Author: Richard Osman · Published: 2020 · Genre: Cosy Mystery, British Crime
The Thursday Murder Club is a cosy mystery about four retirees who investigate a real murder in their Kent retirement village. It’s funny, kind and sharper about old age than it first appears. The plot is overstuffed and the stakes rarely feel high, but if you want an easy, affectionate British whodunit, it delivers.
What it’s about
At Coopers Chase, a luxury retirement village, a small group meets every Thursday in the Jigsaw Room to pore over unsolved police cases. The club was started by Elizabeth, whose past is hinted to involve intelligence work, and her friend Penny, a former police inspector who now lies unconscious in the village’s nursing wing. The current members are Elizabeth; Ibrahim, a retired psychiatrist; Ron, a famous former trade-union firebrand; and Joyce, a former nurse and the newest recruit.
Then a real murder happens. Tony Curran, a builder in business with Ian Ventham, the developer behind plans to expand the village, is found dead. The club decides to investigate. In practice this means charming, bullying and outwitting the local police: PC Donna De Freitas, bored after a transfer from London, and DCI Chris Hudson, a decent man who is lonelier than he admits.
What works
- Joyce’s diary. Joyce’s first-person entries sit between the third-person chapters and are the best thing in the book. She is funny, observant and underestimated by everyone except the reader. Her voice does most of the emotional heavy lifting.
- Distinct characters. Osman gives each pensioner a clear energy. Elizabeth runs rings round everyone. Ron is all bluster and loyalty. Ibrahim loves order and careful analysis. None of them is a figure of fun, and their friendship feels earned.
- Old age taken seriously. Under the jokes, the book is honest about what its characters face: illness, grief, loneliness and the sense of being written off. Penny’s silent presence in the nursing wing gives the story a sad, grown-up centre.
- The setting. Coopers Chase is drawn with affection and detail: the restaurant, the gossip, the committees, the wine at lunch. It feels like a real community, and the threat of redevelopment gives the plot a concrete stake.
- The humour. Osman writes like the TV quiz host he is: quick, dry and fond of an aside. The pensioners’ habit of weaponising their harmless image against the police is a running joke that never gets old.
What doesn’t
The plot. There are more bodies, buried secrets and red herrings than the story can comfortably hold. The solution leans more on late revelations and coincidence than on clues a reader could piece together, so fair-play fans may feel short-changed. Frequent shifts in point of view, including short chapters from several suspects, make the middle feel crowded.
The tone can also be too cosy for its own good. The club lies to the police, withholds evidence and meddles in a murder inquiry, and it’s all waved away with a smile. Real danger rarely feels present. Some readers find the whimsy relentless: nearly everyone is nice, and the narration winks at you a lot. Osman also tends to explain jokes and feelings the reader has already understood.
None of this stopped it from becoming a record-breaking UK bestseller and the start of a long series. A 2025 film directed by Chris Columbus starred Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie as the four friends.
Who should read it
Fans of Agatha Christie, cosy crime and gentle British TV comedy-drama will enjoy it most. It’s also a good gift for older readers, who rarely get to be the heroes of a crime novel. If you want a tight, clue-driven puzzle, look elsewhere.
Rating: 3.5/5
Image credits — Cover image via Open Library. Cover design © the publisher, shown for review purposes.
