In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes that really don’t have much urgency, but are interesting to delve into. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves! Together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club.
However, when a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the friends suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth is the leader and she is a force to be reckoned with! She is impatient about getting to the truth and basically solves the case on her own while simultaneously humouring the local police!
The setting and characters in this book really spoke to me because I facilitate a book club in a seniors home in my neighbourhood. There are definitely some parallels with Osman’s group and my book club members! 🙂 They are smart, they have lots of life experience, they notice things, they are not afraid to speak their minds, and they are a little impatient when things take time because really, at 80 or 90 there is the keen sense that time is short and not to be wasted!
The author of this first book in a series, is a UK television game show host and celebrity. Osman’s inspiration for the book came from a visit he made to an upmarket retirement village. He wrote the book over 18 months in secret.
Besides a few too many side stories and red herrings, I found this debut crime novel to be funny, clever, and twisty. I do look forward to further instalments in this cozy mystery series! Perfect summer reading!
Joanne's Reading Blog 
Joanne,
How satisfying it must be, and fun, to monitor a seniors’ book club! I must check out if there is one or a need for one in my neighbourhood. I’ve read Osman’s first 3 books and enjoyed them because they are different and quirky.
Love reading your blog! Take care.
Nadia (from Mtl)
Thanks Nadia! I hope you find your group and I hope you will be able to discuss books rather than murders! 🙂
Terrific fun! Osman’s books are just the right “palate cleanser” between books that take more focus to read.
Yes! Thanks for saying that! It’s exactly what I like to do with mysteries in a series too!