Despite a rather slow start this turned into the perfect book for holiday reading: enjoyable, light and interesting cosy crime. The main characters were retired but with intriguing histories and various strengths, which fed into the Thursday Murder Club, occasionally assisted and censured by the real detectives, Chris and Donna. All highly implausible, as cosy crime often is, but gradually engaging and absorbing towards the end. It was an amusingly written tale, as you might expect from its illustrious author, using many of the conventions of the genre, and well worth a second case in the future, hopefully with a more attention-grabbing beginning and perhaps the inclusion of some of the amateur sleuths' backstories. Elizabeth in particular could have a story or a case to herself. A promising first attempt at cosy crime, which bodes well for further efforts.

Thursday Murder Club is the debut novel from Richard Osman.

A Murder Mystery set in Coopers Chase, a ‘luxury’ retirement village.

The Club in the title is 4 retired residents who spend every Thursday digging through cold cases. But when a Murder of a property developer Is committed the 4 ageing amateur sleuths set about solving the murder on their doorstep.

Osman writes a classically British story, with a cast of eccentric and at times charming and really rather funny characters.

There is very little not to like about this book, its very easy to read with an almost welcoming writing style. The pacing can be a little slow but then it’s a story of 4 pensioners solving a crime out in the British Countryside so I think the pacing is that way intentionally.

One of the main characters is possibly a bit to convenient in regards to getting the story moving and ticking along.

With 4 entertaining characters and a story that will no doubt be adapted for tv.

Overall this is a charming, funny and enjoyable romp with some bittersweet moments and clever twists among all the humour and mystery.

Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the Review Copy.

Coopers Chase is a retirement village in Kent. The residents have many activities to enjoy and one of them is called The Thursday Murder Club. Their quest is to investigate old unsolved murders, seeing if the police have missed something so that they can solve the crime. All ticks along nicely until a builder involved with the retirement village is discovered murdered. Can the retired folk of Coopers Chase solve this live case?

This is an awfully British, cosy mystery that shows retired people having fun and purpose in their old age. It is a jolly read told with tonnes of light humour. For example…

He is wearing an expensive polo shirt, and a watch so large it might as well be a clock.

...And...

‘Would you like some sherry?’ asks Joyce. ‘It’s only Sainsbury’s, but it’s Taste the Difference.’

...Richard Osman is very well known for being a presenter on the BBC One television quiz show, Pointless. Richard has a distinctive conversational style that is mirrored by Joyce, a leading character in his novel. Joyce has a lovely British turn of phrase and she sounds so much like Richard does whenever he is on television. Even in his acknowledgements at the end of this book, he has the same voice as Joyce when he writes…

I had wanted to write a novel for a long time, and over a very nice lunch at Skewd Turkish restaurant in Barnet (delicious, great value for money, try the chicken wings) Mark gave me exactly the encouragement I needed, at exactly the right time.

...I enjoyed reading The Thursday Murder Club, the accent was not on the crime but retired people making the very most of their later years. Rather than being out of touch these lively residents enjoy all that modern life can offer. I found this book to be a refreshing tale of retired life. I loved how it depicted modern day Britain and the cultures we share. How people view groceries, shopping and the prestige of stores like Waitrose. How people embrace modern technology and software like Fitbits, WhatsApp and Tinder.

The Thursday Murder Club is NOT a hard edged, gritty crime thriller full of police procedure and special skills. This novel is a warm, heartfelt tale of people coping with the mistakes of the past and making the best of current times. There is sadness but also people meaning well.

I found this book an entertaining read and loved the colourful characters. The pace of the murder enquiry dragged a little but my interest was retained by how the residents coped with everything else that was going on. Richard has a very relaxed writing style and his tale is told with all the time in the world, kind of like how some old people talk. Overall, I found this a very pleasant GOOD read that gets 4 stars from me.

I had hoped this would be something like A Man Called Ove.

I was not aware of the author’s celebrity status (I still don’t know who he is) and overall this was just too sweet for my taste.

The story takes place in a picturesque upmarket retirement village where 4 residents have a little secret meeting every Thursday, dissecting cold cases, just to keep the mind going you know.

The grey matter is lubricated by bottles of wine and all in all the Thursday Murder Club is much more fun than building jigsaw puzzles in your golden years. That is until a real murder happens on their doorstep, and then another and another….. the bodies just start piling up.

