The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman Full Review + Summary and Quotes

Book Summary

In book "The Thursday Murder Club" Richard Osman tells a story that captivates the reader with excitement from beginning to end and contains significant suspense. The main characters are four individuals who have a keen interest in crime and murder topics. They gather weekly to discuss these subjects. Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim enjoy their meetings greatly; they are unique individuals, albeit a bit clever, who suddenly stumble upon a body related to a local builder during one of their sessions. Now, they have a strong motivation to uncover the hidden aspects of this case.

The main characters expect that now that they have a case in front of them, they will be able to identify its ambiguities and assist the police, allowing them not only to test themselves but also to engage in a positive and important activity in this regard. To solve the mentioned issue, their main professions might help them. For example, Ibrahim works in psychiatry, and Joyce was previously a nurse.

Therefore, they should consider the roles they played in the past or present and, if possible, use those experiences to uncover clues related to the murder mystery. In any case, readers are expected to thoroughly enjoy this book, which has won awards such as Bestselling Christmas Book and ranked first on the Sunday Times bestseller list.

About the Author

Richard Osman is an English producer, presenter, and comedian born on November 28, 1970. Osman gained most of his fame from the television programs he has created and hosted on BBC. With the release of his first work, he became a bestselling and popular author. Other notable works by this talented and witty writer include "The Bullet That Missed" and "The Man Who Died Twice."

Who Should Read the Book?

It is recommended for fans of the mystery and thriller genre to read "The Thursday Murder Club" as an acclaimed story.

This book has been prepared and compiled by its author in two parts.

Book Quotes

I knew that the members of the Thursday Murder Club were Elizabeth, Ibrahim Arif, and Ron Ritchie. Yes, that Ron Ritchie. So that was exciting. Now that I know him a bit better, his glamour has diminished somewhat, but still... Ibrahim lives in Wordsworth and has a spiral balcony.

A few days ago, after meeting with Elizabeth, I attended my first session with the members of the Thursday Murder Club, and I thought it would be interesting to write about it. Like someone who keeps a diary about Holmes and Watson. People love murder, whether they say it openly or not. So, I’m diving in.

Elizabeth had founded the Thursday Murder Club with Penny. Penny had been a detective in the Kent police for years and brought along unsolved murder cases. To be honest, she wasn’t supposed to have access to the files, but who would find out, right?

Once you reach a certain age, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Aside from your doctor and your kids, no one tells you anything. I shouldn’t say what Elizabeth used to do, although sometimes she reveals it herself. Let’s just say she is no stranger to murder and investigation and such things.

So it can be said that they never achieved their wish. None of those killers were punished; they were all still out there somewhere listening to traffic updates. I guess they had slipped through like some people do. The older you get, the more you have to come to terms with this issue.

The Thursday Murder Club is an absolute delight for mystery lovers! Set in a peaceful retirement community, it follows a group of quirky, lovable seniors who meet every Thursday to solve cold cases—until they find themselves in the middle of a real-life murder investigation. Richard Osman’s writing is sharp, witty, and full of warmth, making the characters feel like people you’d love to spend time with.

The mystery itself is cleverly plotted with enough twists and red herrings to keep you guessing without feeling overly complicated. The humor and heart at the center of the story balance the darker elements of crime-solving perfectly. I especially loved how the characters each brought something unique to the investigation, combining their life experience with their newfound detective skills.

Whether youre a fan of cozy mysteries or simply enjoy a well-crafted story with memorable characters, this book is a must-read. I can’t wait to see what the Thursday Murder Club gets up to next!

Thank goodness for kindle x-ray! A lot of characters to keep track of. Great story with believable twists. Thoroughly enjoyed.

I got this series in Audio books - I love the story and have listened to them twice. Great series. It tells the story about 4 retired professionals in a retirement community (an X-police officer that made copies of unsolved murder cases before she retired gets the ball rolling . The gang consists of Joyce, a retired nurse; Elizabeth, a retire M-5 Spy; Ron a retired Union Steward; and Ibrahim a mostly retired Psychologist.
There is much humor but yet it’s not a comedy, there’s plenty of love but yet it’s not a love story . . . But overall it’s just a fun book to listen to.

I have to agree with other reviewers about this book. The quirky characters are the best part and whole concept to hook a reader in-a group of retirees who like to investigate cold case murders and try to solve them...until an actual murder takes place at their retirement home community. I had high hopes for this book as this is not a genre I read very often, I prefer historical fiction. So, I probably wont be reading the other books in this series. If not for my bookclub, I would never have picked this up and thats just what "The Thursday Murder Club" is-a bookclub-type of read.

"Well, lets start with Elizabeth, shall we?" any good writer worth their salt knows the first line of your novel is critical. This is how you pull in your reader and keep them hooked. This is one of the best opening lines Ive come across in a long time, unfortunately by the time I got to the end and the murder was solved, I was still confused over who had actually "dunnit" (kinda important if youre writing a whodunnit novel!) and not really caring what the motive of the killer was. Neither were ever fully explained.

Elizabeth is the unofficial leader of this motley crew of septuagenarians who like to meet every Thursday to discuss cold case murders thanks to one of Elizabeths friends who used to work as a police officer here in England, where this story takes place. The opening line is being told from the point of view of Joyce and it might have been nice if our author had picked just one or maybe two or three but no more POVs to use in telling the story because every chapter (some were only a page or two long) jumped from one characters head to another. Other reviewers have commented on how distracting this was. I agree. Then there were the dead bodies that kept popping up left and right.

