The Thursday Murder Club

By Richard Osman,

Book cover of The Thursday Murder Club

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A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment

"Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining." -Wall Street Journal

"Don't trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman's own laugh-out-loud whodunit." -Parade

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves…

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Why read it?

26 authors picked The Thursday Murder Club as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I'd heard so much about this book that I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I'm now firmly on the Richard Osman bandwagon.

The four friends who comprise the club are used to working on cold cases. When a "live" case happens in their retirement community, they pool their unique skills and experiences to solve the case.

They each have distinctive voices and different ways of viewing the world. Retirement is definitely not dull in this community.

Now I’m torn. Agnes Sharp and her housemates are delightful, but a friend of mine tells me that I am Joyce in this book. This series is one of the best I’ve read in the past few years, and this book is one of the best ones in the series.

I’ll gladly join septuagenarians Elizabeth (could she have worked for Scotland Yard?), Ibrahim (a psychologist), Ron (a brawling socialist organizer), and Joyce (gentle and perhaps not as naïve as she seems) at their posh retirement village as they discuss unsolved crimes each Thursday. And I’m definitely there to solve the…

From Molly's list on mystery with sidesplitting sidekicks.

As a confirmed Anglophile, I became aware of Richard Osman’s wit and unique humor from watching British game shows where he appears as either a panelist or presenter. When I learned he had authored a book, I couldn’t wait to read it and had high expectations. The Thursday Murder Club did not disappoint.

The eclectic group of characters, from the Old Age Pensioners of the retirement village to the detectives they encounter (and frustrate), are engaging and richly developed. Even the evil-doers are written with more than the usual depth.

The plot is rich, with unexpected twists. I love a…

What Happened to Frank?

By Vicky Earle,

Book cover of What Happened to Frank?

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Vicky's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

What Happened to Frank? is the first book in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series. Meg is an amateur sleuth who owns racehorses and lives on a horse farm. Her beloved border collie, Kelly, is usually at Meg's side as she investigates murders and solves other mysteries. The books are action-packed and fast-paced, and set in the world of thoroughbred horse racing and country life.

Meg's first investigation starts on the dreaded anniversary of Frank's untimely death. Meg's conviction that it was no accident turns into a keen determination to find out who killed her husband. As she follows the bends…

What Happened to Frank?

By Vicky Earle,

What is this book about?

Meg Sheppard Mystery Series Book One

"What Happened to Frank?" is a fast-paced, action-packed mystery that unfurls within the worlds of thoroughbred horse racing and country living.

Meg Sheppard escaped persistent abuse by her stepfather by emigrating to Canada from England.
She now lives on a small horse farm. She owns two thoroughbred racehorses, Rose and Speed, and two retired racehorses, Eagle and Bullet.

Meg adores her border collie dog, Kelly, who is usually at her side.
On the dreaded anniversary of Frank's untimely death, Meg's conviction that it was no accident turns into a keen determination to find out…


I want to retire in Cooper’s Chase to join this wild bunch of retirees. Elderly Elizabeth leads an unruly and underestimated pack of pensioners who investigate murders. Elizabeth’s husband is losing the battle against dementia, so she treasures every second of time with him. She’s also the one person the others believe has killed as part of her previous work in MI-5.

Largely ignored by family, they band together, bickering all the way, to solve murders rather than face the boredom of waiting to die. They keep the local police on their toes, bend the rules, and play the ‘old…

It’s a whodunnit with a twist; the heroes are retiring community residents. This is a smart, funny, fast-paced, good old British humor.

I picked this up in Heathrow airport to read on the plane, and judging by the looks from fellow passengers I think I may have been literally laughing out loud. This is upscale guilty pleasure, and it’s being turned into a movie so now is the time to read it.

This was a book that I picked up because my Mom recommended it. And she struck gold with this one. The book is set in a British retirement community, where a group of old-timers spend their time trying to solve cold cases. But over the course of the book, they get themselves caught up in one very hot case. 

The POV shifts between different characters, who all have interesting voices and skill sets.

From Keith's list on unique settings for a mystery novel.

I’m already envisioning this mystery as a TV series, which isn’t a stretch since Richard Osman’s had a long career in television. The idea of folks in a retirement community getting together to solve crimes isn’t new, but it’s always a hoot (reminds me of an episode of NCIS where Ducky was involved in “The Sherlocks”).

Osman doesn’t disappoint with his crew of senior sleuths in Coopers Chase, notably Elizabeth, the group’s leader, who isn’t intimidated by anything or anyone, and Joyce, her sidekick, a former nurse.

Short chapters and a shifting point of view made for a very fast…

I fell madly in love with the four amateur detectives that comprise the membership of the Thursday Murder Club, not at least because they each represent one of the great sleuthing “types”: Elizabeth (the spy), Ibrahim (the Sherlockian intellectual), Joyce (the Marple-esque little old lady), and Ron (the gritty rule-breaker).

Gentle humor and real affection for the characters permeate this wonderful mystery, along with a tender recognition of the fragility of life. 

The Thursday Murder Club is the first book in a series by the same name. It establishes an ensemble cast of variously gifted characters – a quirky group of senior citizens in a local nursing home! – whose friendships and collective purpose involve the solving of murders.

The characters are realistic, humorous, distinctively gifted, and entirely believable; and the solutions to the murders are not easily detectable. The plots are very good, and the characters even better.

I kept hearing good things about The Thursday Murder Club, but it was only this year that I got around to reading it. What a treat!

Four delightful residents of a lush retirement village, each with unique talents, meet weekly to discuss cold cases. But when a real murder hits close to home, they switch from the theoretical to the actual with unexpected results.

This is a fun, clever mystery full of endearing characters. Dive in and enjoy. 

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