ARC Book Review: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Viking

Published: September 2020

Pages: 400

Summary

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves

A female cop with her first big case

A brutal muder

Welcome to...

THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

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 behind 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?

My Thoughts...

After a long hiatus while life was just too busy, I'm finally back and what better way to re-start blogging than with The Thursday Murder Club! 

This is the perfect read for an autumn weekend: warm, cosy and delightfully charming, this book had me hooked! I particularly loved the witty characters and the quintessentially British humour throughout. Several times I found myself giggling uncontrollably, which acted as a good counterbalance to the tension created by the mystery. 

While this is by no means a bite-your-nails-thriller (nor does it pretend to be), the mystery was still complex enough to keep my interest but not so much that it became confusing. I was surprised by most of the many twists and turns, something I thoroughly enjoy: there's nothing worse for me than a predictable mystery!

The cast was wonderfully diverse, and I loved the glimpses of Joyce's life and thoughts that we got through her journal entries. There was also no shying away from difficult but very important topics, such as getting older, loneliness, grief and loss, all of which play an important part in the main characters' life. These were beautifully integrated in the narrative as a part of characters' lives without ever feeling trite, and clearly being only one part of a much bigger whole including friendships old and new, wine and delicious baked goods. My only complaint about this book is that I would have liked some characters to be fleshed out a bit more, but I hope that will happen in future books in the series. 

Overall, this was a delightfully entertaining read, perfect if you're looking for a cosy mystery filled with charming characters and locations.

Rating: 4/5