We also interrupt this plot many times so one of the characters can tell a story and info dump about one of the dead bodies the Murder Club keeps discovering: the tragic love story of a priest and a nun, a young man murdered just because he knew too much, one of Joyces male friends here at the retirement community who just couldnt go on without his beloved wife who passed away several years ago. All of these stories are supposed to trick the reader into thinking, "NOW the killer can finally be revealed!" Wrong. The story keeps going until the very end, a very anticlimactic reveal of the actual killer.
Then everyone went home.
The End

I dont think I gave away anything important back there but I do recommend reading this book. It really was an entertaining and enjoyable read. There is very little swearing (gotta love the British and their cuss words vs American!) no graphic descriptions of any of the murders that occur. It is easy to root for Joyce and Elizabeth, their two male friends who make up the club and the two British police officers doing their best to investigate the murders while the Club keeps breathing down their necks but do we have to hear the story from every single one of them, every other chapter? A great pick for your bookclub but thats about it.

I didn’t expect this murder mystery to make me laugh, lift my mood, and keep me reading until the early hours, but it did. The subject of the novel is a murder club that solves a murder involving their retirement community. Cooper’s Chase is a British retirement village that hosts many clubs within their communal meeting rooms. The Thursday Murder Club is a group of pensioners who get together to discuss cold murder cases. Each of the club members has a distinct personality and specialty. There’s Elizabeth, who keeps what she used to do private but organizes with military precision. Penny, a co-founder of the Club, has just been moved to a nursing home, which has left an opening. Newcomer Joyce, filling the space, is a former nurse. She’s useful in determining which knife wounds would be fatal and how long it would take for a person to bleed out from such injuries. She can also make a mean lemon drizzle cake and is looking for male companionship. Ibrahim is a psychiatrist, and Ron, a former labor organizer.
The Club investigates a murder that hits close to home when a local builder, Tony Curran, is found dead from a blunt force injury to the back of his head. Besides being a legitimate builder, Tony has been involved in running drug operations on the side. He was a rough character who had many unsavory connections. He was partners with Ian Ventham, the developer who built Cooper’s Chase. They were planning to expand the retirement community, which would involve removing an old convent graveyard and a peaceful gathering spot for quiet contemplation. The Cooper’s Chase community was adamantly opposed to the destruction of their private place. Tony’s murder has plenty of suspects from those opposed to his building to others in the drug world. Ian was also planning to cut Tony out of the development plans, making him a suspect too.
Police Constable Donna De Freitas is called to work the investigation with Chief Inspector Chris Hudson. For De Freitas, a liaison officer working on a murder investigation is a huge step. Formerly holding meetings with Cooper’s Chase on safety topics, she is thought to have the community’s trust. Unknown to her, while extracting information about Tony’s murder from residents, the Murder Club is busily mining information from her. Chief Inspector Hudson has no idea that the Murder Club has launched their own parallel investigation.
The murder mystery is a complicated one, giving the reader lots of false leads. What makes the book so much fun to read are the uncommonly wise and hysterically funny characters. My favorite scene is when De Freitas is sitting in the squad room as Hudson hands out assignments. She gets a text message from the Murder Club to tell her they are on their way to interview a suspect. The ending contains more than a few surprises. I hope Richard Osman continues to write about these people. Whether you’re a murder mystery fan or not, you’ll love the sharp dialogue and delightful personalities.

Among the pensioners living at Coopers Chase—a high end retirement community in southern England—are four good friends who have gotten involved in trying to solve cold cases for their own amusement and to help the police, if possible. One of the four—Elizabeth—has apparently had a prior career in some covert branch of government and has many “friends of friends” who are willing and able to supply all sorts of documents that would otherwise have restricted access, documents that can provide very useful information for their amateur detective work. Other members of the group contribute their own skill sets to create a surprisingly effective collaborative effort, much to the initial annoyance of the DCI and DS who are assigned to investigate the very recent murder of the builder of the Coopers Chase retirement community, who was looking to expand the development further and intended to go so far as ripping out the cemetery that was the final resting place the nuns who had lived in the convent that was adjacent to Coopers Chase. The victims keep accumulating while the suspect pool also continues to enlarge. At times the many suspects and secondary characters make the story somewhat hard to follow—a dramatis personae would have been very helpful. Next time I read it (it was enjoyable enough to read again), I’ll have to make up my own list. Recommended but with reservations for being hard to follow at times.

I wait for novels by Richard osman. He’s got characters that are fun, human, and quirky. And I appreciate vendors who get my books to me quickly😊

Oh no! I thought..not another “old folks” story. But it was well written for the most part. I chucked a couple times. The characters were generally well developed. Not great literature but worth reading. I did not like the way so much info was crammed into the final two chapters (an annoying author weakness), could have been handled in a more nuanced way.

I wasnt sure if I would like this book. However, once I got into it, I was totally absorbed. Did it stretch belief sometimes? Of course. Did it make me cry a couple of times? Yes, but all the best books do—at least for me. I fell in love with the characters and cannot wait to read more.

Great character building. Interesting plot. I ordered the next 2 books in the series. I shops have ordered them together and saved some money.