Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Torstain murhakerho by Richard Osman

120 reviews

misskitty14's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-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

4.0

If you're a fan of Only Murders in the Building, this novel is great for you.

Set in an English retirement community, a group of senior sleuths investigate cold cases as a hobby when a murder happens in their backyard.

The mystery is solid; there are quite a few red herrings that all turn out to be mysteries in their own right.  But the real joy of the novel is the cast of characters. Osman has wonderfully captured the spirit of septuagenarians (ex. their comedic focus on unimportant details). I found myself audibly chuckling at passages throughout the book as they reminded me of parents and grandparents long gone.

Finally, and perhaps this is just because of where I am in my own life, the setting and characters sparked a bit of self-reflection. I think it is difficult to read the novel and not consider what you want your retirement to look like, to think about what your future will be at a stage in life that we rarely explore as a society. Will you have children and grandchildren to visit with you? Do you want to live in the same home you did all your life? Will you prefer to live in this sort of close-knit, active community of elderly peers?

Ultimately, I am interested to see what other adventures the Thursday Murder Club gets itself into.

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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious slow-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

4.25

I'm so glad I read this for book club because I kept getting it confused with The Marlow Murder Club which I DNF'd and therefore kept avoiding it. This book is far more entertaining than The Marlow Murder Club! A great blend of humor, deep emotions, and red herrings to keep you just puzzled enough. 

The story also raises some moral issues to chew on, and while I like how most of them are handled, I did think there was a bit too much approval (unless it was just meant to be tired acceptance?) of suicide/killing of someone because they are old/tired/incapacitated. 

That said, I'm quite intrigued to continue the series at this point!


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oliverreeds's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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adelita18's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

I thought this was very cute, and the writing style from Joyce's perspective is a delight. I did struggle with that thing where when there are a bunch of characters, I have a hard time keeping everyone's characteristics separate. But I thought this was fun, and I would continue to read this series.

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fiberelf91's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75


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anasf21's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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poirot's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious slow-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

3.0


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elizlizabeth's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I fell in love with the whole cast of characters and I kept laughing out loud on my commutes to the point other passengers must've thought I was losing my mind.
The last 15% however felt very rushed plot wise, a lot of tell don't show with the revelations and false confessions. It made me feel as if we were never meant to solve the mystery on our own for the sake of plot twists. I feel there were more elegant ways to tie off the loose ends and pick up on both previous clues and the overall message of the book (which if I'm seeing it correctly is "the past/old people" vs "the present/young cops" and how there's good and bad things in both).

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raesengele'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? Yes

5.0


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