Book Review: The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman
A little over a year ago I read my first ever book by Richard Osman – The Thursday Murder Club. In today’s review, I’m going to tell you all about it!
I read the book as it was both recommended and loaned to me by Chris. I’m not one for reading much into such a lighthearted genre, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a hit. It definitely was! With the fourth book in the series less than a month away from release, now is a perfect time to share my experience for any readers considering it!
The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 382
Audience: Adult
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: 03 Sept 2020
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Goodreads – The Thursday Murder Club
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.
But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?
My Thoughts
Plot
If it wasn’t already apparent that a book about four septuagenarians living in a retirement complex and solving murders wasn’t going to be a bit on the silly side, let me clear that up for you now. It is! However, I think that’s totally fine. Die hard serious mystery fans, maybe this one isn’t for you. That’s not to say there isn’t a well written mystery in this narrative though!
The scope of the story ended up being far larger than I anticipated. I enjoyed the unpredictability of events as they unfolded and how far flung the ripples of events in Coopers Chase were felt!
Characters
If there’s one thing I enjoyed most from this book, it’s the characterisation. The protagonists of this story are very different from each other and endearing in their antics. Elizabeth is perhaps the most unlikely of the group. However, her nosiness and mischief making are hilarious to read… and her ability to rope other people in is one of the main plot drivers.
Joyce is the quiet one in the group, but not to be underestimated either! She could perhaps be considered the most normal of the four, but she’s easily sucked in by Elizabeth and then gets carried away.
Ron and Ibrahim are also polar opposites of each other. Ron isn’t afraid to mosey in, or brag about his son. Ibrahim, on the other hand, is a very quiet and unassuming, but intelligent man.
Together they make up the unlikely band that set out to resolve the murder on their doorstep. The way these characters relate and bounce off each other is full of comedy moments.
Narrative Style
Broadly, The Thursday Murder Club is full of light-hearted narrative and humorous character interactions. Underpinning that is the ongoing murder mystery, but honestly, that feels a bit secondary. The ease of the way in which this book is written, coupled with the characters of the book, make this the easy read it is.
I enjoyed it as a simple read to pick up in between larger and denser books. It’s one that you can pick up on a whim and not have to concentrate too hard on if you don’t want to. Equally, if you are the type of person to try and unpick the clues to the mystery, there is definitely scope for that too! You take out what you put in I suppose.
Having said that, whilst the majority of the book is nice and lighthearted, there were a couple of chapters that really threw me. The narrative switches from its light and easy-going style to a couple of quite dark chapters that made me cry when I read them. That said, the stark contrast between the two really emphasised the message and the events that are happening in those couple of chapters. I found that really powerful.
Summary
The Thursday Murder Club doesn’t take itself too seriously, and prospective readers shouldn’t either. It’s a fun murder mystery book with a ragtag group of pensioners sticking their noses in where they shouldn’t, but in the most ridiculous and hilarious of ways.
If you’re looking for a good laugh, great character dynamics and a nice easy read, then pick up The Thursday Murder Club!
Have you read The Thursday Murder Club? What did you think?
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