Reviews with content warning for Eating disorder - The Thursday Murder Club

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The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

8 reviews

douglasreaddimg's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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katietregs's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it took me a while to get into it. If I hadn’t been reading it for a book club, I might have even given up around page 100.
The murder mystery aspect does have good payoff, and the characters are rich and lovable. I think it suffers from too many POV characters up front and not enough storyline events to justify the story’s overall complexity.

I also think the suicide of Bernard felt unnecessary, and rushed. And the priest’s story was supposed to be sympathetic, but it made him seem like a weird creep to me. If the nun was going to run off with him… why did she hang herself? and why did Bogdan send the picture to Jason?

That said, it’s an impressive first novel from Osman with good mystery and great characters.

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navyakrish's review

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4.5

This book is a classic example of a 'cosy murder mystery' - perfect for when you need some thoroughly lovable characters with a side of gore to keep you hooked. The author balances comedy, tragedy, love and loss very well in this story. The narration is what completely sold the book for me. Can't wait to go on more adventures with this awesome foursome.

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msjenne's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

A lot of times mystery novels just feel kind of pointless and contrived, but I really enjoyed this one! There are lots of fun characters who have interesting relationships with each other, and since they are all very aware that they’re solving a mystery and sort of “in conversation” with the concept of mystery novels, it all works better than you’d think. Plus always bonus points for middle-aged and elderly characters.
I could have done without the one guy’s body/diet issues but overall it was a delight.

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naelle04's review

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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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

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danajoy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

This is charming but didnt really grip me.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of and while they were distinctive I did find myself losing track.
This did strike me as the sort of book my mum would love.
I'd classify this as a cosy mystery, if that is something you like then you may love this.

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kcogman's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

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