The pacing slowly shuffled along (just like the residents of the retirement village), the answers came too easy and the conclusion was very anticlimactic. I also think there were too many characters for me to really feel like I got to know any of them.

There is definitely an audience for this type of book but it’s not me

I chose this book because I was curious as to what the author would come up with.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron, residents of the upmarket retirement community of Cooper's Chase, make up the Thursday Murder Club. First, they investigated cold cases supplied by retired Detective Inspector Penny. Now there are live cases very close to home...

Somewhat implausible, but with a quirky charm, I found this book slow going. It burbled along until the pace picked up for the final third.

When I heard Richard Osman had written a book, and a mystery/thriller no less, I had to read it. Thanks to netgalley I received an ARC and absolutely loved it. Agatha Christie meets Peter James with wonderful dry, witty humor and plenty of twists to keep you guessing, this is a must read for any whodunnit fans.

So it turns out Richard Osman really is good at everything. This murder mystery has a charming cast of characters, crimes for them to solve and is set in the luxury retirement village of Coopers Chase. The Thursday Murder Club turn their hand from solving cold cases to looking into a much more recent case, to the exasperation of the police who originally underestimate them. The professional investigators soon learn that the enthusiastic amateurs have tricks up their sleeves and slowly the case unfolds. I really enjoyed this and will definitely keep an eye out for any more in the series.

A book full of interesting characters,most of them pensioners! Lots of twists and turns, an enjoyable read.

Enjoyable cosy crime, though it didn’t really get going until about half way through the book.

What is nice is how the retired, more senior characters are written with such warmth and wit. Most of the characters (apart from the victims) have a likeability about them.

My main criticism of this book is how it jumps from one character or scene to another with very little warning. This may be down to the formatting of the ebook and the printed version will hopefully easier to follow.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

3.5

What a fabulous book!! And what a clever idea, getting the 'older age' at. a sheltered housing community, in their own 'Thursday Murder Club' to work out, who murdered whom, in the past, and now!!!! The way they got together, and with their own specialities, from their previous jobs/work places, was absolutely brilliant!! It made the elders of this world, look and still feel useful in their dotage!!!! I cannot express more, the way I feel about this book, I loved every page of it, very refreshing!!!! And I was an absolute privilege, to review it!!!! I wish I could give more than 5 stars!!!! Thank you!!!! Superb Richard Osman, let there please be more books in the future!!!!!!

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim live at Coopers Chase retirement village and enjoy trying to solve old murder cases from files of their old police friend, Penny, also in the home. They become embroiled in their own real life murder case when builder, Tony Curran, is killed. This is on the same day that owner, Ian Ventham, gets rid of him for his new development so that he doesn't have to give him 25% of the profits.
The real investigators, PC Donna DeFreitas and DCI Chris Hudson, find themselves working with the retirees who seem on some occasions, to know more about the murder than they do!
The new development would also mean bulldozing the previous convent graveyard where generations of nuns are buried so this also causes controversy.
It is a good murder mystery and I enjoyed it a lot. The start was a bit confusing and didn't make sense until later on so it took me a while to get into it which is why I've given it 4 stars.
Also the paragraphs merged into one but I assume this will be fixed when the book is published.

Treat yourself to The Thursday Murder Club from our favourite pointless friend Richard Osman.
Set in a retirement village in Kent where the residents have countless opportunities to fill their days with activities, we meet the four members of the Thursday Murder Club.
Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron usually work on solving cold cases, but when the body of a local property developer is found, they get stuck into their first real case. Their friendly PC, Donna is finding local policing a bit dull after the Met and is persuaded to help.
Written with the wit you'd expect from Richard Osman, will the Thursday Murder Club discover the identity of the killer?

Think cosy British mystery as opposed to exciting thriller.

Set in a retirement village, the story follows four elderly friends as they find themselves in the middle of a live murder investigation, much to their delight...

I struggled at times to engage with the book and relate to the characters. The writing style seems to switch between first person and third person narrative and it took awhile to follow, but this may be down to an ebook flaw, it would presumably be clearer throughout a hard copy book.

