I’d heard from so many friends The Thursday Murder Club was both funny and well written that I had to go against my better judgement and give it a go. I was sceptical of another TV personality ‘churning out a popular genre book to cash in’.

The setting is believable as 4 retired professionals now in their 70’s meet up once a week to try and solve cold cases to keep their brain cells active and relieve the boredom ageing has bestowed on them. Each has something to offer as they bring their former career skills back to the fore. A psychiatrist, a spy, a nurse and a professional rebel rouser...quite the quartet.
However the old trope of amateur sleuths being one step ahead of the local police brought back memories of Christie’s Miss Marple & TV’s Jessica Fletcher to name but 2.

The humour I was expecting was there initially but dried up fairly quickly. The story became a bit pedestrian., there was a twist (predictable) but too many bodies, too many motives and even too many killers.

Nice moments as the characters were fleshed out but even this seemed at the expense of the actual story. Disappointing debut but that’s not to say I would not pick up Osman’s next book out of curiosity but it would probably not jump to the top of my ‘to be read pile’.

When lockdown hit last March, I really lost my reading mojo as most of my reading was done on my commute and in my lunch, so I've struggled to get back into it.

This was a good book to ease back into proper reading. It's funny, well written and a nice, easy read. I only figured out half of what was going on, so well done to Osman for fooling me. I've already recommended this book to quite a few friends.

Off topic, but I had my mind blown last week when I discovered Osman is sibling to Mat Osman, bassist in Suede! Who also has a book out, so I'll keep an eye out for that one.

Thank you to the publishers, author and Netgalley for an Advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This novel was completely unexpected. I never expected to be so moved by a crime novel. I did not expect to fall in love with the characters nor did I think that there could be so many unexpected twists and turns in a mystery. I definitely never expected to laugh so much.

The story centres around happenings in a retirement village and the The Thursday Murder Club who are not as keen on jigsaws as they are on solving cold cases. Their newest member, Joyce, narrates some of the story and she is nothing short of delightful. Together with the other members, Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron, Joyce seeks to solve the murder of a brash developer. They unearth long buried secrets while having the odd sherry and only involve the local police when they are good and ready.

The police are as enamoured with the group as I became and I am sure you will love them too. Please say this isn't the last time we read of their escapades.

This is the best book I've read so far in 2021. It is absolutely delightful. In addition, I treated myself to the audiobook version and Lesley Manville does a terrific job narrating it. In fact, I'd quite like her to be the voice of all the audiobooks I'll be listening to in the future.

Richard Osman is a very good writer. He is not only masterful at developing the various adjacent subplots of this mystery novel, but his characterisation is truly skilful. All his characters are complex, multi-faceted human beings and that comes across so strongly from beginning to the end.

Finally, I loved his gentle sense of humour. This is not a laugh-out loud book, but it's full of such clever turns of phrase that can't help but make you chuckle throughout.

I cant't wait for the sequel and to be reunited with the Thursday Murder Club!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest and impartial review.

This delightful debut novel takes us for a visit to the peaceful and upmarket Coopers Chase Retirement Village, where four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club! They comprise of the networking extraordinaire Elizabeth, a capable and mysterious woman; the details man Ibrahim, a retired psychiatrist; and the muscle of the group Ron, a union leader once known as ‘Red Ron’ by the newspapers.

The newest member of the group is the quiet, kind and often overlooked Joyce, who was recently invited to join because of her medical knowledge as a former nurse. It is through Joyce’s rather scattered but endearing diary that we become acquainted with life at the idyllic Coopers Chase and of the club, its members and what they get up to. Then suddenly a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to his body, and so the TMC find themselves with their first live case to investigate! 🔎

Oh boy, I don’t know the last time I read anything this fun! You have to slightly suspend belief a little at times, but this is a rollicking good murder mystery with bucket loads of clues, red herrings, suspects, long-lost mysteries and plenty of laughs, too! Our protagonists might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves, and what they lack in youth, teeth and mobility, they make up for with experience, cunning and copious amounts of tea and cake!

