I loved this book - I read it overnight and struggled to put it down.

The Thursday Murder Club are a group of residents from a retirement village who try to solve cold cases until two murders happen on their doorstep and a collection of bones are found. Led by Elizabeth who has an interesting past and lots of connections they work alongside the police to find the murderers.

I loved the quartet - their characters and back stories were built up over the course of the story and you felt for all of their as they all nursed their own secrets. The two police officers were gently manipulated and again I took to them both.

A satisfying read - full of human interest and a good plot.

Will be recommended.

I did enjoy this book very much. It was very well written, though I would have expected no less. It was quite different from your usual murder mystery, very gentle with little blood and violence. The concept of the Murder Club and the setting was excellent. I so liked the idea of the retirement village and if i could find one like that I would move in tomorrow..
I have one or two slight reservations about the book. I found the first half a little slow, but the pace did pick up. I did wonder whether it would have universal appeal, would less mature readers be interested in a lot of old people trying to solve a murder? Lastly I found the solution to the murders a little contrived.. In spite of these criticisms it was a pleasure to read and I look forward to meeting all the characters again in the next book. They are all so wonderful that I miss them already.

This book has everything. It's hilarious, and also heart-breaking. It's clever, but also very readable and accessible. It feels comfortingly familiar, but I've also never read anything quite like it. I enjoyed reading it very much and will definitely follow the series.

The journey was fun so I was uncaring about anticipating story twists and just enjoyed the ride. An amusing slightly tongue in cheek murder tale with strong characters and a convoluted plot. I really enjoyed this book .

I really enjoyed this book and will give it a huge thumbs up. With a great story line and excellent main characters - I would highly recommend this book.

I laughed so much while reading this book, it was exactly my sense of humour. The way it was written reminded me exactly of how my Nanna would tell stories too so it just made me extra happy.

The last few chapters had so much going on and so many ends to tie up that it felt a bit muddled but other than that, I am so happy I picked it up. A very fun read.

A classic murder mystery, and debut novel from Richard Osman.

Coopers Chase is a retirement village full of sparkly characters. Together, a small band form the "Thursday Murder Club", meeting weekly to review unsolved killings.

Yet suddenly the developer of Coopers Chase is dead, killed in their midst, and a few days previous, his building contractor.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim - all four well written and quirky characters - take it upon themselves to solve the crime. Can they do so before the police?

Enjoyed this tremendously, and looking forward to the next instalment in the promised series!

Best Who dunnit in a long time.*********************************************************************************************************************

A Witty, Laugh-Out-Loud Whodunnit

The Thursday Murder Club is one of many social groups at the thriving retirement village of Coopers Chase in Kent. Among the spirited members are dithery former nurse Joyce, lonely Bernard (who still talks to his late wife), smartly-dressed Ibraham and Ron, father of the famous ex-boxer Jason Ritchie. The club usually meets to discuss historic murders but then a murder happens nearby. Ian Ventham, who financed the construction of Coopers Chase and is planning further development on green belt land, is found dead. The Murder Club leader, Elizabeth, a lady with pertinent past, recruits PC Donna De Freitas to help solve the murder. Donna, recently transferred from London, is relieved to be given an interesting project in this sleepy place! The Murder Club has such well-drawn characters you feel part of this gang of amateur sleuths. Loved the unexpected twists at the end. A charming, clever mystery, as you would expect from erudite Pointless expert Richard.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.


This book was such a lovely read, It was centred around an old people’s care home.

The ladies, I found were funny and had their devious ways of getting information out of other people including the police.

An easy book to read,

The rhythm of the book flowed and hoping Richard rights more books.

Light-hearted crime novel set in a retirement home - enjoyable and different

Four residents at the retirement village form the Thursday Murder Club to look into cold cases but up-to-date events take over and they get involved in solving a murder much closer to home. Things escalate and get quite complicated towards the end with plenty of revelations. There's a nice light touch to the writing and the characters are interesting, different and well-conceived. The pace is steady and the whole experience is enjoyable and easy.

A completely different stance on a murder book, following a group of pensioners who are more capable of solving a crime then the police. Lots going on making it a quote light hearted murder book!

What an amusing, clever and well written book!
The story of a group of people in a retirement home who get together on a Thursday to solve crimes and then actually have to solve a real crime - such fun to read. The characters were interesting and realistic and relatable, the mysteries within the story were fascinating and believable, and the ending was just right. And I loved the Britishness of it all!
Well done on a thoroughly enjoyable book that had me giggling, mystified and always interested in the outcomes.

I would normally avoid a celebrity written book, they're often ghosted and ghastly, but I suppose a latent fondness for Richard Osman took hold of me when I requested it. What is he famous for after all, a fact-checking sidekick on a gameshow (where it is all done on the internet). Chummy tall bloke who seems to be quite quick witted but is not a comedian or writer of note. Brother of a member of Suede*. Well the worst it can be is a lousy cosy mystery and I've read enough of those in my time.

