The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club #1

Paperback, 400 pages

English language

Published Jan. 30, 2020 by Penguin Books, Limited.

ISBN:
9780241988275

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (4 reviews)

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.

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?

8 editions

The Thursday Murder Club

4 stars

The Thursday Murder Club is a murder mystery book that centers a group of people from a posh retirement community who take it upon themselves to try to solve local mysteries. The characters are a delight and the mystery is solid: red herrings, bonus mysteries, and satisfying answers.

The best part about this book is the characters themselves and their retirement community. It felt like a real portrayal of folks who might live there and what they're dealing with--grief around death of loved ones and friends, the possibilities (and realities) of senility and disability, and also just the complications of younger family. All of the characters felt like unique and interesting people, and it was quite fun to see the murder club team in action playing off of each other.

(All that said, there are some minor unintended things in this book that rubbed me the wrong way that I'll …

The Thursday Murder Club

4 stars

1) "Killing someone is easy. Hiding the body, now, that's usually the hard part. That's how you get caught. I was lucky enough to stumble upon the right place, though. The perfect place, really. I come back from time to time, just to make sure everything is still safe and sound. It always is, and I suppose it always will be. Sometimes I'll have a cigarette, which I know I shouldn't, but it's my only vice."

2) "He takes an envelope out of his pocket. 'All right, Bogdan, fair's fair. Here's three grand. That do you?' Bogdan looks weary. 'Three grand, sure.' Ian hands it over. 'It's actually £2,800, but that's near enough between friends. Now, I wanted to ask you about something.' 'Sure,' says Bogdan, pocketing the money. 'You seem a bright lad, Bogdan.' Bogdan shrugs. 'Well, I speak fluent Polish.'"

3) "Elizabeth and Joyce settle into conversation. They …

A rather cosy little murder

4 stars

In a retirement village, Joyce is asked a question by member (well leader, let's be honest) of the Thursday Murder Club Elizabeth about how long it would take to bleed out from a certain wound. They meet in the jigsaw room every Thursday hence the name. There she meets the tough as nails but heart of gold Ron and the ex-psychologist Ibrahim.

Together they solve cold cases. But when a murder occurs related to their retirement village it uncovers secrets that end up closer to home.

Mechanically the story alternates between Joyce's journal entries and a third person view but it does have a fairly decent pace.

The characters a very likeable and have very distinct approaches, Elizabeth has many contacts and is very observant (with a history that's very hush hush), Ron is rough around the edges, Ibrahim is more for the analysis (and I suppose the little grey …

Subjects

  • Crime