An absolute joy. Richard Osman is clearly highly intelligent and witty as those who have seen him on TV will know. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that his first novel is both intricate and peppered with laugh out loud moments.

What a unique book! I loved this book so much, and I won't give any of the plot away, however it has the best ending of a book that I've ever read. I loved every single character, I would so love to meet them. The way that the book is written I feel that I am there living with them. The plot developed well, and I loved the way that we got to know each character's thoughts and what they were up to. The two detectives were brilliant and had a great relationship with each other. I loved the way the residents spun them in their web, and were always one step ahead. I enjoyed the book, but the ending had me in tears, and I know I'm repeating myself, but the ending is fantastic.

'The Thursday Murder Club' was an interesting and enjoyable read. While not as fast paced or 'gritty' as some of the books I've read, it did leave me guessing the twist. The main characters, Elizabeth and Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron were very likeable, and I'm sure a whole new book could be written about Elizabeth and her past. I would class this as a 'cosy' crime book, along the lines of Agatha Raisin.

I was interested to read this as I do like Richard Osman, and i always find it interesting when presenters have a go at writing.

I thought the idea of "murder club" was interesting and I was intrigued to find out more. We got a lot about the club at the beginning and the cases they were solving, but when we got to having a real murder, that disappeared.

I felt like there were about four or five different plots going on here at one point, so I struggled to keep up. I also found the writing style to be quite jarring.

It was a nice break and light read, I'd say a holiday read.

Overall, the plot was fine, characters okay but I wouldn't be rushing for book two.

A delightful murder mystery by the television presenter Richard Osman. Set in a retirement village four friends from different walks of life are reading up on cold cases when an associate of the villages owner is murdered and they promptly set to a private investigation. I loved the characters, the pace of writing and the storytelling. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I enjoyed this book but actually not as much as I had hoped. There are some really funny moments but ultimately it never quite hit the spot for me.

Despite its title, "The Thursday Murder Club" isn't an out and out murder mystery, it's more a vehicle for exploring the world of the generation. There are very astute character observations, at times quite subtly made, and these are generally the most endearing parts of the book,

A lovely read.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron are all approaching 80 and live together in a delightful retirement village. They meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

But when a brutal killing takes place on their doorstep, they find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

Fantastic! Didn't want to leave these characters and, if anything, I didn't need the crime, I just loved the interactions between them all. It's funny and there's lots of talk of cake. Looking forward to the next instalment already!

With thanks to Penguin Books (UK) and NetGalley for the ARC.

A brilliant, funny and ultimately feel good, debut from Richard Osman.

Full review to follow...

I was super excited to read Richard Osman’s debut book as Im a fan of his and kept hearing about it and what can I say - a fabulous first book.

The four main characters were all very likeable and interesting and the book found them diverging from their usual Thursday murder club activities of reviewing closed cases to being slap bang in the middle of a new murder when a local property developer is murdered. As the developer is about to set work on part of their retirement village the residents find themselves under scrutiny too.

As the gang set about sleuthing we follow their investigation to try and catch the killer before time runs out. I would recommend a read as it’s very engaging - would also be a lovely Christmas gift as would appeal to so many age groups and genre preferences.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Books UK and he author for an ARC of this book.

This sounded like something I would enjoy and boy I was right. It is full of mystery but had plenty of laugh out loud moments. I recommend this one

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a lovely cosy read, perfect for an autumn evening. It took a little time to get to know the characters, but I found them funny and real. The mystery was good and there were some twists and turns towards the end that I loved. Looking forward to reading more of these,

It's unusual for me to discuss a book with friends - but this one has been the exception because of who the author is. Their comments about the book have been mixed so it was a twinge of uncertainty that I picked it up to read it, and it wasn't long before I found myself enjoying it! I quite enjoyed the gentle nature of the book - which seems to run throughout, even though there were two murders. I liked the members of the Thursday Murder Club - perhaps Joyce is my personal favourite, I felt she's the one who holds the story together. There are plenty of red herrings and I didn't come anywhere near to guessing who the real perpetrator of the crimes was. Even though it's a crime thriller it left me with a smile on my face and I hope there are more stories about this particular group of friends.

Wasn't sur what to expect with all the hype surrounding this, as often books can get over-hyped and under deliver, but really enjoyed this one Well written, plotted and paced, and the start to a great new series.

I really wanted to like this, as I'm a big fan of Richard Osman and I've seen all the 5 star reviews but, unpopular opinion, it just wasn't for me.

Coopers Chase is a retirement village filled with restaurants, swimming pool and daily activities and hobby groups. One of these groups is the Thursday Murder Club who take over the jigsaw room every Thursday to pour over the files of unsolved murders. There's Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim. But then, a real life murder happens in their sleepy little retirement village and it sets into motion a whole host of misfortune.

By the end my head was spinning from all the different storylines and what seemed like dozens and dozens of characters. I'd actually forget who was who. A name would come up and I'd think, who are they again. It all got rather confusing unfortunately. Everything was so far fetched. There was too much going on for me.

However, I did like the gentle British humour throughout. I liked the police officers Chris and Donna and I liked the sections of Joyce's diary.

