Author: Richard Osman
Series Name: The Thursday Murder Club #1
Release: September 2020

Read the Back

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.

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?

I Love. . .

• I love the whole concept – four septuagenarians solving murders in a peaceful retirement village.
• I love the eclectic mix of characters – a methodical psychiatrist, a firebrand labor organizer, an adventurous spy, and Joyce.
• I love Joyce most of all. She’s so easy to overlook – but she is absolutely relentless. And her diary entries are a delight!
• I love the two police officers who end up working with them, at first reluctantly and then very willingly.
• I love that the books are a perfect balance of adventure, puzzle solving, humor, and poignancy.

A Favorite Snippet

This moment when DCI Chris Hudson meets the entire group for the first time is perfect. They’ve been unrelentingly kind, but have very deliberately maneuvered him into an uncomfortable seat, and overwhelmed him with tea and cake and a thousand polite questions about the case and comments about their lives.

Chris cannot even attempt to sip his tea now, as lifting it to his lips would unbalance the cake, and lifting the cup off the saucer would tip the cake into the saucer’s center and make it impossible to put the cup back down. He feels sweat start to trickle down his back, reminding him of the time he interviewed a twenty-five-stone Hells Angel enforcer with I KILL COPPERS tattooed around his neck.

Fortunately, Elizabeth is on hand to help him out. “You look a little hemmed in on that sofa, Detective Chief Inspector.”

“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.”

“And the main lounge is off-limits,” says Ron. “The Bowls Club have got a disciplinary hearing.”

“To do with Colin Clemence and his defense of medicinal marijuana,” says Joyce.

“So why don’t we sit you on the upright,” says Elizabeth, “and you can talk us through the whole thing?”

“Ooh yes,” says Joyce. “Talk slowly because it’s not really our area, but that would be lovely. And there’s some coffee and walnut where the lemon drizzle came from.”

Chris looks over at Donna. She simply shrugs and holds out her palms.

Happy reading!

Find all the books in the Thursday Murder Club series in order.