The Thursday Murder Club
Author - Richard Osman
Rating - Lit!
As you will find out, I’m a sucker for worldbuilding. But I didn’t expect that such a rich world could be built within a retirement village. Coopers Chase and its vibrant residents could be compared to King’s Landing or Hobbiton in terms of vivid storytelling and a wealth of diverse characters. And when a murder happens on their doorstep, this world opens up into one of danger, intrigue, and adventure.
My favourite thing about these novels is their heart. There are no jokes at the expense of the characters, no ironic shrugs or winks to show that “isn’t it funny how these old people are carrying on?”, Richard Osman clearly respects the characters he has created and that care shines through every page.
The titular club is made up of four members: Elizabeth- a former spy, Ron- an ex-union leader, Ibrahim- a psychiatrist, and Joyce- an ex-nurse. Osman has spoken about his opinion that class factors into every story (especially those written by British authors) and purposefully split his group in half: Elizabeth and Ibrahim who could certainly be put firmly in middle to upper class; and Ron and Joyce who lived their lives as working class people only to raise successful children who have traversed classes and now look upon their parents with a mixture of shame and pity. And that’s just a sub-plot!
Most of the book is written in third person but Joyce gets chapters devoted to her recounts of events- an interesting technique to not only provide more information, but also a chance for a fascinating character study from an unconventional protagonist. Joyce’s chapters were some of my favourites, but I might be biased because of how spot-on Osman’s depiction of working class women is. It felt like I was walking through my local M&S, hearing the inner-thoughts of the women who I have grown up around. It was nice to see this type of person respected and treated with such love, humour, and pride.
The minor characters are no less rich in their inner lives: DCI Chris Hudson, who has food addiction issues and a big heart, DCI Donna De Freitas, a young black PC who has just moved from London and struggles with feeling lonely in a largely white town, Bogdan, the local handy-man who becomes the chess-playing companion of Elizabeth’s husband Stephen, who is beginning to struggle with Dementia (which Elizabeth is trying to hide from the others). I could go on and list so many more interesting characters who all have their secrets, but who all fundamentally care about other people.
Both books in this duology serve up delicious mysteries; filled with twists and turns, ups and down, mis-steps and misdirections. On multiple occasions I actually gasped out loud! In press and interviews Osman is rightly praised for the humour that is added to the mix, but I feel that this angle minimises the truly exceptional murder-mystery that he has woven. I love a mystery book that likes to provide hints to allow you the moment of superiority, “Oh! I know who did it!” and then completely blindsides you in the following chapter. It kept me guessing throughout, and I never solved it before Osman wanted me to.
Overall, my favourite thing about these books was how good they made me feel. I cried, I laughed, I gasped, I devoured it. Coopers Chase is a small society in which all of its residents have learnt that life is short; and it is for living in. The themes that run through both novels are lonliness, and its cure: love. And after I finished both books in one weekend, I left Coopers Chase feeling inspired- another twist ending that I hadn’t seen coming!
