases.

Using the benefits of their varied expertise, they investigate the case files left by ex-police inspector Penny, a founding member of the Club since lost to the ravages of dementia and moved to the nearby Willows nursing home. Now the group consists of Ibrahim (former psychiatrist), Ron (former Trade Union leader), Joyce (former nurse), and their unofficial leader, Elizabeth, who has a background veiled in mystery of the ‘if I told you what I did, I’d have to kill you’ kind.

The cold cases are quickly set aside, however, when there is a murder related to Cooper’s Chase. The business partner of the scheming owner of the retirement village is found dead at his home, so Elizabeth and the gang swing into action. Roping in the unwilling and sometimes unwitting involvement of two members of the local police force, they throw themselves into the investigation and find that nobody is beneath consideration.

Told in a combination of epistolary and narrative form, The Thursday Murder Club is a gentle but sometimes bittersweet cosy murder mystery that I simply can’t pick fault with. The characters are fantastic, especially Elizabeth, who is devious and manipulative, but always in a polite and understated way, so that you don’t realise you’ve been manipulated until after it happens (and you end up not minding anyway). Joyce’s relationship with her daughter is poignant and sincere, and made me miss my own Mam so much. The mystery aspect throws up multiple diversions and red herrings, and I admit that I couldn’t figure out who the killer(s) was/were before the end.

For a debut novel, Osman has done fantastically. If there isn’t a sequel, I am going to be so incredibly cross. Everybody needs Elizabeth in their life.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved killings.

But when a local property developer shows up dead, 'The Thursday Murder Club' find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

The four friends, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

I didn’t anticipate to read this book as fast as I did.

The first half of this book does begin slow as we build the scene but the second half of this book you just fall into, the pace being picked up and the story unfolding perfectly. As the loose ends of the tale begin to get tied, the book really comes into its own and our collection of characters, particularly The Murder Club really do keep pulling you into this book from beginning to end, particularly with Joyce’s narration running throughout.

The voice of the author shines throughout this story, a little dry wit, a little sarcasm that you almost hear the author saying sometimes and it makes for some light moments in a book that left me in tears at the end. The characters are built perfectly and kept human throughout this book that sometimes I was sat there thinking, I swear I know this person and that makes the story feel more real and immerses the reader more deeply within it.

Plot wise, sometimes I thought I knew the answer, and then I definitely did not know the answer, you’re set up to believe one thing and it is not the thing, the lack of predictability in this book is so well done and I loved it for it. Each twist and turn is brilliant and thoughtfully done, (Spoiler) the story of Father Mackie for example is so heartbreaking and a really hit-you-where-it-hurts part of the book for me. (spoiler ended).

With characters that really build and grow throughout the story, a plot that swerves and changes at breakneck speed and in a setting that works perfectly throughout, The Thursday Murder Club is an excellent start to series I can’t wait for the second of, I look forward to seeing Elizabeth, Joyce, Elizabeth and Ibrahim again soon and I’ll be shocked if this isn’t a drama or film sometime in the near future, this book is perfectly made for adaptation.

Four of the most unlikely people to be in a club together meet every Thursday to solve old crimes. They live in a lovely retirement village and all seems idyllic. That is until a murder happens close to home and the club decide to solve the crime themselves. Can these retirees really do what the police can’t before things get worse?
Richard Osman has written a clever story with unlikely heroes that has a wonderful sense of drama and great twists you don’t see coming and all crafted with a great air of comedy in the background.
This was a fantastic debut that I thought was highly entertaining.

Wasn't too sure about this when I started reading but when I got into the characters I found it amusing. Think Richard may have been inspired by a few doughty female actresses.
Good holiday read

Richard Osman's debut novel is quaint, cosy, charming and quintessentially British.

Written in a quirky, chatty style reminiscent of Fredrik Backman, The Thursday Murder Club is a light and easy read with a good dose of humour. The story is set in a retirement village in England, where our characters meet every Thursday to discuss unsolved murders. However, the story becomes ridiculous when the police end up working with them in order to solve cases.

The characters in the story are sadly underdeveloped and rather stereotypical - we have the hardworking Polish builder, the egotistical, ruthless property developer and the downtrodden policeman. I found Elizabeth to be particularly irritating.

Overall, a charming, easy read if somewhat predictable.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Books (UK) and Viking for the ARC.

I have to admit that I am a bit of a Richard Osman fan. Living in Australia with English parents and I married a Brit as well, we watch alot of British TV. He is a very clever and funny man, so when I heard that he was writing a fiction novel I was super keen to read it. The Thursday Murder Club was a charming and funny story that I spent my weekend engrossed in. It is not a full on crime fiction novel, it is a sweet murder mystery that will keep you guessing and have you falling in love with the quirky characters. It will appeal to all sots of readers and I look forward to the second book in the series already.

