Buy Book "Murder Club on Thursdays" in Ukrainian

The main thing in this book is not the line of investigation as such. You need to realize this immediately when choosing a book to read.

Yes, The Murder Club is a detective story. But it’s a soft, measured detective story, without bloody and overly violent crime scenes. Our protagonists will simultaneously investigate several crimes that have simultaneously shaken the quiet town of Cooper’s Chase. Only pensioners live here. Therefore, the theft of baked goods is the highest level of crime that should be expected here instead of murders. But they do happen: some local businessmen with past ties to criminal gangs are murdered, and the body of a man who was killed more than 50 years ago is discovered. How exactly are they all connected? And are they connected at all?

Our heroes, the four members of the Thursday Night Murder Club, are called in to help with the investigation: Elizabeth-who will never say it out loud, but during the Cold War she probably worked for MI6 or something like that; Joyce, a nurse; Ibrahim, a scientist and psychotherapist; and Ron, a professional leader of labor strikes and union disputes.

The investigations are interesting, but not overloaded with details. The main thing here is to reveal the characters, their mistakes and victories, and human relationships. And in the end, you realize what the author considers valuable in life and would like his readers to appreciate.

Bottom line: I really liked it. A book for those who equally love detectives and family/human stories like Bachman’s. It is addictive, the atmosphere is cool (I would like to live in such a community in retirement), there is a logical end to all the lines and a valuable main idea.

I saw a lot of good reviews of this book on social media, and since I love detectives and promised myself to read more of them this year, this one was a novelty and a discovery.

What I liked:

The textured matte cover.

The slowness of the text and the development of events. There were pensioners and on Thursdays they had fun solving unsolved murders, but there came a time when they had to solve a real murder.

I liked the non-standard sarcastic and humorous style of this work. I haven’t read anything like this before))) I laughed out loud at some of the lines.

I also liked the leisurely pace of this investigation.

The atmosphere is somewhat reminiscent of the works of my favorite Agatha Christie, but I have read enough of her, so this book was like a breath of fresh air.

The cozy atmosphere.

The characters and preferences of the characters are well conveyed.

It’s also about old age, loss, loneliness, and getting rid of it. This, of course, can be read between the lines, but still…

In short, read it if you like detectives and you will not regret it!

I sincerely recommend it!

Given that I’m used to TV shows and movies where most crimes are solved by teenagers or young people, Thursday Night Murder Club already lured me in when I learned that the main characters are retired people with a lot of experience, but with their own pains and problems. To me, the book is not based on the crime and the question “Who is the killer?” but on the characters and many other topics. There is a striking difference between generations, acceptance of death, one’s own and that of the dearest people, and the fear of aging. But despite this, the author treats everything with a light irony, which I simply adore, and a positive attitude. The characters try to take everything they can from life, even going to quite illegal lengths to find the killer of a construction worker. Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce are an incredible foursome whose energy is so exciting to watch. Their investigation took place in a small club room with delicious sweets and wine – the kind of investigation I think everyone would like to have. But thanks to Richard Osman, we have the opportunity to be a part of it, to walk around the cozy village and take a bus to the neighboring town to get a coffee and maybe visit the potential killer.

I bought this book for my mom – she’s a fan of detectives. And “KSD” so presented this novel that it was impossible not to buy 😉 Imagine my surprise and disappointment when my mother in the middle of the book said that she was not interested 🙁 Most likely, she was expecting a detective, and here he is not in the foreground. Yes, and the main events are already in the second half. Therefore, it was a matter of honor for me to read the book myself and get a complete picture of the promised bestseller. After all, this is “the best-selling debut novel since Harry Potter”!

I loved the book literally from the first pages. I got so caught up in this cozy atmosphere and the author’s ironic style that I couldn’t tear myself away 🙂

The place of action is Coopers Chase, “Britain’s first luxury village for deserved rest”, located in a picturesque corner near the old monastery. And life there is so comfortable, carefree and at the same time rich, that many who are still far away from 65 years, do not mind to grow old sooner and live there for his own pleasure, and not to spin in the daily bustle … Maybe it is this comfortable and interesting old age and caused my mother, an ordinary Ukrainian pensioner, to dislike it 🙁

Amid the general peace and grace, the seniors entertain themselves as much as they can: they drink wine, go to the spa and the pool, do pilates, join the clubs of interest, one of which is “The Murder Club on Thursdays. The club was founded by Elizabeth and Penny.

“Penny had been an inspector in the Kent Police Department for many years, and she brought in material from unsolved murders. These materials were not little, but who could find out? At a certain age you can already do anything you want. No one sees you, except your doctors and children.”

“…Elisabeth and Penney loved it kindly. A mystery and a few keliches of wine. Very comradely, but also motoringly discordant. Good.”

But suddenly there is a real murder in the village, and then another one, and the members of the Club are involved in a real investigation, using their life experience and connections, and always one step ahead of the police… And along the way they find a few more skeletons in the closets (and not only) and get to the bottom of other people’s old secrets related to the monastery’s cemetery…

The story is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, because the natural course of time can not change, age-related changes are inevitable … But it is written so warmly, with bitter irony, that it is difficult to hold back a smile:

“Father Maci is crucified at the pedestal under Christ’s feet. But he is no longer on his knees – arthritis with Catholicism is not easy to get along with.”

“And then one day a man made a short mandriga up a mountain, through a corridor of trees, to the ‘Garden of the Viennese… The body was lavished in a one-piece bed under a simple stone, next to the Sisters of Mary and the Sisters of Meri from the previous generations. If people had once had dreams, they could now roam the green hills, and if people had secrets, they were safely and permanently preserved in the four walls of the monastery.”

And yet the book is very optimistic. It teaches us not to

Thursday Night Murder Club by Richard Osman. I love somewhat calm, measured detectives. As they say, classic English ones. This one is exactly like that, so those who like crazy drive and nerve tickling will not like it. There is a “retirement” atmosphere here, not only because of the age of the main characters but also because of the dynamics. Although this does not affect the number of skeletons in the closets. As for me, there are too many of them in the story. A lot of different twists and turns, layers of stories and secrets. It’s not like a quiet town built specifically to celebrate old age, but Las Vegas on the cheap.

Four friends who met after they retired and moved to an elite retirement community to pass the time solve old criminal cases. They build their own theories, guesses, and share their own experiences. And since all of them were once famous in their field of activity in one way or another (remember, the town is elite and real estate is expensive), each of them has an extraordinary experience. So one can only imagine the excitement that a real murder caused right under the company’s nose. And when another one came along, the whirlwind of events spun everyone into a tight vortex of secrets and answers to questions. Even to the ones you didn’t ask