I would recommend this book for people who like a lot of background information and plenty of characters to delve into. I feel the story would be appreciated by a more mature reader and would be well suited to an audiobook as it reads for the most part, as the characters thoughts and ramblings.

Overall I found it charming and light-hearted and featured some quirky characters along the way.

Coopers Chase is the home of Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim & Ron, the members of the ‘Thursday Murder Club’. Their peaceful retirement includes trying to solve ‘cold cases’ but they are thrown into trying to solve a live case when a local property developer, & partner of the owner of Coopers Chase, is brutally murdered. Can the gang solve this murder, & the subsequent enquiries, or will their interference infuriate the police & ruin their newfound alliance with Donna (& Chris)?
A true murder mystery with continually developing layers which keep you turning the pages. Twists in the plot right to the end & the revelation of many additional stories & unexpected murderers!

I read the blurb for this and honestly rolled my eyes, then I saw it was written by Richard Osman and out of pure curiosity I decided to read it.

I am so delighted curiosity got the better of me because I absolutely loved it.

Firstly, this review comes with a caveat, some of the workings behind the story-line are highly implausible and unrealistic so if you can't get past that you will not enjoy the book. If you can like I did, you will adore it.

I never thought a book about murder could be heartwarming and sweet but this book is exactly that.

We see 4 pensioners go through their life in their retirement village, while weekly on a Thursday trying to solve past murder cases, until one day a real murder happens in the village. They move their attention to this murder, analyzing everybody, including each other, while they try to catch the killer before the police do. As the story unfolds we see a beautiful development of each of the characters and their relationships.

While being a heartwarming cuddle of a book which made me cry at a few points, this book also has some very clever and indeed fun twists throughout.

It's an overall 5 star gem that needs to be read by people who enjoy every type of genre, not just your mystery fans!

I've had the chance to read the first few chapters some 6-7 month ago as part of a survey. I was immediately taken with it and thought it was hilarious. Despite having too many books to read, I couldn't refrain myself from requesting it when it became available on NetGalley: I have no regrets :D

The book is not as hilarious as the first chapters plus it's highly improbable but you know what? I loved it!! I loved it!!

I won't bother you with the plot, read the summery. Plus I wouldn't say more that what's in the blurb cause you don't want to know the story before you've read the book, would you now?!
The novel is full of wit with the occasional laughing out loud moment. But the gem of this book is its characters. In particular the quartet composed by Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron. The author says in Acknowledgements: "I first had the idea for The Thursday Murder Club a few years ago, when I was fortunate enough to visit a retirement community, full of extraordinary people with extraordinary stories...{...}". I wholeheartedly agree with him, it's why I love elderly people: they have the most amazing life stories and I want to learn them all!! Well the amazing 4 of this book lived up to my expectations. They are fascinating, charming characters, full of life despite their age. They gradually reveal bits of their lives while solving not one but 2, oh wait 3 murders. Bloody industrious peoples!. Turns out I had a very good idea of the motive that got the story rolling. But with all the twists, and all the people involved it took me by surprise when we finally learned the truth. It made me happy to have anticipated such an important element, instead of being a turn off as it usually is.
All in all a great read that I totally recommend.

Every Thursday afternoon, in a retirement village, four friends, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron meet to try to solve unsolved murders.
Then a murder occurs at the home and they spring to action to solve it themselves. Can they beat the police to a conclusion?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I must admit to downloading it due to the Author and being curious.
A murder mystery set in a retirement village dispels all preconceptions of 'the golden years' as a gang of residents attempt to solve cold cases and find themselves in the middle of a real life murder case. Kept me guessing right up until the very last minute, every time I thought I knew what was going on I was wrong! Loved he characters, Loved the story line. Bring on the next book!

Thanks to Netgalley for opportunity to review . I wasn’t sure I would finish it until about half way through when I found myself quite enjoying it. It was a slow start set in a retirement village, I found some of the characters a little stereotyped. Fans of Agatha Christie or Murder she wrote will enjoy it. Would read a follow up but it isn’t the best I have read.

A little bit of slow boil with this, but definitely heats up. I enjoyed the twists, turns, and the way things didn't go the way you expect. I really loved the fact that it was predominantly set in a retirement village, a veritable hotbed of secrets. The relationships between the main characters were written with warmth and humour. A definite recommendation.