Four old codgers, two ladies and two men, decide to amuse themselves by investigating cold cases and set themselves up as the Thursday Murder Club. The lead Lady has contacts to enable them to do this. They all live in an upmarket retirement village owned by an obnoxious property developer who has designs for expansion by acquiring adjacent property and land to which everyone objects. When he arrives one morning complete with diggers to demolish an ancient cemetery everyone rallies to bar the way and protest. In the resulting medley he drops dead, found to be poisoned. How the club gets to weasel information from all and sundry and infiltrate the police investigation and solves murders and other mysteries makes a compelling story with many laughs along the way until it becomes darker as things are revealed

More cosy mystery than fast-paced page turner, this debut from Richard Osman was refreshingly different. He has a unique style of writing that I really enjoyed. The premise is really unusual and worked really well with great characterisation. A group of elderly, often underestimated, people in a luxury fold/retirement community come together to solve mysteries and cold-cases, to the bemusement of the local police. At times both funny and poignant – I'm sure this will be a hit.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book.
It is a murder mystery reminiscent in style of Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
A group of pensioners in a retirement village decide that they will investigate old, closed police cases to keep themselves amused, only to find themselves in the middle of a real life crime.
Delightful characters, crimes which, although gruesome, do not seem to be because of Osman's light touch, and a well-woven storyline, which incorporates insights into what it means to grow old make this a charming page-turner.
Great fun!

This was a feelgood relaxing read.

I loved the setting and would like to book my place in a similar retirement home. The posse of senior citizen detectives were all people that I would like to spend time with and I enjoyed the way they manipulated younger people by using their prejudices about old age against them.

The puzzle was engaging and the journey of getting to a solution was satisfying.

I enjoyed the gentle humour and observations of human behaviour, overall my take away from this is the value of listening to your elders and providing them with plenty of cake and wine.

This is set in a very nice retirement village in Kent. There is an abundance of clubs and activities to join in with. The four retirees, Elizabeth, Ron, Abraham and Joyce are all members of The Thursday Murder Club. This was originally set up by Elizabeth (ex-spy) and her friend Penny (ex-DI) to try to solve some of Penny's cold cases. Penny is no longer able to take part in the club so the others have joined Elizabeth.

PC Donna de Freitas has recently transferred from the Met following the end of a relationship and she is not happy with the boredom of her new role in Kent. She yearns to be solving murders rather than giving security talks to the residents of retirement homes. The Murder Club love Donna though and have her pegged for bigger things and wiithout anyone knowing what is happening, the Murder Club manage to get Donna on to the murder team which is run by DCI Chris Hudson.

When Tony Curran is murdered, the retirees are beside themselves with the opportunity to solve a current murder. Due to the fact that they are just seen as "Old Fogies" they are able to find their way in to places that the police wouldn't. Not to mention the questions that they can ask without anyone thinking that they need to watch what they're saying. The club then choose when and how much information they will then share with Donna and Chris ... but not without expecting something in return.

The characters are all complex and interesting and all of them, no matter how small their part in the plot, are needed.

There are plenty of red herrings and I found this easy to read and found myself looking forward to being able to pick the book up each time.

I very much look forward to the next in the series.

I hugely enjoyed this book!

An interesting cast of characters, a really clever story.

And really, really funny.

I hope Richard writes more. I'd certainly buy them

I loved it - clever plotting, funny, well-paced, and with great characters. Richard Osman is that rare celebrity who can also write a good book.

I'm always a little wary of "celebrity" novels so I wasn't sure what to expect of The Thursday Murder Club.
I had absolutely nothing to worry about.
This is a witty, tightly plotted novel with plenty of twists and turns and red herrings. I can absolutely recommend.

Last Christmas, I discovered the amazing game show that is Richard Osman’s House of Games. It’s a clever twist on the classic game show format, is highly entertaining, requires wit and is generally such a delight! So, it’s wonderful to report that this seems to be a signature move from Richard Osman as all these joyous elements can be found in his debut novel: The Thursday Murder Club.

So, just who are the Thursday murder club? Well, they are Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, Joyce and formerly Penny.

Our club members are all in their 70s and live in Coopers Chase retirement village. Every Thursday, they look through old case files (belonging to Penny, a former member of the police) of unsolved murders and try to solve them. Then, a real life murder comes their way when Tony Curran – a local man with links to the retirement home – is murdered.

They immediately get to work at trying to solve the crime. Strong-willed Elizabeth calls the shots and utilise everyone’s specific skill-sets. Former nurse Joyce is the newest member of the club and she was my favourite character: so funny and astute, I got some Miss Marple vibes from her.

We also meet a wonderful cast of other characters who all play their parts in the plot: Ian Ventham, owner of the retirement village, Ron’s son Jason, a retired boxer who now tours the minor celeb scene (think Dancing on Ice), Father Mackie who has his own secrets, charming handyman Bogdan, grieving Bernard and Fairhaven’s local and likeable police: DCI Chris Hudson and PC Donna De Freitas.

I’ve included all these characters here to show you how many sub-plots and people are expertly woven through the narrative. Nothing feels forced, cluttered or excessive and everything comes together and flows in a fiendishly wonderful way.

Along with the character mix there are not one but THREE murders that weave their way into this clever story and become cases for the Thursday murder club to sink their teeth into.

Basically, my takeaway from reading is this: you should never underestimate the power of a group of seemingly innocent septuagenarians.

