Scan barcode
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Eating disorder, Murder, Grief, Suicide, Death, Dementia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
Minor: Religious bigotry, Animal death, Racism, Police brutality, Ableism, and Blood
mari_books's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
On its face the book is a fast paced almost beach read style mystery with a lovely and curious team of elderly detectives. There are lots of elements of mystery and emotional life/ death/ love/ family sentimental moments. Solidly 4 stars. Dinging one star for how anticlimactic the ending was and I think in general the author introduced too many characters it was kind of unneeded and hard to keep track of
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Death of parent, Suicide, Dementia, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Death, and Child death
corriejn's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Grief, Fatphobia, Alcohol, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death, Dementia, Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Medical content
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
reina_shouko's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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
4.75
Absolutely fantastic!! The pages flew by with such speed and the book gave me such comfort. Fell in love with all the amazing characters and couldn't get enough of the shocking twists! The second I was so sure to guess what's next I was proven wrong. In addition, this book gives such a new special twist on murder mysteries! Never knew I'll be so captivated by a group of pensioners solving mysteries and even wanting more!! Can't wait to buy and read the next book in the series <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Dementia, Suicide, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, and Animal death
readingthroughinfinity's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
My folks have both read this and I finally got round to reading it so we can have a little family book club discussion. The premise seemed so good (four pensioners at a sleepy retirement village attempt to solve a murder) and the way the mystery gradually unspooled was enjoyably intriguing, but the pacing was very slow to begin with. I know this was done for world-building purposes and to introduce us to the characters, but sometimes the story felt like it was meandering around the point a little too much.
Having said that, the four main characters were funny and interesting and I feel like books sometimes write off older characters as insignificant, so it was nice to read a novel where they were front and center. There were times when things the characters said played to/reinforced stereotypes that weren't really necessary, but on the whole this a light-hearted read.
Having said that, the four main characters were funny and interesting and I feel like books sometimes write off older characters as insignificant, so it was nice to read a novel where they were front and center. There were times when things the characters said played to/reinforced stereotypes that weren't really necessary, but on the whole this a light-hearted read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Alcohol, Death, Suicide attempt, Dementia, Murder, and Animal death
zara89's review
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
medium-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
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Mental illness, Abortion, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, and Terminal illness
therobinjoyce's review
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
Again, I felt like one of the last people on bookstagram to read this book and after all the hype I’d heard about it, I was expecting amazing things from The Thursday Murder Club. Unfortunately, I think the hype for this novel was very unprecedented and encouraged mainly by the fame of Richard Osman.
The book was initially hard to get into with the ever-shifting POVs and slow pacing but after a while, I could see a pattern emerging and it was a little simpler to follow each different narrator. But even then, the story was very long-winded and dragged on far too long.
Each chapter was rather short, which suited me well, but it would take roughly 10 pages of narration to finally read one sentence of information that was pertinent to the plot.
The characters were an unlikely and unusual bunch and could have been written so well but, alas, they all felt rather vanilla and boring to me and I could not connect with any of them. Donna was the only one I didn’t mind reading about but she had far too little “screen time” to keep me interested in the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Xenophobia
lkbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Murder, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Chronic illness, Death, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Sexism, Body shaming, Misogyny, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage and Animal death
happylilfaerie's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Grief, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Racism, and Xenophobia
novi's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This is more of a murder mystery than a thriller. It took a slow cozy approach, although at times can be a bit tense, but overall it's not action-packed or suspenseful.
I think I'll like it more if the whole book is narrated from Joyce's point of view because her chapters are always has funny bits and I looove old people's first person's narration. Joyce is the only first person pov here, though. The other chapters was narrated through third person point of view and I didn't really enjoy it.
I think the mystery is all over the place. There are twists here and there but it wasn't satisfying to me and it made me lose interest/care about the mystery.I like my mystery to be wrapped nicely in one. Like, clues or the occurrences might seem scattered or didn't have connection with one another but in the end they're all connected. But here, they're not connected at all. In fact there were really separated from one another. You could say they're red herrings, but usually we never knew what these red herrings were actually about. But here, the book gave us closures for these red herrings. And it quite upsets me. The author might think that it's clever, because those closures are the twists. But I was actually hoping for something more and ended up with something that came out of Chicken Soup for the Soul or something (i've never read those though so i don't know). And one of those red herrings (I'm talking about Bernard's plotlines here) we were not even let to be invested in it yet, and then suddenly the closure came and the resolution of it just made me like..... "Um... Okay??". All I'm saying is, it's all so convoluted for nothing.
And Chris gotta stop being relatable. Like seriously. Stop. Ittttt. I don't want to relate to an old police officer but this book keeps attacking me for no reason.
I think I'll like it more if the whole book is narrated from Joyce's point of view because her chapters are always has funny bits and I looove old people's first person's narration. Joyce is the only first person pov here, though. The other chapters was narrated through third person point of view and I didn't really enjoy it.
I think the mystery is all over the place. There are twists here and there but it wasn't satisfying to me and it made me lose interest/care about the mystery.
And Chris gotta stop being relatable. Like seriously. Stop. Ittttt. I don't want to relate to an old police officer but this book keeps attacking me for no reason.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
One side character often feels guilty about what he eats and thinks of the calories that the food contains