They are soon running rings around suspects and police alike, with their innocent, doddering, ‘butter-wouldn’t-melt’ act and bribery of the delicious baked goods variety! Poor lonely and overweight DCI Chris Hudson, the lead on the case, doesn’t stand a chance with this wily gang and they also take a shine to recent London Met transfer, PC Donna de Freitas and work to get her on the case too. So all that is left to say is, as the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant amateur sleuths, with the help of the police, catch the killer before it’s too late?!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, which I thought I was wonderfully eccentric and quintessentially British murder mystery! I am super excited there is a second book planned – I can’t wait for more from these cool septuagenarians!

An intriguing tale, very cleverly written. It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of the story but I am so glad I persevered. Set in a retirement village it features residents who have formed the Thursday Murder Club, mainly looking at cold cases but when a real murder or two appear they are in their element.

I loved the premise of this and the characters are very likeable. But I found this book to include too much dialogue and a little slow-paced.

I will read the next one in the series though.

This was one of my favourite books of 2020. It was so well written. It subtly made important critiques of society (setting up your own company to tender for bids for your work sounds very 2020) without getting in the way of a good story. The Thursday murder club members were all very likeable and believable (we all know someone like Elizabeth) and the story was well paced. The humour and jokes landed every time and we were kept guessing until the very end. Hurry up and write the next one!

Title : The Thursday Murder Club

Author : Richard Osman

Genre : Mystery / Thriller

The first time I came across the title of this book was in one of the Booktube videos and I felt pretty intrigued about it. It came into my attention once again when this went in rounds as a lot of recommendations and I was sure that I'll pick up this one. I was not aware of the author and only realised before writing this review that the author is a celebrity of sorts and this is how I felt about his latest offering.

The story revolves around a group of friends who are now retired and live in a small village in Kent. To pass their time, they generally try figuring out unsolved cases in their jigsaw room and they call their club as The Thursday Murder Club. Their excitement reaches a peak when two murders takes place back to back in their village which enables them to don their thinking hats and solve the murder with the help of a newly appointed police officer. Join in with Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron as they try to find out who has tried to disturb peace in their little town.

The book jumps into action pretty much from the word go. We are taken into the journey of these septuagenarians from the point of view of Joyce who notes down everything in her diary and the actual story. The plot looks pretty simple and one can predict the climax almost when they reach half the book but what lets you keep going is that the novel is quite easy to read and makes up for those cozy days that one always looks forward to reading it.

This book would be my recommendation to anyone who wants to read a mystery thriller and yet end up with having that feel good factor. The small instances in the story surely tends to bring that smile on your face and yet makes you craving for more. Now, looking forward to its sequel which is promised to be better and much more fun.

My Ratings - 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4 out of 5 stars)

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for sending a copy in exchange for a review.

This was a heartwarming and genuinely cosy Murder mystery book with fantastically well written characters!

I loved it and so did my 73 year old father, and I look forward to book number 2!

I enjoyed the relationships between the older characters. Their personalities were well constructed. However, there were too many mysteries happening at the same time. I was also expecting a little more comedy. Yet in summary it's an entertaining read.

I really liked this book , it was light relief from all what happening, I liked Richard Osman that was actually why I picked this book, a lot of light hearted and funny moment also very clever conversation.

I love how people talk and how the character complex but lovely group of elderly people.
Very quirky mystery, I loved Elizabeth also the other characters were very interesting and funny.
I can see this as mini series in BBC one soon as it shows the quirkiness of village life and it is a breath of fresh air.

Osman really knows how to bring his characters to life, It was one of my shop's best-sellers in the run up to Christmas and having now read it I can absolutely understand why. Filled with comic moments, one-liners and gags, dry British humour that made me chuckle out loud!

I was interested in this book as there was so much talk about it and I like Richard Osman on tv.

I found the book funny and I could imagine what the characters life was like in their little community.

There were twists when I thought I knew what was happening and then I was thrown.

