A review by angorarabbit
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

TLDR: Unless you are allergic to twee in your mystery this is a good series to try out. Or maybe I’m just getting old and soft. 
 
Context: For reasons unknown I chose to read #2 and #3 in the series before reading #1.I also think Richard Osman is quite funny and smart on the telly. 
 
I usually find the first book or two in a mystery series  to be still finding it’s legs in a crowded market. Mr Osman hit the ground running. Which considering what he has been doing with his life is to be expected. While there are a few things that may stretch credulity it is for the most part believable as you can expect a murder mystery novel to be. There is one thing that happens which is out of line for a character as there also was in The Bullet That Missed but other than that all characters were well described and acted consistently. 
 
What I love so much about this series is how Mr Osman gets aging. Not just the body failing but the mind. There are murders in the book but there are also natural deaths and dementia. All of it portrayed in a truthful without sugarcoating. 
 
I see that The Thursday Murder Club Mystery is adapted and is currently on Netflix, which makes me sad that Alan Rickman can not play the part of Ian Ventham although I’m sure David Tennant does a fine job. 
 

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