In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?
Blurb taken from Goodreads.
*
I heard so much hype about this novel that I was so excited when my Dad leant it to me to read. When he passed it over, he commented on how great it was. Knowing how harsh of a critic my Dad can be with crime fiction (just like me!), I was really impressed. I knew this had to be a great story to deserve such praise.
I really enjoyed it! The word I would use to best describe it is 'charming'. It's definitely unique, and I absolutely loved following characters in a retirement village. It gave some quirkiness to the genre, and made for some laugh-out-loud moments. I did find the story a little overcomplicated at times, and it felt like there was a little too much going on. However, The Thursday Murder Club has real personality, and I really enjoyed it.
Rating: ✫✫✫✫
The Story
I think what I loved most about this novel is, quite simply, the feel of it. It's a very easy and light-hearted read, which I don't think we see enough of any more in crime fiction. Authors nowadays are too preoccupied with making complex and intricate plots that you can't easily work out, and with that tends to come a dark undertone that isn't always enjoyable. Sometimes you just want an uplifting murder mystery! Enter Richard Osman...
It definitely has his personality, and I genuinely laughed out loud in places. The little comments made by some of the elderly characters were just so relatable. It made the story come to life, because there were constant asides about very mundane realities. I loved it! The characters really bring the novel to life, and I genuinely don't think they make the story what it is. I had a personal soft spot for Ibrahim, who likes to explain everything methodically, logically and in excruciating detail, much to everybody else's distaste. I appreciate you, Ibrahim!
The actual plot did, however, feel to me to be a little overcomplicated. I love a carefully crafted story that really makes use of a range of characters, backgrounds and timelines, but this was a little bit too much at times. It felt a little bit like there were too many ideas thrown at one story, and forced in a direction that made some sort of sense. It didn't all feel entirely natural. I also spent more time than I would have liked trying to work out what was going on and trying to remember who was who; something that isn't ideal. That being said, it was never boring!
The Verdict
I had really high hopes for The Thursday Murder Club. I knew Richard Osman would be capable of writing a witty and intelligent crime novel, and was so excited when I held the book in my hands.
In my respects, it didn't let me down. It was different, the characters were so warm and endearing, and I thought the tone of the book was charming and very amusing. That being said, I am a little disappointed. There wasn't anything wrong with the book at all, but I found it a little too overcomplicated, and struggled understand why this had to be the case.
I guess you could say that rather than me expecting a good book and getting a bad one, I'm disappointed because I (probably unfairly) expected perfection, and instead just got a very good book.
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