The Thursday Murder Club: (The Thursday Murder Club 1)
£5.70
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‘Smart, compassionate, warm, moving and so VERY funny’ Marian Keyes
‘So smart and funny. Deplorably good’ Ian Rankin
‘Thrilling, moving, laugh-out-loud funny’ Mark Billingham
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?
The Times Crime Book of the Month
Guardian Best Crime and Thrillers
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‘A warm, wise and witty warning never to underestimate the elderly’ Val McDermid
‘I completely fell in love with it’ Shari Lapena
‘This is properly brilliant. The pages fly and I can’t stop smiling’ Steve Cavanagh
‘Steeped in Agatha Christie joy’ Araminta Hall
‘Pure escapism’ Guardian
‘As gripping as it is funny’ Evening Standard
‘An exciting new talent in crime fiction’ Daily Mail
‘A witty and poignant tale’ Daily Telegraph
‘Funny and original’ Sun
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Penguin (3 Sept. 2020) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 3551 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 382 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN | 0241988268 |
by Anna
Slow at first,got better, enjoyed it. Reading book 2 so not put off.
by davemc
My wife read all of the Thursday Murder Club books before I did. They just did not seem to be books I would enjoy. But finally after Richard Osman published his latest book. I decided to see if they were any good. And I actually loved them, he can certainly write a fantastic book. With some amazing characters. They just leapt from the page, they sprung from the page. I could definitely see them in my imagination. The author fully deserves all the praise this collection has been given. I understand that there is a film being considered. This is a very brave thing to do. Because so many people have read these books. Who has lived these stories. Each with their own ideas, and thoughts about each member of the Thursday Book Club. Looking forward to seeing another murder to be solved by the club.
by Kindle Customer
A friend reccommended the series to me, we share the same taste, so although the blurb didn’t sound like a Jack Reacher or a Falco, or even a Brighton Murders, I thought I would give it a try.
Totally hooked, a real ‘cosy murder,’ but plenty to please those of us who enjoy pitting our wits and trying to solve the mystery. Twists and turns galore, and it kept me turning the pages and burning midnight oil. An added bonus, I didn’t have to try to block out obscenities in my head, (they add nothing to a story, especially not reality, and take so much away,) and it was very well written. It irritates me when a book with a reasonable storyline is not well constructed, poor syntax and annoying repetitions, and has clearly not been checked for errors. Congratulations, Mr Oscan, I will be back, and I’m happy to have found books I can give as gifts!
Sooo glad I don’t have to wait for another one!
by Mike’s mum
When you find that the three page acknowledgements from the author at the back are more interesting and better written than the novel itself then that is a worry. Let me say that I like Richard Osman on the television but a novelist he is not! Banal, tedious and poorly written. I read somewhere that it is aimed at a TV audience whatever that means – possibly for the folk who enjoy ‘Death in Paradise’ or ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’? The novel is made up of caricatures and I didn’t care what happened to them. I can be stubborn so refused to give up on this story but it was very hard work and with hindsight I should have done. The police are portrayed negatively and as somewhat dim and we are meant to believe that these other characters in a retirement home have all these contacts around the world enabling them to solve crimes from their armchair.
Kate Atkinson and Ian Rankin are on the book cover making flattering statements. Why? That seriously undermines their judgement and credibility in my eyes. On the back cover someone says: ‘Laugh out loud’. Really? The humour is tired, cliched and resorts to stereotypes; in effect little asides from the author which are not amusing. Richard you can do so much better than this surely? It needed editing. In fact, I am wondering if the first draft was published by mistake and now no one can admit the error. The Joyce diary entries are tedious and nothing more than padding.
I came to this novel with enthusiasm and expectation but it is the worst text I have read in years. Who actually writes fiction in the present tense and thinks it is cool? I despair that another one of these novels is already planned and I can see a film version of this on the television in the future as a Christmas special. Perhaps when ‘Death in Paradise’ has had its day? Is that actually possible? If you are thinking of buying this for someone’s Christmas stocking, I urge caution. I like ‘cosy’; it is not cosy like Agatha Christie might be. Someone who agrees with my assessment, said it reminded them of Enid Blyton. They are right. Instead of lashings of ginger beer however, we are given lemon drizzle cake instead.
I admire the way Richard has transformed himself from a producer to a successful presenter. But I ask myself would this have been published if he was not a celebrity? I feel the pain of all the talented writers out there who fail to obtain a publishing deal and remain frustrated throughout their writing career. What a disappointment and an anti-climax. Coming to this having finished a David Nicholls novel the difference in characterisation, language and overall quality is immense. Not your finest moment Richard.
by Siltone
I have always enjoyed watching Richard Osman on TV, in fact one of my favourite programmes is Pointless. So, my ears pricked up when I briefly heard someone on the radio mention that he’d recently penned his first ever novel. After listening to the outline of the book which, amongst other things, entails four elderly friends whose hobby it is to solve murders, well I just had to order myself a copy.
This is a typical ‘very English’ whodunnit, featuring eccentric characters who come alive on the page. The principle players are: Elizabeth (ex-spy chief), Joyce (former nurse), Ibrahim (retired psychiatrist) and Ron (ex-trade union boss) who reside in a gated retirement village situated on the south coast. These are folk who I soon came to care about, despite their individual flaws. They may be fictitious, but Richard effortlessly brings them to life, and gives each a unique personality of their own. Old age can sometimes be a burden to them, and they may have to endure certain physical and mental issues, but combined they are still a force to be reckoned with. These amateur sleuths are also somewhat unorthodox when it comes to the methods they employ to investigate and potentially trap a killer. Despite murder being the theme running through this excellent novel, this is very much a cosy read. It’s clever, it’s sad, it’s moving in places, and it’s wickedly funny throughout.
You know, these are difficult, worrying times we find ourselves in, and so we all occasionally need a break, a diversion, some form of escapism – and if that’s what you’re looking for, then reading this book is one way of achieving that. I’m not easily amused, but I have to say that at times The Thursday Murder Club had me in fits of laughter. This novel is the perfect antidote to the sometimes depressing stuff that has been going on around us of late. My advice is to get your hands on a copy of this book ASAP – then sit back in your favourite armchair, with a mug of tea and a plate of biscuits at hand, and just lose yourself in this compassionate, witty mystery created by the inimitable Richard Osman. All that’s left for me to add is that I really cannot wait for the next book in the series…..