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“Many years ago, everybody here would wake early because there was much to do and only so many hours in the day. Now they wake early because there is much to do and only so many days left.��

Ever feel like there's a little something missing in your life? Wish there could be more to look forward to than the daily ho-hum, humdrum routine? Chess club. Book club. Jigsaw club. Bah humbug. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Well, your wish could come true! Yes. You could join The Thursday Murder Club. On Thursdays. Of course.

Coopers Chase is a retirement village set amongst lush woodlands, with lakes, greenery as far as the eye can see, and an intimate, welcoming lifestyle. ”It was a community...any time you wanted to be alone, you would simply close your front door and any time you wanted to be with people, you would open it up again.��

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron are good friends and neighbours in Coopers Chase. To keep their ‘grey cells' working (and honestly, how many craft classes can you go to), they meet weekly to mull over and try to crack cold cases. A couple of glasses of wine, some cheese and crackers, a bit of a yarn. And then a very real murder occurs practically on their doorstep. And this is when the fun really begins...

Reading this made me think of how a place like a retirement village is in many respects like starting primary school. A mishmash of people thrown together with different personalities, varying temperaments and all sorts of backgrounds and lifestyles. As the story progressed, we learnt more about the main characters in the village. That they’d led interesting, full lives prior to ending up at Coopers Chase. It made me realise how most of us view the elderly as just that. Without realising that they also had aspirations and hopes and dreams, as well as the stresses and negative characteristics that non-retirees have. I felt Richard Osman threaded that into the story subtly, and I’m so pleased that he did. It’s truly touching.

“I wonder if we would have got along if we’d met thirty years ago? Probably not, we are from very different worlds. But this place brings people together.��

The passing of time and ageing is handled emotionally without becoming maudlin. There’s plenty of sentimentality, and many reminisces, but the characters keep looking forward.

“You always know when it’s your first time, don’t you? But you rarely know when it’s your final time.��

As these things tend to happen, one murder leads to another. There’s a crime or two where we step back in time. What dastardly deeds will be uncovered? What secrets will be revealed? Is everyone who they claim to be?

There’s gentle humour, a diverse range of personalities, and plenty to ponder on. For me anyway, I’m a ponderer at the best of times. It was interesting to see inside the heads of our amateur sleuths, particularly Joyce & Elizabeth, as their stories were more personal in that we also learnt of their relationships, and what it means to have either lost or be losing a spouse. I really appreciated it.

We also get an insight in the lives and thoughts of PC Donna (Madonna no less) Freitas & DCI Chris Hudson, who are involved with solving the growing body count. Both happy to clock up such long hours, as getting up in the morning is easy, but going to sleep alone - again - is hard.

The chapters are short and sweet, which isn’t something you see so much any more. As someone who writes overly long reviews, I have to admit to really liking the chapter lengths! It kept the story moving along at a nice clip, without having to “pause�� the book halfway through a chapter, only to have to back track and re-read when returning to the book.

I also enjoyed the clever tie-in of the fox on the cover to an intrinsic part of the story. So often book covers have little to nothing to do with the story, so this was a nice surprise.

This was my work Bookclub’s “Book of the Month��. We’re a small, select group (elite!) of around 7-8 readers on any given month. Of those, only 2 really enjoyed this book (me being one of them). The others found it “twee��. Or “delightfully twee�� as it was re-worded when I pulled a face hearing that description. Nothing wrong with twee. Not that I saw it that way at all. I love a good cosy crime. This has a few decent mysteries running through the story. And it was refreshing to read a book that wasn’t filled with end-of-world-dystopian-angst, but just real people dealing with real life in their later years. Twee or not.

I’m definitely keen to read Book 2. It's nice to know the adventures of the fab four will continue. 4.5 very contended stars �� I’d happily pop over to Joyce’s for a cuppa and some of her lemon drizzle cake.