Book Nook: 'The Thursday Murder Club' by Richard Osman

Eleanor did it again: Another swell book to curl up with and enjoy while waiting for our winter to arrive. One does wonder if her objective was more plotting than pleasure (I never know with her), but whatever her intentions, high praise is in order for Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. 

Unlike many other detective novels, the scene is set at a retirement home and not a dingy, dark, rundown office in some shady part of London. And unlike many other detective novels, the detectives in charge are not scornful, scruffy, and tormented middle-aged men with something to prove to an ex-lover or to their previous law enforcement profession. On the contrary, the individuals on the hunt to find a murderer belong to four retirees, longing for adventure and fighting (albeit slowly), for justice.

While the characters represent a group of people many disregard after a certain age, they also hold unique abilities to their crime fighting hobbies. A retired MI6 agent, a nurse, a psychiatrist, and a union worker make up the Club. The detective skills among them may come across as sparse and incompatible, but these forces combined not only add value in a funny sort of way, but also lend a hand in connecting people from all of life’s professions. With the help of Elizabeth (former MI6 agent and the most secretive and sarcastic of the group), the group meets every Thursday to review and solve cold cases. In the puzzle room at Cooper’s Chase retirement home, the gang examines crime photos and victim identities, while piecing together ideas the authorities may have missed. And while all of this seems a dark, entertaining hobby for the characters, their excitement and amateur experiences become relevant when murder lands right on the front doorstep of Cooper's Chase.

Main characters Ron (retired union laborer), Elizabeth (retired MI6 agent), Ibrahim (retired psychologist), and Joyce (retired nurse) are finally able to flex those investigative muscles, taking matters into their own hands. They begin to break down the case, one interview, body, and hilarious scenario at a time. With the help of two British police officers (Donna and Chris), The Thursday Murder Club unravels a world of corruption which seems to be transpiring not only within their sleepy retirement community, but also within the fabric of the friendships and relationships they’ve each made at Cooper’s Chase.

Throughout the crime solving chapters of The Thursday Murder Club, readers not only feel the page-turning grip of a detective novel, but also find humility and compassion for the characters as we learn how and why each ended up at Cooper’s Chase. From losing connections with loved ones once retirement age occurred, to the loneliness and boredom that plagues many in these situations, and even the harsh realities of Alzheimer’s and death, Osman created a world of understanding while feeling compelled to jump into the pages and hug each character as they battle murder and the destination of old age.

Finding humor in the most difficult of life’s adventures, The Thursday Murder Club not only educates readers and enthralls them with a crime fighting lifestyle, but also gears the chapters in a highly entertaining fashion. While Eleanor and I have conquered many novels in our time together, it is highly unusual for us to have good old chuckles out loud during our reads, but The Thursday Murder Club did just that. From the character’s drastic personality differences morphing into the group timing – how long it takes a senior citizen to get up from a chair in order to determine if they, in fact, had enough time to commit murder, for example – Osman’s unique ability to add comic value to this book is fantastic. 

Although Eleanor and I typically find many detective series to be similar in theme and technique, Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club is a far stretch from what we are accustomed to. There was adventure, love, tears, death, and, most importantly, the ability to relate to each character in some perfectly absurd way. Osman’s series has recently become a Netflix film, but, as Eleanor always says “do yourself a favor and read the books first.”