Book Club “The Thursday Murder Club”
For September we chose The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. It had been on our radar for a while and since it’s about to be adapted into a movie with an all-star cast, this seemed like the perfect time to check out this mystery. We wanted to read a British mystery and the descriptions of the sleuths at the retirement community excited us.
Book
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
While in many ways a traditional English mystery, there are some dark backstories and motives.
Description:
Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to...
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club.
When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case.
As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?
Club
Snack suggestions:
The desserts were easy for us to pick since Joyce’s cakes were described to sound delectable in the book!
We created a Lemon Drizzle Cake (though without all the vodka) and a Walnut and Coffee Cake. We were delighted that it was already described as gluten-free in the book and we also chose a recipe with almond flour to accommodate a cook club member.
We sometimes buy our snacks, but this month we were excited to turn on our ovens and experiment with some baking. We chose the loaf cakes instead of vegan brownies, but there are lots of snacks found in The Thursday Murder Club that you could bring to your table.
Since this was our first autumn meeting, we had some apple cider (which can be spiked).
For our main course, we opted to go with something we considered traditionally British and was easy to make - fish and chips!
Check out Cozy Crimes’ book club questions that can be used for any mystery.
Here are our questions targeted to The Thursday Murder Club:
1. What did you think of Joyce’s journals amid the third-person narrative? How did this further the story?
2. This book is about to turned into a movie with an all-star cast. If you were in charge of casting, who would you like to see in each role?
3. How did each of the characters add to the investigation? Who was your favorite? What do you think of each’s moral code?
4. How did the setting contribute to the mystery and the story at large?
5. How did the author play with mystery tropes and audience expectations?
6. What did you think of the police officers who were investigating and their interactions with the members of the Thursday Murder Club?
7. What were some parts of the book that surprised you?
8. What relationships between the characters or suspects interested you the most? (Father/son, best friends, flirtations between residents, long-term spouses, etc.)
9. How did this compare to other British mysteries you have read?
10. What do you think of the club? Does it seem like a true crime club that could exist? Would you enjoy being a member? If you joined, what experiences could you add?
