At first, The Thursday Murder Club seems like a light read—charming and witty, with a murder or two thrown in for flavor. But below the fun façade lies a poignant and thought-provoking story about aging, love, loss, and hope.
The plot revolves around four “pensioners”—the book is set in Kent, England— who live in a countryside retirement home. They meet every Thursday to discuss cold cases and, as the plot progresses, they solve a few recent murders that stymie the local police. Elizabeth, a retired spy, is a catalyst for chaos who has a few tricks, plus a gun, up her classy sleeves. Joyce, a retired nurse, sees the humanity that Elizabeth can sometimes miss. She’s the book’s diarist, an outsider who couldn’t afford to live in Coopers Chase if her wealthy daughter hadn’t bought the place for her. Ibrahim still works as a psychologist and is the group’s data collector and analyst. Ron, a former labor organizer, provides a working-class perspective and a certain dim-witted clarity.
When a murder happens close to home, the group grinds into gear to find the murderer and, perhaps, report them to the police. Or not. As Joyce muses at one point:
“After a certain age, you can pretty much do whatever takes your fancy. No one tells you off, except for your doctors and your children.”
At the local police station, Donna longs to get into the detective squad, but doesn’t see it happening until Elizabeth intervenes. Chris, the DCI in charge of the murder investigation, is man enough to see Donna’s strengths, even if his skills as a detective fall far short of those of the murder club. (But whose don’t?) He’s preoccupied with a longing for a fantasy life he fears has escaped him. Good thing he takes to Donna so well, as she’s not only a solid investigator, but an impressive matchmaker.
The backstories and side characters give the book its depth. Steven, Elizabeth’s husband, is in the initial stages of dementia. Joyce is in deep grief over the loss of her husband and keeps looking for a replacement. Bernard, one option, has a grief he cannot live with. Ron’s son might be a murderer or at least a gangster. And Ibrahim fights racism with a sad aplomb.
The characters consume large quantities of wine and cakes as they plot their strategies and ensnare the bad guys. It keeps them young. As Joyce writes in her diary:
“In life you have to learn to count the good days. You have to tuck them in your pocket and carry them around with you.”
Author Richard Osman says he was motivated to write about senior citizens after visiting an upscale retirement home in England and meeting its accomplished residents who no longer went to work every day, but whose brains were still alive and quite well. This is the first book in a series; the fourth and most recent was published in mid-2023.
— Pat Prijatel
Books, Brews & Banter 