A murder. A victim. A killer. And a group of four murder club members that are going to solve the mystery.
The Thursday Murder Club takes the reader on a journey as Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron use their detective skills to solve the murder of a man who was going to be building an expansion to their community. They join forces with police officers Chris and Donna to investigate the crime.
The only thing is… the members of The Thursday Murder Club are a bunch of retirees nearing 80 years old.
Can they solve the mystery before they get into trouble themselves?
A second murder leads to another killer. And finally, a set of bones buried in the wrong grave could mean a third killer. Unless the three killings are all connected?
“She simply cannot believe her luck. Two murders and here she is, right in the middle of it all. She had to hand it to Elizabeth. She definitely owed her a drink, or whatever else Elizabeth might prefer. A scarf? Who knew what Elizabeth would like? A gun, probably.”
-Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club
The narration flips between several perspectives to follow the main cast of characters as well as the other minor characters. Then, we get to read quite a few journal entries from Joyce. This creates a nice flow that allows the reader to follow the action without giving too much away about the mystery.
Elizabeth and Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, Chris and Donna. Boy oh boy what a wonderful cast of characters trying to solve a murder.
The Thursday Murder Club members are sweet and strong. They are ambitious, which goes well with their honest limitations as senior citizens. There is some easy-going humor as these grey-haired detectives struggle to drive to the crime scene or to stay up past 8 p.m. I loved the antics these four got into.
Elizabeth is brilliant as the de facto leader of the Murder Club. She is intelligent and witty, and not afraid to use that to get what she wants. She expertly manipulates police officers with her act as an innocent old lady.
“‘So we were all witness to a murder,’ says Elizabeth. ‘Which, needless to say, is wonderful.””
-Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club
Joyce is kind and friendly. But you’d be wrong to underestimate her, as many do. She is cunning and focused. Stern and smart. It was a very smart move for author Osman to use her voice in her diary entries to explain key plot points.
My favorite parts were the interactions between Joyce and Elizabeth. They’ve clearly become quite good friends. Joyce is more than happy to follow along with Elizabeth’s craziest plans and jumps in from time to time to help dupe their next victim (like the time she convinces the police that Elizabeth is a nun who has had her purse stolen).
The only downside is the overuse of names within the dialogue. I can appreciate the characters addressing their friends and colleagues, but the naming is too frequent to seem natural.
The Thursday Murder Club is amusing and charming. There is great detective work mixed with funny moments. Rest assured that the humor does not impede the drama of murder.
A classic murder mystery with multiple victims and killers. There is even a clever reference to Agatha Christies’s detective Poirot.
I highly recommend this book!
The Series Continues!
Richard Osman has completed the first two books in The Thursday Murder Club series and the third is on the way in September 2022.
The Man Who Died Twice continues the story with the murder club getting involved in yet another murder investigation. This time there’s the added stakes of a heap of stolen diamonds.
The Bullet That Missed is the third installment. Now the club must investigate two murders that happened ten years apart.
Check out all of the books by author Richard Osman here.
Spine & Leaf Books 