I found that the beginning of the book really dragged, there were lots of characters who I didn't yet care about, a lot of scene setting, too many witticisms and the present tense was a bit distracting (more suited to something with more thrills).  At about 10% through I toyed with giving up but it's really unusual for me to do that so I pressed on. I found I could only continue by skipping over some of the larger blocks of text that seemed irrelevant to the story.

The premise is four elderly friends living in a very up-market retirement village who meet as the 'Thursday Murder Club' to help one of the members, a former police officer, solve her old cold cases. Then there is a real case on their doorstep and they step up with the intention of solving it before the police do.

What follows is a modern twist on a cosy crime, where the geriatric investigators attempt to lead the way, bringing their pre-retirement experience to their new role as armchair detectives, lubricated by their tipples of choice. 

There's a mix of third person pov from a number of characters with diary entries for one of the 'gang'. It jumps around a bit but once I got used to the changes in chapters it was less distracting. But what was with all the dialogue where people kept including the name of the person they were talking to? It really jarred and brought me out of the story, just not how people talk.

There were a number of touching moments as the story includes some of the issues which are inevitable in a retirement village but I did find that this bordered on being overly sentimental.

Too much escapism for me and sentimentality and when the deaths are solved I didn't find the resolution particularly satisfying.  

There has been a huge campaign surrounding this book - the author did the rounds of crime festivals last year, the blurb has quotes from a large range of authors, there's even been a blog tour - not surprising for a book thought to be the biggest deal for a debut book in a decade. But it can't be avoided that Osman appears on late-afternoon day-time TV and as such is writing about, and for, a particular audience who seem to be buying they hype. Or perhaps the appeal is a cosy mystery set in some sort of rural idyl when we're all in the midst of a pandemic.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Richard Osman, I love him on pointless and was intrigued to hear he’d written a book but wasn’t sure it was going to be my sort of thing. I’m so glad I was given a copy to read though as I was very pleasantly surprised, what a fantastic first novel!
A multi-murder mystery with a myriad of colourful characters, The Thursday Murder Club is a brilliant read that will keep you guessing right up until the very end. The characters are wonderful - I want to grow up to be Elizabeth! - and there are lots of twists and turns; it’s not often that I don’t figure out an ending but Osman has cleverly woven a fabulous tale here. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good whodunnit with a tenderness thrown in too.

This book is set in a luxurious retirement village where the residents sip wine with their lunch in beautiful grounds.

Joyce, who never causes offence and is very amenable, is invited to join Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron’s Thursday Murder Club.

The purpose of The Thursday Murder Club is to try to solve previously unsolved police cases. This keeps the four octogenarians mentally alert and very much on the ball.

It is very exciting for them when a Murder takes place on their doorstep. Whilst trying to uncover the culprit, another person is killed.

The four have great fun solving the mystery.

I enjoyed this book, it’s like a Famous Five (without Timmy the Dog) for grown-ups! Despite the subject matter being Murder, it’s such a warm, snuggly read - it reminded me of Rebecca Shaw’s ‘Village’ books.

I rate this book 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I have to say, what a delight Richard Osmans crime fiction debut is. If you have any doubts about reading this; maybe you’re thinking, ‘oh no, not another celebrity author’, well, stop right there. This is a funny, moving, cleverly written book.

Elizabeth and her three closest friends love to solve a cold case. They start the Thursday Murder club as a way to enjoy their time at Coopers Chase Retirement village. But when someone they know is murdered, it’s the perfect opportunity to use their powers of deduction. Only, it’s not that simple, as secrets are uncovered and more bodies surface.

I really like Richard Osman as a television presenter, but I could not warm to this book unfortunately. I appreciate the clever writing, but the story just did not appeal to me. There are too many stereotypical ‘old folk’ in the story, which I assume is a kind of homage to Agatha Christie whodunnits. That author has never appealed to me, so possibly this is why this one didn’t either.
The content of the murder/s and the flippant manner with which they are dealt, made me uncomfortable. The sudden death of a person, anyone - is tragic and should be treated seriously.
Sad to say this was a DNF for me, though I’m sure it will appeal to many AC fans
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.

A deceptively light-hearted murder mystery involving the Thursday Murder club, a group of pensioners in a luxury retirement home. The club was originally established to solve ‘cold cases’ but is now intent on solving a recent local murder.
I would call them amateur sleuths but the group was founded by ex-police detective Penny and Elisabeth who seems to have done something hush-hush in the secret services and has an awful lot of very useful connections! Each of the other members of the group has a useful talent and a well-defined personality but without seeming to be caricatures.

The story is often narrated with a chatty more personal point of view as if from Joyce’s diary, Joyce being the newest member of the Thursday Murder club. This gives the story a more cosy feel but also allows Joyce to reflect on her past and her relationships with family members and new friends.

Without dragging the story down the author touches on the sadness of growing old and losing loved ones to illness or dementia. It explores how various people cope and also how love and friendship endures.

I enjoyed this very much, even though I feel the ending was a little contrived, and would enjoy reading more about these characters.