Set amid the rolling countryside of Kent, the lavish Coopers Chase Retirement Village is nestled in the center of an idyllic Garden of England. Four friends — Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron — meet on a weekly basis to try to solve unsolved murders in the Jigsaw Room. Everyone is bringing something different to the table, but they’re all unified in their drive to find out who committed a violent crime that had previously confused the police, and who thus caused a murder to go unpunished.
When local builder Tony Curran is found murdered, the elderly sleuths must first investigate their first case involving a living victim, which has a real corpse and a possible culprit somewhere out there. When they began investigating, they uncovered other suspects that included a Polish competitor builder, a lapsed priest, Ron’s boxer son, and Curran’s unscrupulous property developer colleague, Ian Ventham.
But after Ventham drops dead, and in the middle of a mob of people from Coopers Chase, he is left on display for all to see. Once the investigators verify foul activity, the “gang of small guys” sets out to seek down two murders and wonders if each one may be a member of their community.
British television quiz show host Richard Osman is the author of this piece. His devotion to crime fiction is in addition to his love of detective stories. The ways he utilized his knowledge of trivia together with the various tricks of the trade that are associated with the murder-mystery genre were applied in his first novel. He also includes a variety of personal touches that enhance the proceedings and render them devilishly witty and laugh-out-loud amusing.
The characters in the story are what keep it all together and moving forward. All four members of the crime-busting quartet are valuable contributors: Elizabeth, a former spy, is resourceful and spirited; Ibrahim, a former psychiatrist, is meticulous and methodical; Ron, an idealistic but passionate individual, is generous and caring; and Joyce, a kindhearted person, oozes friendliness.
Although Joyce’s journal entries are sporadic, we get to know her well. While not giving us information on a nicely cooked lemon drizzle cake or telling us how wonderful it is to drink gin and tonic from a can, she tells us about the case in progress and reveals details about the people involved.
“The Thursday Murder Club” is a very interesting mystery that is loaded with red herrings, plot twists, and characters who, even though they try, can never catch up to amateur detectives. Still, while allowing his major characters to suffer senior moments or consider growing old, Osman simultaneously increases their velocity. However, I’d happily welcome a burglar.”) It would be good to have a visitor, and it would be nice to see genuine emotion too.
This is not a standalone story; rather, it is the beginning of a new series. The premise behind Osman’s game is impressive, and the first episode of the series is incredible.
Title: The Thursday Murder Club
Author: Richard Osman
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2020
ISBN: 1984880969, 9781984880963
Length: 368 pages
Subjects: Fiction › Mystery & Detective › Cozy › General
