Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Thursday Murder Club

I think this book is probably better on a reread, an easy read that’s flip flopping between a multitude of things in a mystery that was a little simple for what I was expecting from Osman, but still typically and ideally subversive. What really stood out to me were the main characters, while the ensemble cast of characters probably needed more time allocated to them to be considered and fleshed out, the core Thursday Murder Club were all very engaging and something I see myself returning for more of. It’s certainly a cosy, comfortable and enjoyable read that’s as much a delight from start to finish as much as its underlying plot can be a little pale and weak at times too. Either way, it’s carried by an almost cinematic perspective that I found captivating and seamless. Though nothing to do with the book itself, it’s what drew me in. I’m not sure how many variations of cover there are for this book, but the one you’ll find in most places is fantastic and I think it captures the vibe of the book perfectly.

Content Warnings

huntress's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark funny mysterious sad medium-paced

3.25

Content Warnings

jefferz's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Richard Osman’s series has already been heavily read and reviewed so I won’t be quite as detailed as I usually do since the major points of discussion have already been covered. Despite what the genre and synopsis of the book may imply, The Thursday Murder is as much of a senior citizen themed character drama as it is a murder mystery novel and therefore one must adjust their expectations to its crossover intentions. If reading and reviewing this novel purely as a murder mystery investigation procedural story, The Thursday Murder Club is generally an above average, light-hearted affair that’s quite cozy and easy to pick up (although also just as easy to put down and leave down as it’s a bit slow in places). Taken at face value, the murders reveals and movements are mostly functional, albeit slightly convoluted with certain plot developments coming a bit out of left field. I found it to be fine personally, but too ambitious and twisty for its conclusion to pull the whole case back together. However, The Thursday Murder Club’s strongest element in my opinion is the moments where Osman focuses on the lowkey laughs laughs and allows its senior characters to reflect on the lives they’ve lived and acknowledge how good things are in the present when any of them could go (or suffer from a stroke that would leave them mentally gone) in the coming days. Whether the senior citizen hijinks and senior days interest you I feel basically makes or breaks this book since the murder aspect isn’t quite good enough in my opinion to carry the novel on its own.

The main thing to consider with The Thursday Murder Club is whether a retirement home setting and reading about some sharp-minded seniors with too much time on their hands is something that’s interesting. I was initially thrown off at first by how nonchalant and silly the first 50 pages were. While I personally found the humor to be quite amusing, Richard Osman’s attempts at humor are very British, lowkey, and at times quite Dad-joke-esque. It’s a perfect pitch for me and is quite sarcastically smart at times, but it won’t work for everyone, especially those that favor more laugh out loud, modern trendy styled comedy. Once the first of several murders occur, the investigation follows a rough formula that balances investigation developments with various characters' day to day activities. The book also constantly shifts perspectives between its huge cast of characters between each chapter. I found Osman’s execution of this concept clever where some character perspectives are told in 3rd person, some in first person, some in the past tense, and even Joyce’s entire perspective conveyed via her diary in 2nd person perspective. The variety of tones and perspectives added a lot of interest to me in what could’ve been a repetitive and tiring read (there’s only so much of cozy that I can read through) and it helps differentiate who is who with varied mannerisms.

The cast of characters are quite diverse, though the obvious favorites are probably the four members of the senior Thursday Murder Club and the two police investigators they drag into their seemingly innocuous hobby. One thing I loved about this book was the unlikely pairing of Constable Donna De Freitas and DCI Chris Hudson. The buddy cop turned romantic pairing has been overdone to death and I loved the age and experience-gap coworkers to friends dynamic between the two of them. As for the members of the Thursday Murder Club, I liked the variety between the four of them who each brought unique skills to the investigation tables from their past careers and lives. While some activities are a bit of a stretch given their living arrangements, Osman at least makes an effort of plausibility given their backstories. Outside of the club, despite the cozy and initially casual air at the Coopers Chase retirement community, pretty much every other character has secrets and a history that somehow plays into events both in the present as well as in the early 2000’s and 1970’s (some being more successful than others).

However despite finding the character work to be a highlight, I felt that the book introduced far too many characters right at the beginning of the story which I can see being difficult to follow for casual readers. Some of the perspective jumps also didn’t feel like they contributed much to the overall story or further muddied the early chapters where it’s hard to tell who is who, particularly the spouses, partners, or friends in Coopers Chase (I comically confused two different senior men to be the same person and thought there was a love triangle going on). These early chapters are also quite slow and while I found the senior shenanigans quite funny, readers primarily looking for a page-turning murder mystery will find this disappointing or worse, a waste of time.

