Review: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
The Thursday Murder Club is set in Cooper’s Chase, a retirement village in the town of Fairhaven in Kent. Both the retirement village and the town are fictitious, however Kent is a real county in England.
The story is centred around four residents of Cooper’s Chase – Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim – who form the Thursday Murder Club (hence the title of the book). The book begins with an introduction to the club and its participants and their unusual hobby of solving cold cases.
When a real murder occurs on their doorstep, The Thursday Murder Club find themselves caught up in a live case (despite the discovery of a very dead local developer). Can they combine their skills to solve the mystery surrounding this death?
I can honestly say that The Thursday Murder Club is one of my favourite reads, which is surprising as I’m not a big ‘cozy crime’ reader. (and yes I would put this book under the cozy crime genre as well as the murder mystery genre!). Although, I haven’t read any MC Beaton books, it does remind me of the crimes solved by Agatha Raisin and her friends; I loved watching the TV series. Richard Osman is not new to me as I’m a big Pointless fan and find him extremely funny and you can see his humour in his writing.
I think the age of the characters does add to the charm of the story and you really do get to know them and can’t help but fall in love with them all. I hope I’m as active and with-it when I get to their age and still driving about.
One of the appeals of ‘cozy crime’ books is the amateur sleuthing that goes on; I’m a secret armchair detective, like many others, and would love to do some amateur sleuthing of my own. The way crimes are solved fascinates me.
Star Rating
If you are looking to discover a new book series, I highly recommend the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman; ideal for fans of who dunnits and courtroom dramas.
The Thursday Murder Club is available to read in the follow formats – paperback, hardback, kindle eBook and audiobook and to watch in the cinema (for a limited time only) and on Netflix.
The Thursday Murder Club books in order?
The Thursday Murder Club (2020)
The Man Who Died Twice (2021)
The Bullet That Missed (2022)
The Last Devil To Die (2023)
The Impossible Fortune (2025)
A Virtual Bookcase 