Book Review: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I stumbled upon The Thursday Murder Club while browsing the shelves of my local bookstore. I was looking for something relatively light, and the premise—retirees solving cold cases—sounded like a fun and unique twist on the traditional murder mystery.

The story follows a group of retirees living in a quiet retirement village, who spend their days researching unsolved crimes to pass the time and form connections. When a real murder occurs nearby, they leap at the chance to get involved, much to the bemusement of the local police. Despite being overlooked and dismissed by law enforcement, they persist in their investigation, using their combined wit and experience to unravel the mystery.

The characters in the group all play off each other well, contributing to the overall charm of the book. While no single character stood out to me, I appreciated their dynamics as a group. There were times when I lost track of who was who and how they were connected, but as the story progressed, everything became clearer, and it didn’t affect my understanding or enjoyment of the book.

The pacing was well-handled, making it a relatively quick read. Each chapter added a new piece to the puzzle, with enough misdirection to keep me guessing. I couldn’t predict the outcome, but everything fit together nicely in the end, making for a satisfying payoff.

The book touched on the lengths we’ll go to and the secrets we’ll keep for those we love, while also reminding me of heist films where the characters use societal expectations to their advantage, which was an enjoyable aspect of the story.

The only challenge I faced was the number of characters, which made it a bit difficult to keep track of everyone in what was a relatively short text. However, this was a minor issue in an otherwise enjoyable read.

Overall, I give The Thursday Murder Club 4 out of 5 stars. It’s not my usual genre, but I found it to be a delightful and entertaining read. It provided a nice balance to the heavier book I was reading at the same time. While I’m not certain I’ll continue with the series, I wouldn’t rule it out.