If you’ve been around here a while, you know I love any story about older people behaving badly. So, of course, I had to pick up The Thursday Murder Club, a 2020 murder mystery novel set in Coopers Chase retirement village, where ageing amateur sleuths investigate unsolved crimes. Could anything be more up my alley?
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Elizabeth Best, Ron Ritchie, Joyce Meadowcraft, and Ibrahim Arif have little in common, aside from their place of residence and their interest in murder. This unifying interest brings them together once a week, in the Puzzle Room, where they review evidence of cold cases in the hopes of spotting something the Official investigators missed. That on its own would make for a fascinating read, but Osman throws an inciting incident into the mix: a shady property developer shows up dead, practically on their doorstep, and it’s up to The Thursday Murder Club to figure out who killed him.
Of course, they’ll need a man (or woman) on the inside of the Official investigation, to get information that would normally require a badge. They team up with PC Donna De Freitas and her boss, DCI Chris Hudson, bribing them with tea and cake to share what they know.
Obligatory content warning here, too, for suicide and grief – plus some tricky age-related stuff that might be tough for readers who are sensitive to it.
The Thursday Murder Club is written in wonderfully short chapters, which keeps the mostly-cozy mystery feeling pacy and intriguing. The mystery itself unfolds a little slowly, but getting to know the delightful characters fills the gaps and keeps the reader interested. These characters, much older than the author himself, are written about fondly and with great respect – a welcome relief from novels that treat the elderly as objects of pity, or derision. In fact, members of The Thursday Murder Club often cleverly exploit the stereotypes and prejudices people hold about older people to get what they want (usually information – sometimes even a confession).
There’s a certain kind of literary snob who would look down on The Thursday Murder Club, and I say boo to them. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it’s got clever misdirects – not to mention a gang of characters I’d love to have a cup of tea with. And it’s not all kook and quirk; Osman addresses the challenges that come with ageing in a clear and compassionate way, without weighing down the otherwise lighthearted fun of this story.
Conveniently enough, a Netflix adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club debuted just last week – and it’s a star-studded affair, with Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan, among others. I’m so keen to watch it! Plus, there’s a whole bunch of sequels, so I’ll be spoiled for choice for a while yet.
Read The Thursday Murder Club on audiobook via Libro.fm here.
My favourite Amazon reviews of The Thursday Murder Club:
- “I quit reading it after 30 pages. I could not stand the snobbish, narcissistic attitude “We are Brits and we are all so special and interesting”.” – Clauser1960
- “Forget the story, I hate having to constantly resize the type. I am an old person trying to read a story about elderly amateur detectives and this font monkey business is killing it.” – hootdoodie
- “So the gang thinks they can manipulate the police, what clever darlings. They are mean. I wouldn’t want to know any of these characters. Zero stars.” – knitnspin
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