What is it about
Set in an idyllic retirement village, somewhere in Kent, we meet a small group of pensioners who meet up every Thursday evening. For a lot of residents, there are painting classes, movie nights and so on, but for these four individuals, they like to pass their time solving cold cases. The group consist of Elizabeth, a former spy/officer with connections, Ron, a former union leader, Joyce, a retired nurse, and Ibrahim, a psychiatrist. Together with their brain power and skillsets, they work through unsolved murder cases.
Meanwhile, a conflict is brewing between the owners over the future of the retirement village, with one pushing the plan to redevelop it into luxury flats. When one of the owners is found dead in his home, the Thursday Murder Club begin to investigate with the help from a young Police Constable, Donna De Freitas. Along the way, they solve one of the cold cases, which is now connected to the retirement village.
What I like about it
It is a well written and smart whodunnit story, with characters who avoid stereotypical typecasting. I liked the idea of the main characters being elderly folks living in retirement home, solving murder cases together. I don’t know about others but it made me feel living in the retirement village in the future a fun prospect, something to look forward to. Obviously, this is fiction but the world that Richard Osman has created feels like it could inspire future ‘clubs’ within these retirement villages. Well, one could certainly hope.