The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

This record-breaking number one bestseller is so appealing to such a wide audience, the film rights to this comic mystery were sold before it was even published. It delivers, as a quirky group of elderly friends investigate cold cases for entertainment, amidst two current murders, with a next-door cemetery bursting with bones.

Coopers Chase is a country retirement village in Kent built from an old convent. Newcomer Joyce narrates through her diary entries meeting with Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim. The Thursday club meets in the aptly named puzzle room to pore over cold cases lifted from the police (don't ask). Joyce fills a club vacancy after ex-police inspector Penny was moved to the palliative wing, watched over by her husband John. Elizabeth is also ex-police, Joyce an ex-nurse, Ibrahim a psychiatrist, and Ron an ex-labor leader. When young PC De Freitas gives a talk to the community, she finds an astute audience, ready to leap past preliminaries to what actually interests them.

The village was developed by smarmy Ian Ventham, with plans to double the size; he just needs to move the old cemetery. He fires his partner and hires a new Polish builder to make himself even richer. Father Mackie and the residents are out in force to stop the diggers at the cemetery. When not one, but two men are murdered, DCI Chris Hudson investigates, and with the Club's help, PC De Freitas is added to the case. The Club have years of experience and connections to help solve the mystery, often one step ahead of the police. As elderly citizens, they are often happy to be overlooked, easily playing the dementia card when it suits them - but they can't be underestimated!

The movie is definitely not the book, which is richer with a different story built around the same bones. This is a character-based mystery, full of English wit and laugh-out-loud humor. The second half becomes more complex, with well-rounded side characters and even a Cypriot drug cartel in the mix. Not to mention the new bones found buried with the old in the disturbed cemetery.

Richard Osman is a UK presenter and producer of comedy and quiz shows. This bestseller has spawned four sequels so far, so expect the next novel, The Man Who Died Twice, to hit the screens soon.

2020 / Tradeback / 416 pages