Well it is a cosy mystery and it isn't. It also has a strangely topical degree of poignancy coming out now after the massive Covid death toll in care homes. Because The Thursday Murder Club is set in an upscale retirement home, full of quirky, quick witted and fascinating characters, and also full of people slowly fading, dying o bereaved. Osman manages to juggle the central lightly comic tone with this sense of melancholia partially through a deft slipping of viewpoint an omniscient narration and an overall respect for the characters. Our main viewpoint character Joyce is written with a touch of Bennett - there is an observation about halfway through regarding Ashford that "any station calling itself International is bound to have an M&S and if we're lucky and Oliver Bonas' which I think captures the tone perfectly. We have the core retirees - a nurse, a psychologist, an ex Union leader and Elizabeth - whose past is mysterious and we are lead to believe espionage,. There used to be a fourth, an ex Police Inspector who is now fading away, but they would meet on Thursdays to look at cold cases. All solid New Tricks style set up, and then people in the nearby town start getting murdered.

There are so many ways this could go wrong. It could be patronising to the old (it is anything but). It could be too cosy (luckily setting it in Kent gives us no end of ne'erdowells). The mysteries (a few intertwine) aren't going to give Midsomer a run for their money but they are interesting enough to tick the book over whilst you really are quite invested in why Joyce doesn't really talk to her daughter Joanne, and if Elizabeth is going to accept Penny's death. It builds a hopeful community of people living their lives but every now and then remembering that those are nearly over (Elizabeth's self led dementia tests are heartbreaking). At the same time there is a decent gag on most pages and the book is full of the love of humanity. If perhaps we all saw care homes, and retirement communities in this way, full of lively people trying to eek out their days - we wouldn't just let them be statistics. Great fun, but weirdly right now, it almost feels important to say.

[NetGalley ARC]

*And author and I really do now have to get round to reading his book as its supposed to be great. too.

Such an enjoyable murder mystery. What a team of characters from the retirement village they all are, who set to, to try and solve the mysteries - with or without the help of the police. The story is easy to read and along the journey we discover that most of the members of the Thursday Murder Club have secrets of their own.
There are so many ‘one liners’ within the book that had me chuckling to myself. The author obviously has a great sense of quick humour.
In the end, all the threads are drawn together with even the DI getting his act together and well, if you want to know what happens - treat yourself to a great read.

This is a wonderfully good read- it’s classically English in the Agatha Christie sense - picture modern Miss Marple multiplied by four- whilst visually imagining a Midsomer Murder setting . But also there is comedy -:observational snapshots of contemporary life and emotional responses that made Victoria Wood spring to mind. The plot is brisk and the characters very likeable. The use of the narrating character and diary helped draw the plot tighter and the enigmatic Elizabeth and her past teased the reader.It is easy to imagine a sequel and subsequent BBC series. A definite hit

The group of people named ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ are a group of residents of a rather exclusive retirement complex. They are all strong but whimsical characters who enjoy finding solutions to past crimes. Of course, they now have a real murder to solve in their neighbourhood and manage to help the police (who seem to spend more time talking to them than their actual colleagues) whilst greatly entertaining themselves. Their interaction is amusing and the case interesting but this is more of a cosy crime than my favourites. Thanks to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a quirky and joyful book so full of life and character. The delightful residents of Coopers Chase have lived full lives but have no desire to waste their remaining years and so a select group spend their time investigating cold cases until a real life murder happens in their midst which really brings them into life. Whilst this is a mystery novel which does make you wonder what dubious secrets some of the residents may be hiding it is far more about the characters and that’s the secret of its charm. This is a warm-hearted read overall but with some tragic events thrown in, some of which are deeply sad but are fortunately balanced out with the overall tone that so clearly has Richard Osman’s voice.

A murder mystery in the old school style while still being very current and up to date. The murder club members all live in a retirement home but this does not stop them out witting the police and solving a murder. Issues are dealt with carefully and with compassion and warmth

This is a modern day "whodunnit", Agatha Christie style, in that there are a closed group of suspects, brought up to date in the 21st Century. It's written in a really light, enjoyable style that differs throughout the book to keep a great rhythm throughout the story.
Fun twists & turns and lots of subplots, but not too many to keep tabs on!
Amusing at times, heart breaking & thought provoking at others.
Written really cleverly (of course given the author!) - I've guessed twists in other books pretty early on, but I had no idea or inkling at the conclusion and the big mystery isn't solved until 94-95% of the way through the book - that rates very highly for me.
Rooted in enough reality to be believable with just a few fantastical & coincidental elements.
I loved the way the characters themselves were built and all had clear, individual voices & styles. I particularly enjoyed the conversations & was impressed with the different styles throughout (eg Joyce's diary entries)
(Complete personal highlight was the references to locations in Kent & Sussex because I've lived in both areas - appreciate this won't translate to everyone but I had to mention!)
At numerous points whilst reading, I just kept imagining this being adapted for a wonderful Bank Holiday 3 part special on tv - hope that isn't an insult to a book(!) but I definitely mean it as a compliment.
Thoroughly, thoroughly recommend Richard Osman's debut novel & no hesitation in giving the story + style a full 5 stars