I enjoyed the characters and the idea of them trying to solve old police cases.

I hope their is another book and it becomes a series.

I would recommend this book.

I was gifted an ecopy of The Thursday Murder Club by @penguinukbooks and I will probably end up buying a copy for my gran, if only to convince her that old people's homes are not the waiting rooms for death that she is convinced they are. The sheer amount of booze that the residents of Cooper's Chase manage to consume might be all the persuasion she needs. I hope that coronavirus hasn't stopped Joyce from being able to get her deliveries of cake ingredients.

The book is set in Cooper's Chase a retirement village for frankly quite well off people. Once a week 4 of its residents; Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron meet up for the Thursday Murder Club. The club was originally started by Penny, a former police officer, who has now sadly moved to the end of life care facility in the village. Initially the club investigate cold cases, but then a murder takes place that is linked to the village and Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron take it upon themselves to help out the police investigation.

Elizabeth has a mysterious past as a former spy, and her skills come in very useful during the investigation, much to the chagrin of the local police. PC Donna de Freitas is a great character, you can just tell she had an indomitable granny and knows not to bother arguing with Elizabeth once she gets a full head of steam going.

The book is written with much of the same warm, gentle humour that Richard Osman is known for in his TV appearances. There is also an underlying pathos running through the book. The club are able to insinuate themselves into the investigation and get away with the stunts they pull because nobody really expects much of old people, do they? Time is also against the club members, and there is a sense throughout the book, particularly through Elizabeth's character that this might be their last hurrah.

The book has been out for a few weeks now and if you haven't been convinced to buy it yet, but are looking for a book that will take your mind off the binfire that is 2020, this might be it.

I really love murder mysteries but found I could not get into this at all.
I could not find any empathy for the characters and could not enjoy the plot. It's good but no to me.
Thanks netgalley

THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB is ‘National Treasure’ Richard Osman’s debut crime novel and a sequel is on its way. The titular club meets on a Thursday to discuss old/unsolved murder cases and the four current members are Elizabeth, newcomer Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim and they reside in Coopers Chase Retirement Village in leafy Kent.
They soon have a current murder to investigate when one of the builders of the Village is found bludgeoned to death shortly after an argument with his business partner.
Elizabeth, a former secret agent by all accounts, has fingers in many pies and that includes the local police force, following a routine visit from PC Donna who only went there to talk about home security.
Elizabeth is soon at work, getting Donna onto the Murder Squad led by DCI Chris with a view to both teams sharing information.
When a second murder occurs, it brings things closer to home as it seems a killer might live at the Village.
Will Team Elizabeth get to the truth before Team Donna?
This is a very enjoyable read. It’s funny and the characters are a joy. Often in amateur-detective novels the police are portrayed as a bit dim, but Donna and Chris are anything but. Indeed, all the characters are likeable including a few “lovable rogues”. The storytelling is breezy with short chapters and a variety of points of view, interspersed with diary entries from Joyce. It’s well plotted with mystery upon mystery with long-buried secrets reluctantly being revealed.
If you like the sound of this then you might also want to try Simon Brett’s Fethering books, and his Mrs Pargeter series.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. I didn't realise how cosy crime the book was going to be when I requested it and that was my mistake. I'm sorry. It was well written and I loved some of the characters, particularly Elizabeth and Joyce but it was a little too slow for me.

However, I do run a virtual crime book club that meets on zoom once a month and this month we discussed The Thursday Murder Club and it was well received with most of the members enjoying it. You can review the video of the meeting at the link below.

I tried so hard to enjoy this book, as I have heard some amazing reviews about it, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.
I found the whole idea of a group of people from a Retirement village, solving cold cases, entirely unbelievable from the start.
I found it quite long winded and unfortunately I looked for every opportunity to do something else other than read, which really isn't like me at all.

This was good fun and refreshing to have older protagonists. A lot of charm and wit. Perhaps unnecessarily muddled and complicated towards the end, but would like to see more in the series.