The Thursday Murder Club: Senior Citizens are Old not Stupid

 Cozy mysteries typically feature single women business owners stumbling into small-town murders. Whether it's Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote or Sage Caplin from Fresh Brewed Murder, these amateur detectives accidentally find bodies and solve cases while running bakeries, writing books, or making coffee.

What is the book about? 

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman flips that formula. Four elderly sleuths in a retirement community actively hunt cases instead of waiting for murder to find them. Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce meet weekly to discuss cold cases and keep themselves sharp. When a builder and part owner of Coopers Chase is murdered in his kitchen, the crew takes up the investigation.

What makes this work is how they weaponize their age. People underestimate elderly folks, dismiss them as doddering or harmless. When Elizabeth needs a contact in the police department, she pretends she was robbed to talk to a female officer. Meanwhile, Ron plays up the senile old man act with the detective, asking for "the lady police officer." Working together, they manipulate the department into assigning Donna to the case. No one suspects they're running a con except Donna.

Joyce's diary chapters provide unexpected insight. She seems like she's along for the social aspect, but her observations cut through the noise. Elizabeth and Joyce drive the story, and their friendship develops as they work the case. When they need financial expertise, Elizabeth goes to Joyce's daughter instead of handling it herself, showing trust in Joyce's family and judgment. The book layers in these small character moments: Ron's son Jason visiting regularly, Elizabeth checking on her friend Penny in the full-time care ward. They add depth without derailing the plot.

The mystery itself isn't straightforward. Multiple murders, red herrings, suspicious priests, and shady senior citizens pile up. Osman adds historical cold cases and a cast of supporting characters that occasionally becomes too much to track. He pulls it together by the end, but I had to remind myself who Bernard Cottle was and why I should care about him halfway through.

Who should read it?

• If you want a mystery, but not gruesome murder.
• If you like funny dialogue.
• If you enjoy stories about friendship.

Who should not read it?

• If you don't want to start a new series.
• If too many plot lines and characters confuse you.
• If you want one sleuth not four.

Podcast Episode

In this episode, we're discussing how Osman subverts cozy mystery expectations, whether the multiple plot threads worked or were overwhelming, and our hopes for the movie. Which of us loved Joyce's diary entries? Who got lost in the supporting cast? Did we like the club?

The Thursday Murder Club episode is up and ready on your favorite podcast app. Links in the sidebar or you can access our social media and podcast player links here: https://linktr.ee/chapteronesceneone. Come back next week when we compare the book to the Netflix adaptation.

If you liked Thursday Murder Club and want more recommendations:

• Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jessie Q. Sutanto (link)
• Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (link)
• Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (link)
• A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette (link)
• Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (link)
• Arsenic & Adobo by Mia P. Manansala (link)
• How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (link)
• The Match Maker by Aisha Saeed (link)