Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Thursday Murder Club

"The daffodils will always come up by the lake, but you won’t always be there to see them. So it goes; enjoy them while you can."

Reading this a few years after its release, I couldn't help but feel it didn't quite live up to all the hype, but I still enjoyed it overall. It's well-written with an interesting plot and fun set of characters, and it's of course very witty and full of a very specific British humour which I appreciated. It's also a great combination of gripping and fast-paced on the one hand, and then complex, layered, and bittersweet on the other, with important things to say about ageing, relationships, and illness and death.

My main issue with this book is that there's a significant part of the ending which just didn't make sense to me at all, in terms of a certain character's actions and the impact that these then have on the plot. Maybe I was missing something, but it just seemed so out of character for me that it was difficult to look past, particularly as otherwise I found the various strands of the mystery to be wrapped up in a satisfying way.

On a lesser note - and perhaps more of a personal preference - I wish that more of the story had been told from Joyce's point of view and particularly that the police officer characters had been less prominent.

I'm not sure if I'll pick up the next book, as there were definitely elements of this that I really liked and I do enjoy Osman's writing style, but there were also big drawbacks for me. I suppose time will tell!

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cooliuscaesar451's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It starts off slowly but the characters suck you in ❤️ I found myself verklempt time and time again at the end.

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luananki's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

sad to say, that this one just wasn‘t it, but positive aspect first: i loved the characters, i had a lot of fun reading a mystery from an elderly person‘s pov.

the mystery didn’t catch me at all, it had way too many plots that didn’t even connect with each other at the end. if the book had been written from one or two povs, i would have enjoyed it so much more but with so many characters introduced and puzzles to solve it was very confusing to get into.
also, the sexist and racist comments in between could have been left out, they had nothing to do with the story.

all in all, lovely characters, great setting but the execution was not what i expected it to be

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I picked up The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman because I liked the idea of reading a mystery set in a retirement village!

Blurb:

Four members of a retirement community form a club to discuss and try to solve cold cases. When one of the people who helped build their community is murdered, they decide to take the opportunity to solve a real-life murder case.

Review:

It is easy to see why The Thursday Murder Club gained such buzz when it was released. The writing is clever, the elderly members of the Thursday Murder Club are endearing and well-written, and the book (especially the first half) is chock full of humor. I laughed out loud several times while reading. At the same time, the retirement community setting—a place that is both lively and sober, given the age of its members—offers an opportunity for touching and poignant moments as the characters face the realities of aging and losing loved ones.

Toward the end of the novel, as Osman works to tie up the loose ends to the main mysteries, the red herring mysteries, and almost every other random plot point he has introduced, I started to feel lost in the weeds. The book contains an unusually large supporting cast of characters, and nearly every single one of them had their own ending or mystery that Osman felt the need to address. The focus shifted away from the main Thursday Murder Club members, draining the story of much of its initial humor and heart. Although I enjoyed watching the police and the senior citizens work through the clues and the mystery step by step, I was disappointed that the author still opted for the surprise “info-dump” resolution to the mysteries instead of letting the reader figure out the solution at the same time as the characters.

The story also suffers from occasional tonal dissonance as Osman tries to make the narrative funny, cerebral, lighthearted, serious, and exciting. One throwaway line that stuck out to me in this regard was a remark about one of the main police characters: “She had arrested a shoplifter in Fairhaven last week, and when he had struggled, she had brought him down with a baton between the knees. She was aware she had hit him much harder than she should. Sometimes you just had to hit things” (124-25). That line greatly disturbs me, as it paints police brutality as something that is normal and relatable. The book completely glosses over the problematic nature of referring to a person as a “thing” that can be beaten by police to let out their excess anger. There were other similar, if less alarming, instances where Osman occasionally drops the ball when trying to juggle multiple tones.

Overall, I enjoyed many aspects of The Thursday Murder Club, but my enjoyment waned significantly as the story went on. I do not feel compelled to pick up any of the story’s sequels.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like The Thursday Murder Club if:

· You are a fan of cozy, small-town murder mysteries

· Following a quirky cast of elderly crime solvers sounds like fun

· You enjoy stories that alternate between humorous remarks, serious reflections on life and death, and crime investigation

You might not like The Thursday Murder Club if:

· You prefer simpler mysteries

· You don’t like having to keep track of multiple characters and plotlines

· You are upset by people making light of murder

Content Warnings

johanna08's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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imreads's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

The story was rather slower, and it felt like it was distracted by the c plot from time to time.
I enjoyed the main cast of characters, Ibrahim and Donna, being one of my favourites.

My only main criticisms with the book is

too many red herrings and the story seems to drag on longer than necessary, and when the last twist happens, we are jolted to a obvious set up for the next story. Also, the xenophobia, misogyny (and one racist joke between Ibrahim and Ron) was uncomfortable and honestly revolting to get through. Let's just say I was glad Ian died, good riddance. The reoccurring casual xenophobia was disgusting. If the book wasn't at least entertaining, I would've lowered the rating or DNF this book.

However, I enjoyed the groups friendship and the unlikely friendships along the way.

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yellow_library's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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happylilfaerie's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious

4.5

Absolutely loved everything about this book. The characters were so lovable. I especially loved Bogdan, he's an absolute cinnamon roll and deserves the world.

The parts that dealt with death and grief tugged on your heartstrings, and were perfectly balanced with the lighthearted and comedic bits. The plot was great and there were so many twists, it kept me engaged as I came up with theories and was constantly happily surprised with the reveals and the way the plot progressed.

The worldbuilding was wonderful, Osman painted such a vivid picture of the retirement village and the lives of the residents there, it felt so cozy and lovely.

I have been so frustrated with many (both classic and modern) mystery books that are constantly recommended (coughAgathaChristiecough...) that are filled with racism, sexism and all kinds of bigotry that makes the story un-ejoyable. I DNF'd 3 books in a row before hesitantly starting this one, thinking I should give up on this genre all together - in my opinion it did the bare minimum (no being bigoted is apparently very difficult) but I suppose compared to its colleagues it deserves a small applause.

The interview with the author at the end of the audio version of the book had the refer to himself as "left wing", he talked about class struggles and how that impacted his writing, that made me like the book a lot more as it meant parts and themes that I liked were a conscious effort and not a coincidence. I like the way he handled it all whilst still ensuring the book stays a fun light read.

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