We read this book for our December 2024 book selection.
This post is in two parts: PART 1 is information for anyone interested in this book.
PART 2 (identified by a warning barrier) is information for those who have read the book — expect spoilers about the book, and including any comments made about the book in the comments area.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is book #1 out of 4 books in this series featuring retired spy Elizabeth Best, widow Joyce Meadowcroft, psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif, and workers’ rights activist Ron Ritchie — all being friends at an upscale retirement home where they form the Thursday Murder Club, in Kent, England.
Blurb for The Thursday Murder Club
The Thursday Murder Club takes place in Coopers Chase Retirement Village, an upscale retirement community in Kent, England, built ten years earlier on the land surrounding the old convent of the Sisters of the Holy Church.
The Thursday Murder Club meets weekly in the Jigsaw Room to investigate cold cases. Elizabeth, who doesn’t talk about her former top-secret job, formed the club with Penny Gray, a former inspector with the Kent Police, who provided files of unsolved cases. Ibrahim Arif, a psychiatrist, and Ron Ritchie, former trade union leader and rabble rouser, joined the weekly meetings that hosted experts of all kinds to help them analyze the cold cases. After Penny’s health necessitated a move to the attached nursing home, Elizabeth asked Joyce, a former nurse, some questions about how long it would take to die from stab wounds. Pleased with her response, Joyce was invited to the next meeting, along with Police Constable Donna De Freitas, there to present “Practical Tips for Home Security,” which the murder aficionados have no interest in, instead peppering her with questions about her job.
The following day Coopers Chase owner Ian Venthan, hosts a community meeting to talk about the expanded development he is planning, which will require removal of trees and relocating the convent graveyard, not a popular idea with the residents or Father Matthew Mackie. After the meeting Ian severs his relationship with his builder Tony Curran, a former drug boss, who immediately plans to kill Ian. Instead, Curran is bludgeoned to death in his own kitchen, giving the Thursday Murder Club their first real-life case to investigate.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Hudson brushes off the septuagenarian sleuths, but Donna is eager for her first murder investigation, and goes along when they manage to get her added to his team.
As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?
This Book Fits Within These Types [Sub-Genres] of Crime Fiction:
Traditional Mystery; a “Cozy”; British Mystery
Praise for The Thursday Murder Club
“Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining.” —Wall Street Journal
“Don’t trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman’s own laugh-out-loud whodunit.” —Parade
“An imaginative and witty whodunit… Osman’s careful attention to the realities of life in a retirement village ensures that The Thursday Murder Club is a compassionate, thoughtful tribute to a segment of the population that’s often dismissed and ignored… Great fun.”
—BookPage(starred review)
“The character-driven mystery, featuring a group of sleuths all too aware of their own mortality, and a likable pair of cops, is suspenseful, funny, and poignant… The delightful, spirited characters from this witty, sometimes bittersweet story deserve a return engagement.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
What to Expect With This Book
–> It has roughly 355 pages.
–> It has 115 relatively short chapters.
–> There are 4 septuagenarian members of the Thursday Murder Club; 2 local police officials with whom the Club becomes involved; about 70 total characters, both major and very minor. Here is a 4-page listing of the total list of characters if you wish to have it handy for reference. I know I will as I re-read this book (I read it 3 years ago and I don’t remember much). Here is where you can open the PDF for reference while reading or to print a copy. Copies can be obtained at the library (after Thanksgiving). If you want me to mail a copy to you, contact me with the email at the bottom of the this page (in black area).
–> The weeks ahead will be filled with many activities and holidays. Still, ideally try to read within a week’s time, starting the middle of the month. Anything to maximize recall for the discussion!
About the Author!
Richard Osman became 54 years old just this last November 28. From 1989 to 1992, he studied politics and sociology at Trinity College, Cambridge. Soon after, he was working at programming and producing television programs in the UK – mainly game and quiz shows.
Beginning in 2009, he began as a co-presenter on a popular, long-running UK TV trivia quiz show called Pointless. Simultaneously, he became a popular host as well as a panelist of several other TV game shows from 2011-2022.
I’m not sure what led him to consider a jump into writing mystery novels, starting with The Thursday Murder Club, or when he began work on writing it – possibly during 2017-2019. Is it likely that he realized he already had a huge UK fan base who might buy a book if he wrote something fun?
In 2019 Viking Press, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, acquired the rights to Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, and one other novel, for a seven-figure sum in a 10-publisher auction, an amazing start for a new author. But publishers recognize a built in market in a fan-base.
Also in 2019, he attended and was a panelist at Bloody Scotland, a popular UK mystery writer conference. I am curious as to whether this was his first time at the various UK mystery book conferences. Certainly the right year for promoting the book that would come out in 2020.
In any case the book was a huge success, not just in the UK but in the USA, Australia, and elsewhere. The book sold 45,000 UK hardback copies in the first three days after publication, and by March 2021 had sold well over one million copies in the UK. It was Number 1 on The NY Times Booklist.
He went on to write 3 more in this series and in 2024 he wrote We Solve Murders, the first of a new series. In 2022, he finally quit as co-presenter for Pointless, no doubt because it was getting old but also because of the need for more attention to his writing.
The movie adaptation for The Thursday Murder Club will debut on Netflix in 2025. Filming has finished under care of Amblin Entertainment (Steven Spielberg is a co-founder). The four main members of the Thursday Murder Club are played by a crew of talented thespians whose names you might recognize. Helen Mirren plays ex-spy Elizabeth, Ben Kingsley is ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim, Pierce Brosnan portrays ex–union activist Ron, and Celia Imrie takes on the role of ex-nurse Joyce.
On the personal side: Osman lives in London with his wife, Ingrid, and Liesl the cat.
Sources: Wikipedia: Richard Osman, BloodyScotland.com, Netflix, [Apart from a publisher page, Osman does not maintain an author website].
Here is how our ten readers reacted. Ten is a lower number than in the last year. Was it the Holidays, or is it a sign of starting and not liking the book (NWT)? In any case, a very high average score of 90!
Add to the Discussion about the Book….
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I wasn’t able to attend, but would score this one a 90. It was very enjoyable. The characters were well constructed and often surprised one another and the reader. Don’t underestimate these characters. Just because they are retired doesn’t mean their inherent skills have been excised. The story had good flow and plenty of twists and turns.