The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

 

Are you reading any books this month for a book club?  If so, what book?  Do you like it or dislike it?

In a retirement community in England, four friends (Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron) have a weekly meeting whether they work on solving cold cases from the past.  When a murder takes place in their community, will they be able to catch the killer before they strike again?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       The Thursday Murder Club was my pick for the Rogue Book Club in May.  Only one person had finished the book, so we unfortunately were not able to have a good discussion about it.  There were great questions at the end of my copy of the book which would be good to use at a future book club.  Some book club members found it too slow with too many characters.  The book club member who had finished it had read it on audiobook and greatly recommended it.  I usually always finish my book club books but didn’t quite made it this time.  I finished it two days after book club!

·       This book was more about character building than even the mystery itself.  I loved the quirky and likeable characters.  I loved all the different characters in the senior community.  They felt like friends, and I can’t wait to read the next book.

·       The characters do face the realities of aging in both positive ways (experiences, contacts, etc.) and negative ways (dementia, health, etc.)

·       Joyce has recently moved to the community and is the newest member of the club.

·       PC Donna has recently moved to the area from London and is happy to be working on the murder case.

·       This novel has short chapters that keep the story moving.  I also enjoyed the humor.

·       The book is told through many point of views.  Joyce is the only first-person point of view.

·        I really enjoyed the ending of this mystery.  A lot of loose ends were tied up.

·       The next book in this series is The Man Who Died Twice and I can’t wait to read it!

Overall, The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is a great cozy character driven mystery.  I look forward to the movie later this year.  I’m glad I finally read this and can’t wait to continue with the series.

Book Source:  This was a gift from a dear friend.