Reviews - The Thursday Murder Club

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34.5k reviews for:

The Thursday Murder Club

Richard Osman

3.85 AVERAGE

ckozik1017's review against another edition

5.0

emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

emilydamron's review against another edition

4.5

dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

ksorb16's review against another edition

5.0

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

turninpages_sippintea's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

I have to thank the Netflix movie for giving me the reason to finish this book - after 2 DNFs, I didn't really hold much hope that I'd ever get further than a few chapters. I'm not sure why The Thursday Murder Club didn't work for me the first 2 times, but perhaps the movie helped me visualise the characters and the setting, and my third go at the story ended with me thoroughly enjoying it and rating it so high.

It's so unbelievably wholesome and tender, the humour isn't forced, the elderly detectives are very charming, the actual detectives feel like real human beings as well, and I really enjoyed the red herrings - they weren't just some throwaway story lines whose only purpose was to confuse the reader but which, under not-even-that-close of inspection, didn't hold any weight of their own (cough-Michaelides-cough), but they made sense: I could understand why certain characters looked very suspicious in the circumstances, and 2 of the stories genuinely broke my heart, while another one... well, without spoiling anything, let's just say, I wouldn't report that person to the police.

The book is quite different to the movie, though, and I'm glad it is. The ending is not the same at all, some characters are more developed here than on screen, and Elizabeth, albeit still a force to be reckoned with, isn't necessarily the main character - Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim equally contribute to the investigation, and Donna and Chris aren't as clueless. However, I believe that, despite the differences, both versions of the story are just what the doctor's ordered for those who enjoy cozy mysteries with well-rounded characters!