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The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Synopsis /

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
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 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?

My Thoughts /

When you have to halt your murder investigation because the “Conversational French� group are due in [your room] at twelve�..

Such is the life for the residents of Coopers Chase Retirement Village - Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron, a.k.a. The Thursday Murder Club. Aptly named because, each Thursday, these four Coopers Chase residents come together to review (and solve) cold case murder files. But when two people are murdered in fairly close succession (live as it were) and right on their patch, well, you can imagine their delight about working on their first ‘live� case.

There has been a fearsome hoo-ha about the new development, because they’re chopping down trees and uprooting a graveyard, and there’s a rumour of wind turbines. Ron is looking forward to causing a bit of trouble, and I am looking forward to watching him do that.

So which suspects can you rule out?? Pretty simple really�..
When deciding on who to cut from your pool of suspects:-
’No Zimmers�, agrees Ron.
’We lose eight names on Zimmer frames alone�, agreed Ibrahim.
’Mobility scooters are also our friends here, as are cataracts�� � all struck from the list.
’Also, three residents were padlocked to the gate until someone thought to call the fire brigade, sometime later in the day.

I’m not sure why (and looking back, I really really don’t know why), but it took me a few chapters to get into the swing of the writing style�.but once it clicked there was no going back! Short punchy chapters. Tight story plotting. An abundance of amazing characters, each bringing with them their own unique set of characteristics, secrets, habits, weaknesses and sense of humour. And I loved them all! Don’t let their ages fool you, these septuagenarians are razor sharp! So look out DCI Chris Hudson and PC Donna De Freitas this group is smart, accomplished, and not above manipulating situations (or the police) to fit their needs.

I remember dabbing at my mouth before I answered, like you see on television sometimes. It makes you look cleverer, try it.

I think I would read this book just for the dialogue alone. I mean, with words like ‘hoo-ha� and Groups called “Cryptic Crossword�, Knit and Natter�, Chat and Crochet (something which I have never been able to master either by the way) why wouldn’t you. I now recall memories of my own grandmother saying similar things, all whilst knitting babies booties or some such thing at a million miles an hour without even looking at the needles and never dropping a stitch � this is still something I have not been able to master, ever, by the way, as much as I’ve tried.

’We normally meet in the Jigsaw Room, you see�, says Joyce. ‘But it’s not Thursday and the Jigsaw Room is being used by Chat and Crochet.’…‘Chat and Crochet is a fairly new group, Detective Chief Inspector�, says Ibrahim. ‘Formed by members who had become disillusioned with Knit and Natter. Too much nattering and not enough knitting apparently�.

Charming, witty, laugh out loud funny and just so, darn, good.