The residents of an exclusive retirement village in the Kent area of England are not giving up on life. In fact, they are having the times of their lives. Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron and Ibrahim have formed their own club, the Thursday Murder Club, where they look into old cases (a former member worked in the police and took the fires with her when she retired!) Over tea and cake they look for clues to try to solve these cases. But when there is a murder in the village just you try and stop them from investigating! Even better when a second case comes along and they discover links to the past. Will they crack the case?

These characters are so much fun! They love being older and use it to their advantage. They get away with things that others might not necessarily even think of. Elizabeth in particular is like a dog with a bone and will stop at nothing to get the facts. Joyce writes herself a diary each day and through this we learn alot more about her friends and their antics.

I loved this book and hope that many many people will find some joy in reading it.

Thank you to Viking Books UK for my advanced copy of this book to read.

Among the acknowledgements at the end of the book is the following: ″Thank you to my mum, Brenda Osman. I hope that, amongst other things, there is a sense of kindness and justice, running through The Thursday Murder Club, and that comes from you.″ For me, that sense of kindness and justice was very strong. We see the story unfolding from many viewpoints and understand why people do what they do, even if we don′t agree with their actions. There is an empathy towards the state of growing older, and the gradual loss that arises from that which adds a quiet melancholy to many of these viewpoints. The elderly characters suffer the whole range of problems that people encounter in old age, and sometimes use these vulnerabilities ruthlessly to progress their detecting, but they aren′t described as less than human. When one of the characters leaves the room where a woman lies in a coma with her husband of fifty years sitting reading nearby it is described like this, ″Elizabeth leaves the lovers together.″
There are actually several mysteries throughout the book, all interwoven, and it′s satisfying to get each one resolved. Perhaps I appreciated this more since I′m of retirement age myself, but it was good to see how the main four protagonists used their experience, including their knowledge of people, to work out the solutions. They′re not wunderkinds, although they all have their own brand of intelligence, and one of the characters has a very useful background in what may have been one of the security services.
I wanted to read this book initially because I′ve enjoyed the author′s wit when I′ve seen him in various programmes, and that dry with runs through the book. Perhaps not many laugh out loud moments – except possibly a bit with two Tupperware containers near the end – but lots of wry chuckles, and a glee in going against conventional assumptions. I found it a delight to read, and this review ended up taking longer to write than I meant since I kept re-reading some of my favourite sections.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

Charming and quirky, even if I did get slightly muddled towards the end. I was a bit sceptical about Richard Osman as an author but saw The Thursday Murder Club getting good reviews, so thought I'd give it a go, and I'm glad I did. The characters are well drawn with a real sense of personality, and I particularly liked Elizabeth. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club. Written in an amusing, chatty style, with a cast of “real characters” (by which I mean they are people about whom you would say, “he/she’s a real character”, rather than that they are real-life, people-I-know type characters). They each have their quirks which will either endear them to or irritate the reader. I found them endearing. Joyce with her irrelevant questions, Elizabeth with her mystery past and connections (could it be she’s a fantasist/Billy Liar-type personality?), were my favourites, although I have a massive soft spot for pedantic Ibrahim, too.

The action is set at a very attractive sounding retirement village in south-east England, where each Thursday a small group of residents meet to pick over the details of unsolved murders to see if they can work out whodunit (one of the founding members was in the police force and brought the details with her when she retired!).

That is, until the day Tony Curran is murdered. With a live murder case virtually on their doorstep, the group can’t resist using their sleuthing skills to help out the police/use the police to gain information to aid their own investigations. Better still, a second murder follows closely on the first, with mysteries from the past resurfacing to add more intrigue.

The twists and turns come thick and fast, especially towards the end. I must confess I got a bit lost at one point, and if I’d been reading the book in printed form, I would have flicked back to remind myself of who some of the characters from the past were and what they’d done – it’s not so easy when reading on a Kindle.

My husband commented on the amount of chuckling I was doing as I read. The humour more than made up for my odd moments of confusion. I didn’t want it to end. Loved it!

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are founder members of the Thursday Murder Club at Coopers Chase Retirement Village in Kent. When the one of the owners of the village is murdered the Police are involved but the Thursday Murder Club see an opportunity to help solve the murder then the count goes up.
I enjoyed reading this book and found the characters quite believable. The more of the book I read the harder I found it to put down. I look forward to reading the next instalment to see how the characters aredeveloping.