As the investigation progressed and past secrets were unearthed, The Thursday Murder Club started to feel a bit rocky and inconsistent to me. While varied in terms of reveals and locations, the overall mystery progressed quite slow and far more casual than I typically prefer. When the investigation was meant to be fun and silly, it was great (aka every time Elizabeth strikes deals to get information from the two police investigators). However, more dramatic moments or developments didn’t feel as confident or rewarding and were overall inconsistent in quality. Certain reveals such as the connection between three young men in a bar with piles of money was compelling and I liked what Osman did with their development and character growth (except one). Elizabeth and Stephen’s dynamic and character arc happening on the side of the main murder investigation was also one of my favorite parts of the story, particularly their connection to their comatose friend and past Murder Club member Penny. On the other hand, for every secret and backstory that felt well done and plotted, there were an equal number of those I found coming out of left field with either a lack of proper setup or just being a bit lackluster to read about. While clearly intended to be moving and dramatic, I found Father Mackie’s backstory and connection to Coopers Chase to be quite random, disconnected and poorly foreshadowed. While its placement late in the book helped it have more opportunities for exposition, Penny and John’s backstory and secrets also felt unexpected, and not in a twisted surprising way.

As far as the murder mystery and investigation is considered, I felt like the whole mystery was a bit of a mixed bag much the cast of characters. There were sections that I could not put down my ereader where it was an absolute page-turner only for it to be followed by a shift in perspective and focus that killed the momentum that was just building (the chapters from the perspective of the “villains” were not to my taste and dragged down the read). While there are some pretty clever plot twists and culprits are far from who you would likely expect, I felt that the overall investigation was too twisty and too much time and focus were spent on elaborate red herrings. Some of the intended red herrings and backstories felt far more compelling and developed than some of the actual motives for the murders. While all the the motives technically work and there’s no major plot holes (an accomplishment considering the size of its cast and scope of its intertwining narratives), some left a bit to desired or again, involved random new twists that were not set up well. While I liked Penny’s role in the story, her entire backstory was revealed on the fly at the same time as a major plot twist she was involved with, stealing away a lot of the impact it could’ve had if it was set up properly. The same could be said about the investigation’s connection to Cypress and a certain event in the early 2000’s. That whole arc and characters being killed while also relating to other characters felt quite messy and offhanded, again technically working on paper but often feeling like a wild goose chase or duck hunt. While far from bad, this awkward juggling of reveals did give me that debut novel kind of feel, which I’m sure Osman cleans up and improves in subsequent books.

Despite having some issues and being a bit letdown by the murder investigation’s rollout, the book’s tone and character banter were great. Despite death and murders, The Thursday Murder Club was entirely cozy and easy to read through. If all else fails, I thought Osman nailed the senior citizen meddling (both at the senior community and during their frequent outings) and loved the initial reason the Thursday Murder Club was even formed; senior citizens who are nosy and have too much time on their hands. Having a Grandmother who is in her 90’s that has some early signs of dementia, you can tell when she’s having a good day when she’s nosy and up to everyone else’s business. The way Osman plotted Elizabeth’s use of her senior image to mentally manipulate and investigate those around her was consistently clever, at times even brilliant. My personal favorite is a recurring gag where Elizabeth pretends to be a nun and throws out an unexpected “thank you father”. An early scene where Ron and Ibrahim feigning being mentally gone also had me rolling, especially since Ron is the mean and rough tough guy. Not all of the senior moments are played for laughs however, and while still being light and breezy, some of the more serious moments such as widows grieving their lost spouses were surprisingly heartfelt.

Although I found The Thursday Murder Club to be a bit of a mixed bag in terms of its plot and focal murder element (a potentially major deal breaker for crime junkie readers), I still enjoyed reading this book which was a perfect companion for my sick at home recovering reading days. Comfty, light-hearted and quite humorous, there’s a lot to like as long as one is not averse to British banter and sense of humor (most reviews calling this book boring probably didn’t get its humor). This is also a great recommendation for readers that are looking for a mystery novel but be put off or find darker violent murder cases difficult to stomach. While being far from perfect for me, I definitely plan to continue this series if not just to see the breadcrumbs of relationships Osman left at the end grow. People dramatically dying are just some extra added bonus points to the mix-

Content Warnings

brunoshort's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I almost DNFed this book. It was soooooo slow and repetitive. Then the twists started happening. I had to go back to earlier chapters because details I thought were filler became crucial to the story. This book left me guessing to the end. That’s the only reason it got 3.5 stars. TOUGH IT OUT and keep going.

Content Warnings

heresyourletter's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I was excited to read this book as an avid cozy mystery reader. It had a great cast of characters and funny, well-written dialogue, but I found the pacing slow and

hated the overuse of unnecessary suicides/“mercy killings” as a way for characters to get out of their problems. Their suicides didn’t really contribute to the overall plot and almost trivialized the horror of suicide and its impact on surviving loved ones. The suicide of a devout Catholic nun in front of a church altar is particularly horrifying and unrealistic given her faith background. I feel other methods could have been used to write characters out of the main story.

Content Warnings

More...