The Thursday Murder Club felt to me like a little homage to Agatha Christie with its funny quips, dry asides, clever murder mystery and overall gentle tone that’s not afraid to throw in a serious moment. And also like a great Christie novel, no element of the story goes the way you think it will.

This was truly a delight to read. Here’s hoping the Thursday murder club have another outing very soon.

This is a well written interesting read. A group of friends in a retirement village investigate unsolved murders as their hobby and when someone connected to them is murdered, they take on this live investigation. Has a bit of an Agatha Christie feel to it in the way the police give them plenty of leeway in getting involved in the case. The characters are funny and interesting, with Elizabeth being the lead investigator in the group, Will be good to find out more of her back story if this becomes a series,

What a treat this book is. It's a quaint murder mystery set in a retirement village where a group of residents have set themselves up as the Thursday Murder Club of the title. They mull over old cases, but find themselves in the midst of an investigation when the business partner of the complex owner is bludgeoned to death. At the scene of a crime, a photo is left which includes the son of one of the group members and they can't resist getting involved.
The police are also keen to solve the crime. With some stealthy manipulation by the Murder Club's leader, the constable who delivers security lectures as part of the retirement village's entertainment programme is asked to join the refreshingly straightforward detective who leads the team.
Plots thicken when a further crime is committed during a protest aimed at saving a convent's cemetery from the expansion of the village and later when a range of skeletons are discovered in various closets (and other places).
What starts off as an interesting-enough tale soon becomes a compelling mystery rooted in strong traditions. Initial flavours suggesting a cocktail of Agatha Christie and PG Wodehouse soon fade as the realisation hits that Richard Osman has a talent and a style of his very own.
There's a wonderful life-affirming attitude throughout. We are reminded that all people are amazing individuals with unique histories. For that, they are to be respected and all but the most serious of indiscretions can be allowed to fade without close inspection.
Every character in the cast is delightfully constructed and the interplay between them is a joy to behold. Moments of genuine emotion are created by excellent storytelling, keen observation, neat turns of phrase and a range of comedy moments that inspires everything from a warm smile to laughs out loud. Just as importantly, the solving of the crimes unfolds with perfect timing and there are a few twists at the end to allow it to end with a flourish.
Once the glow of finishing the novel eventually faded, I found myself hoping that the delights of the read wouldn't be diluted by turning it into a series. Not long after that, I decided I was probably right about that, but that a sequel would be entirely in order (if you please Mr Osman).
And a final thought. Like a Pixar film where you really should stick around until the end of the credits, you should actually read the acknowledgements at the back. Not only are they entertaining, they include tips for eating out and a warmth of spirit that reflects the loveliness of the novel itself.
They say laughter is the best medicine. When combined with a gripping story, I reckon it becomes even more powerful. The Thursday Murder Club provided the antidote to lockdown that I needed and just in the nick of time, so thanks NetGalley for getting a copy into my hands. . .

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an unbiased review.
I really wanted to like this book but it has left me a little nondescript.
I actually felt that the more it went on the more it became completely unrealistic in terms of how the police reacted to the investigative efforts of a group of retirement home residents in their eighties.
The actual story behind the killings was fine, actually it was pretty good.
I appreciate that with an ARC it hasn't been edited properly and normally don't have any real issues with that, but this one jumped from one character to another with no notice and often I found myself having read a paragraph or so before realising we were now on a different character.
All told I find myself a bit middle of the road here, so a solid three stars.

An excellent debut novel. Highly entertaining and amusing. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope Richard writes aMother novel. Loved it

This is not my usual kind of story but I thought it was a great idea for a book so thought I would give it a try. The book did take me a while to get into as it was slow going initially, however it does have a clever plot, a fantastic set of characters and the story is funny yet poignant at the same time. I can just imagine it as a tv series! An enjoyable holiday read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Books and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the murder mystery, particularly the unlikely heroes of the elderly super-sleuth residents of a care home.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron set out to crack a murder on their doorstep, staying well ahead of the local constabulary and my own thoughts on whodunnit.

Love, love, love this book!
There are many marvellous laugh-out-loud moments, and Osman brings us characters we would all love to know better. The setting is unusual - how much fun could a care home possibly be for those of us some decades off? - but be prepared to have your assumptions upended. The storyline is suitably twisty and holds your interest - and you won't guess whodunnit till the end.
I do hope he is planning sequels.

This is very much the book I was hoping it would be. Warm, clever, intelligent, funny - the story of a retirement community hunting down murderers sounds - well, actually it sounds as ingenious as it is. There are some wonderful characters in this book. It's such an easy read, but so absorbing too.

This is a great idea for a book with a clever setting and vibrant characters. It would make a great tv series, and in places I felt it read more like a TV spinoff than a standalone book . But it was an enjoyable read.

What a fun book! Picture a bevy of Marples relocated to Exotic Marigold Hotel.
With a fantastic cast of characters and a clever plot, this rip-roaring mystery takes place in an exclusive retirement village in Kent. The residents from the Thursday Murder Club set up initially to solve cold cases purely for their own enjoyment end up investigating murders that directly involve themselves and their friends. Will they solve it?
Charming and highly enjoyable with a lot of chuckling. Great stuff.

I really love Richard Osman and was really excited to read this. So excited that it jumped to the top of my pile of books to read.

I feel bad saying this but I just didn't enjoy the book at all. It was much too wordy and I struggled to connect to the characters at all or being interested in them.
There is some great dark humour but overall this book wasn't for me and I am really sorry to say that.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.