Review: The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman
Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to…
The Thursday Murder ClubIn a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?
Review.
Dear Richard Osman
This book was a recommendation from a friend. I really like mysteries and this one promised older, amateur detectives so I was immediately intrigued and ordered it from the library. The waiting was too long though so I eventually caved in and bought the book. I am happy I have read the book, but I cannot say that this was a perfect read for me. What I loved the most was the characters, specifically our amateur detectives – Elisabeth, Joyce , Ibrahim and Ron absolutely stole my heart.
Considering Elisabeth’s profession in her life prior to the retirement, her confidence and competence made perfect sense and overall their strengths I thought complemented each other. Moreover, since the murders took place in the village or in the close vicinity, I totally understood our heroes getting involved in the investigation. What I am trying to say is that their everyday lives could have been changed if the local developer would not have been killed and that is all I am saying.
I have to talk about things not making much sense, too, and of course I always make allowances when I pick up a book where I know amateur detectives would be involved, because the author probably walks the tight line trying to balance the portrayal of law enforcement as not being total idiots and giving our amateur detectives their dues. Man, oh man. I don’t think he portrayed the police duo as idiots, but he absolutely let our wonderful retirees walk all over them and it did sound a bit silly and more than once to me.
The mystery and investigation had a complicated build up to it, certainly there was a lengthy investigation, with several suspects. Sometimes it even felt a little bit too complicated, but the ending felt a little more like … that is it?
Also, the book ended up being sadder than I thought it would be – mostly because of the very real issues connected to aging. B/B-
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I agree with your thoughts on the way the police are shown when amateur detectives are involved. I’d almost like to see a book where the police end up showing up the amateurs!
I loved this book and have read it twice, also read and loved the second. And I say this as a determined never-fan of amateur detectives. Without question, the characters are the soul of the book and if anything happens to them as it does in real life, I will be brokenhearted. I expect this genre to be nonsensical so the representation of the police is not important to me. It is, however, one of the many reasons I avoid amateur detective fiction, so I can’t disagree with your assessment.
The author admitted he had no idea what he was doing in writing the book and was as surprised as anyone at its success. I am happy with his slapdash method so I can have more of these characters.
@Darlynne: oh yes I absolutely loved the fabulous four. actually second book came from the library for me , so anything happens to them? I mean do they die? if they do I am not reading the book :). I think author has skills , I wish him lots of success.@Jayne: Me too!
I also read this after a friend recommended it. It took me a while to get into it, because of the large number of characters and changing points of view, but I wound up enjoying it a lot. I can’t say I recall much about it afterward though. I think that speaks to the complexity (as well as my poor memory).
I also enjoyed the second one, and no, I don’t think any of the main characters end up in a way that will be heartbreaking to the reader.
I enjoyed the first book and would probably give it a B+. It started slowly for me, but I eventually got into it and loved the seniors. I agree the police were portrayed largely for humor. My enjoyment was helped by the audiobook, narrated by the wonderful Lesley Manville, who does a great job with each and every voice, male and female. She narrates the next one as well. And the second book, The Man Who Died Twice, is so much better! It picks up shortly after the first leaves off, and there is such lovely humor in it. The writing is tighter, the pace faster, and the mystery better. The police, Chris and Donna, are portrayed as more competent and well-rounded characters with their own meaningful storylines. We learn more about each of our leads. Bogdan is back and awesome. Sad things happen, but I can say the fab 4 make it safely to the end. I hope you enjoy it, Sirius!
@Kris Bock: @Becky: thank you both for more details about the second book. I will definitely try it.