Final day of our Fall Sale! Join BookBrowse today and discover exceptional books for only $3 / Month.

Summary and Reviews of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club

by Richard Osman
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Sep 22, 2020, 368 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Aug 2021, 384 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Book Summary

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to...
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club.

When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?

1.

Joyce

Well, let's start with Elizabeth, shall we? And see where that gets us?

I knew who she was, of course; everybody here knows Elizabeth. She has one of the three-bedroom flats in Larkin Court. It's the one on the corner, with the decking? Also, I was once on a quiz team with Stephen, who, for a number of reasons, is Elizabeth's third husband.

I was at lunch, this is two or three months ago, and it must have been a Monday, because we were having shepherd's pie. Elizabeth said she could see that I was eating, but she wanted to ask me a question about knife wounds, if it wasn't inconvenient?

I said, "Not at all, of course, please," or words to that effect. I won't always remember everything exactly, I might as well tell you that now. So she opened a manila folder, and I saw some typed sheets and the edges of what looked like old photographs. Then she was straight into it.

Elizabeth asked me to imagine that a girl had been stabbed with a knife. I asked what sort of knife she had been ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. Though the book follows the four friends—Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim, and Ron—solving the murder, the only first-person POV is Joyce's via her diary. Why do you think the author chose to show her perspective in such a way?
  2. Joyce was a nurse, Elizabeth was in the secret service, Ibrahim was a psychiatrist, and Ron was a trade union leader. Who do you think was most helpful in solving the crime? What strengths did they each bring to the table? What were their weaknesses?
  3. Do you think that PC Donna De Freitas and DCI Chris Hudson make a good team? Do you think Donna was smart to stay in touch with Joyce, even though it was unprofessional at times? Why or why not? What do you make of the relationship between the detectives and the...
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

The Thursday Murder Club is equal parts intrigue, humor and pathos. On the periphery of the murder mystery are the sorrows and challenges of old age. Each member of the club has lost a spouse, or a close friend, or a profession, or his/her health to a degree. But in many ways, it's those losses that make the connections between them all the more poignant. The novel is a well-written, lively whodunit in the vein of Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard on this side of the pond or Kaye C. Hill's Lexy Lomax series on the other side...continued

Full Review (647 words)

This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access, become a member today.

(Reviewed by Debbie Morrison).

Media Reviews

Minneapolis Star Tribune
The Thursday Murder Club is a compelling whodunit complete with red herrings, unexpected twists, and a pair of police officers who, despite their best efforts, always manage to be one step behind their amateur counterparts...There is regular humor but also bouts of tragicomedy and moments of real poignancy.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
[A] fascinating primer in detection...A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please.

Library Journal (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.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Osman mixes mirth and murder in his exceptional debut...Fans of Lynne Truss's Constable Twitten mysteries will be tickled.

Author Blurb A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
Loved every word. Loved the fleet, nimble plotting, as ingenious as top-shelf Agatha Christie; loved the boisterous cast of characters—think Fredrik Backman; loved the crisp, witty, Carl Hiaasen-caliber dialogue...yet above all, I love The Thursday Murder Club for its psychological texture, emotional depth, and luminous, fireside warmth. What a generous novel. Readers of Louise Penny and Kate Atkinson, rejoice.

Author Blurb Alan Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
A rich, textured, twisted, and fabulously funny tale of murder and mayhem.

Author Blurb Fiona Barton, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow
Grinning like a monkey having just finished The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Loved its clever, clever plot, great gags, Ealing comedy set ups and Elizabeth. Can't say more but I want to be her one day…

Author Blurb Jeffery Deaver, #1 international bestselling author of The Goodbye Man
By turns hilarious and poignant, The Thursday Murder Club offers up a brilliant concept that's flawlessly executed and told in a unique, captivating voice. These are rare qualities in any novel, let alone a debut. I read the first page, then put all else on hold to devour this pitch-perfect book in one sitting. Bravo!

Reader Reviews

Meg

Interesting, intelligent and witty characters of a certain age
I was drawn in to this story from the start. Well crafted plot with plenty of surprises and (weirdly) relatable characters who have learned a thing or two in life. I have read the entire series and anxiously await Osman's next offering.
Marianne D

Characters That Came Alive...
…and mystery, to boot. Icing on the cake? It all takes place in a retirement home. What a hoot!
Cloggie Downunder

a perfect mix of cosy crime fiction and British humour
The Thursday Murder Club is the first book in the series of the same title by British TV presenter, producer, director, and novelist, Richard Osman. When builder, property developer and drug dealer, Tony Curran is bludgeoned to death in his kitchen, ...   Read More
LINDA MARGARET FOULKES

Witty
I recommended this for my book club. I live in the US and I am worried that a lot of the 'language' will not be understood. I loved the book and thought it was a great read.

Write your own review!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book



A Brief History of Trade Unions in the U.K.

Unite the Union logoIn Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, the residents of the Coopers Chase retirement community are, in some ways, very much like any other group of retirees. They fawn over their grandchildren, they gather to discuss various aches and pains, and they frequently misunderstand technology. And like many other retirees, they also have decades of experience and expertise from their earlier lives and professions. One of the professions that stands out as particularly useful in the group's amateur pursuit of criminals is Red Ron's former life as a British Trade Union leader.

Although trade unions were not officially legal in the U.K. until the mid-19th century, the country had a prior history of movements for workers' rights, perhaps the ...

This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Thursday Murder Club, try these:

  • Glory Be jacket

    Glory Be

    by Danielle Arceneaux

    Published 2023

    About this book

    The first in a vivid and charming crime series set in the Louisiana bayou, introducing the hilariously uncensored amateur sleuth Glory Broussard. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club series.

  • Olive, Again jacket

    Olive, Again

    by Elizabeth Strout

    Published 2020

    About this book

    More by this author

    Winner of the 2019 BookBrowse Fiction Award

    Prickly, wry, resistant to change yet ruthlessly honest and deeply empathetic, Olive Kitteridge is "a compelling life force" (San Francisco Chronicle).

We have 6 read-alikes for The Thursday Murder Club, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Richard Osman
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Playground
    Playground
    by Richard Powers
    The primary narrator of Richard Powers' latest novel, Playground, is Todd Keane, who at 57 years old...
  • Book Jacket: The Empusium
    The Empusium
    by Olga Tokarczuk
    Not long after checking into Willi Opitz's "Guesthouse for Gentlemen," young Mieczysław Wojnicz...
  • Book Jacket
    Suggested in the Stars
    by Yoko Tawada
    In Scattered All Over the Earth, Yoko Tawada's 2018 lightly dystopian novel, a ragtag group of young...
  • Book Jacket: Shred Sisters
    Shred Sisters
    by Betsy Lerner
    "No one will love you more or hurt you more than a sister" is a wry aphorism that appears late in ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Naming Song
    by Jedediah Berry

    Miyazaki meets Guillermo del Toro.

  • Book Jacket

    The Bog Wife
    by Kay Chronister

    Five West Virginia siblings unearth secrets after the rupture of a supernatural bargain tying their fate to their land.

Book Club Giveaway!
Win Let Us Descend

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward imagines the life of an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War in this instant classic.

Enter

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

J O the B

and be entered to win..