Mystery Annotation-The Thursday Murder Club
“We all have a sob story, but we don't all go around killing people.”
“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.”
Title: The Thursday Murder Club
Author: Richard Osman
Genre: Mystery
Publication Date: 2020
Number of pages: 351 pages
Geographic Setting: Coopers Chase Retirement
Village, Kent, England
Period: Contemporary, but goes backward in time with
each murder.
Series: The first book in the series The Thursday Murder Club.
Thursday Murder Club
is told from multiple perspectives, including Joyce's diary. The book introduces Cooper Chase Retirement
Village in Kent, England. Four members
have a murder club where they meet in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved
crimes. The four members are Ron, Joyce,
Elizabeth, and Ibrahim. Joyce was a former nurse, Ibrahim was a retired
psychiatrist, and Ron was a socialist firebrand. The fourth member is Elizabeth,
and they don’t know what profession she is in, but she shouldn’t be underestimated.
Soon, an actual murder of a local land
developer who wants to build at Cooper Chase Retirement Village, and the group happily
investigates the crime. Two police
officers help the Thursday Murder Club; one is PC Donna De Freitas, and the
other is DCI Chris Hudson. PC Donna De
Freitas wants to prove her worth as a police officer, and working with the Thursday Mystery Club can help her
solve a crime. Elizabeth works her magic
and will soon shadow DCI Chris Hudson. One clue that is left at the crime scene
is a group picture of three people, and one of them is the person who was
murdered, Ian Ventham. As they investigate the murder, other crimes of the past
resurface. Ultimately, the book's lesson
is not to underestimate someone by age.
Appeal:
Mysteries are defined by being
disrupted. In the Thursday Murder Club, The Cooper Chase Retirement
Village is disrupted by violent events, making it a mystery. The Thursday
Murder Club, by investigating the crime, uncovers the causes and reestablished
order. Justice is important to mysteries. By the end of the book, we find out the
“whodunit” in each of the murders, and justice is served, including removing
the villain.
Characters.
Thursday Murder Club is told from
multiple perspectives, including the four main characters: Ron, Joyce, Elizebeth,
and Ibraham. Other voices include a suspect and supporting characters who can
be later included in other books in the series, and there are four books currently
in the series Thursday Murder Club. I can see later novels about the
investigators involved in solving the crime.
Frame.
The frame in which it is the physical
location and an appeal factor. The
Coopers Chase Retirement Village in Kent, England, is vividly described. The
setting is a retirement village, big and sprawling. The village includes a farm, a convent, and a
cemetery, each a location of a crime. The author explains how it all looks,
including the llamas and sheep on the farm. The world is a vital appeal factor
in the book.
The age and profession of the
characters can be appealing factors in this book. The Thursday Murder Club
members are all of an advanced age, and their professions before they
retired also define the characters and the book. For example, someone good with
a syringe could have murdered the developer.
Joyce, a nurse, quickly answered questions about the syringe for the
team when they met as a club. Ron, a
socialist firebrand, argues successfully for the club. Ibrahim, a psychologist,
who understands the darkness in people.
Elizabeth, who is good at everything.
Tone:
The tone of this mystery is
witty and engaging. Wordplay is essential
to the book. There is some humor in the
mystery, too! In one scene, they talk
about having a Tinder account, and the exchange is humorous. Even though there
are murders and suicides in the book, it can be dark and gloomy, but it is
considered light in tone.
Format:
The format is also an appeal
factor, and this mystery contains one different format from the rest of the
book. It is a diary by Joyce that summarizes
what is in the book.
Story Line:
The storyline focuses on the investigating team; the Thursday
Murder Club is four amateurs investigating a crime. (The book never tells what
profession Elizabeth is in. The
Characters and the storyline are intertwined.
The Thursday Murder Club must find out who murdered the developer and
why. The club is ecstatic that they have an actual crime to investigate. The characters are invested in the crime and
in establishing justice. While investigating the murder, they find other
murders have happened in the past. For example, the extra body was buried in
the cemetery in the 1970s.
Subject Headings:
Detective
and Mystery Fiction
England
Fiction
Murder
Investigation
Older
Person Fiction
Retirement
Community
Murder
Club
Three terms that best describe this book:
Witty, Heartbreaking, Humorous
Similar Authors and Works (Why are they similar?)
Among the Serial
Killers by Jincy Willett.
Amy Gallop, a retired writing
instructor and former student, is accused of murder; she gathers the gang to
help investigate the murders. Both
novels have an intricately plotted storyline and a witty writing style.
Secret Lives by Mark De
Castrique
Secret Lives revolves around a 75-year-old Ethel, whom everyone underestimates because she looks old and frail. Thursday Murder Club and Secret Lives storylines are intricately plotted, and the writing style is engaging.
Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
The Marlow Murder Club consists of 77-year-old Judith Potts, the story's main protagonist. The club also includes Suzie Harris, Becks Starling, and Det. Sgt. Tanika Malik. Both novels have amateur sleuths trying to figure out the crime and are assisted by police who fly under the radar at their local police department. Thursday Murder Club and Marlow Murder Club have an intricately plotted storyline and engaging writing style.
Relevant non-fiction works and authors
Highway to Hell CD by ACDC
The real estate developer, Ian Ventham, is wearing an ACDC shirt as he thinks about being killed by Tony Curran after he cuts Tony out of the deal to develop the land at the top of the retirement village.
Joyce gets her hair cut by Anthony. Meanwhile, Elizabeth waits and listens at the hair salon to gather clues. Anthony tells Joyce he will send her out in bright pink, and she looks like Nicki Minaj.
Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life and Business by Richard Branson.
Ian
Ventham is on the treadmill, listening to this book's audiobook. He thinks about the land he is developing
and the people against it, Father Mackie and Richard Branson. The audiobook influences his choice when he
thinks, “Screw it, let’s do it,” turns the audiobook off, and cuts Tony from
the deal, cementing his fate.
I'm not much of a mystery reader, but this sounds so fun! I love the fact that it's set in a retirement home!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great "cozy" mystery! I'll have to add this (and a few of those read-alikes) to the list for my book club. They're a rambunctious group of retired ladies that would just eat this up!
ReplyDeleteExcellent annotation. This is a book I've been meaning to read.
ReplyDelete