The Thursday Murder Club

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE RECORD-BREAKING, MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING THURSDAY MURDER CLUB SERIES AND SOON TO BE A MAJOR NETFLIX MOVIE RELEASE!

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

The Times Crime Book of the Month
Guardian Best Crime and Thrillers

'Smart, compassionate, warm, moving and so VERY funny' Marian Keyes
'So smart and funny. Deplorably good' Ian Rankin
'Thrilling, moving, laugh-out-loud funny' Mark Billingham

Richard Osman, Sunday Times bestseller, March 2024
The Bullet that Missed broke the record for the fastest-selling adult fiction hardback ever, September 2022

© Richard Osman 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critics Review

'A little beacon of pleasure'
Kate Atkinson
'So smart and funny. Deplorably good'
Ian Rankin
'Smart, compassionate, warm, moving and so VERY funny. I smiled a million times. This book will make a lot of people very, very happy'
Marian Keyes
'A gripping read and rather moving'
Sunday Times
'Funny, clever and achingly British'
Adam Kay
'A superb debut. Thrilling, moving, laugh-out-loud funny and packed with characters you will want to see a LOT more of'
Mark Billingham
'Compelling. Mystery fans are going to be enthralled'
Harlan Coben
'By turns hilarious and poignant, The Thursday Murder Club offers up a brilliant concept that's flawlessly executed and told in a unique, captivating voice. These are rare qualities in any novel, let alone a debut. I read the first page, then put all else on hold to devour this pitch-perfect book in one sitting. Bravo!'
Jeffrey Deaver
'So smart, so funny, so warm, and such a wonderful mystery. If we're lucky Richard Osman will keep these characters alive forever'
Caroline Kepnes
'A properly funny and totally charming murder mystery steeped in Agatha Christie joy. Also the best crime solving foursome and full of a type of Britishness that makes you smile'
Araminta Hall

User Reviews

Book 4.3
Narration 4.3
4.0
5.0
I enjoyed this story. There are twists and turns at every stage, but the narrative style enables it to be followed easily. The narration is superb and undoubtedly contributes significantly to my enjoyment of the story.

The characters are sympathetically drawn and the scenes at the bedside and the discussions of age that run throughout, are realistic and moving. The protagonists are an interesting group; that consists of a nurse, a psychiatrist, a trade union leader and probably a former intelligence operative. The mystery surrounding Elisabeth’s former occupation is one of the successful attention retaining devices employed by the author.

The competition between the group and the police to solve the murders is fascinating if perhaps implausible and it would be nice to think that the regular police force would perform more creditably on real life cases. Elisabeth is a character drawn from the world of John Le Carré and the book needs her, since Ron and Ibrahim are both a little one dimensional. She dominates the police and Murder Club investigations and drags the police along in her wake. The diarist Joyce, who reveals some of the story as it unfolds is a little low key at the beginning, but by the end you realise she is a decent match for Elisabeth and through her diary we learn about many facets of her life and of the other characters including the police investigators Donna and Chris.

There is certainly sufficient scope for a follow up story, since Osman is a natural storyteller and I would be very happy to listen to/ read it.
Alan Murphy 31/10/2025
5.0
5.0
I laughed out loud & I also wept. What more could you want from a book? I'm late to this particular party, but I can see why people liked this book. On the other hand, I do know at least one person who hated it and tbh I can understand that view, even if I don't share it. The style is quite particular & I can see it might not be for everyone.
The plot kept me guessing but works out very nicely.
If I have a criticism, it would be purely practical: this does not need to be a 115 chapter book. I realise it's been done to differentiate the various points of view, but I think they'd be clear enough in bigger chunks.

The narration is excellent. Lesley Manville would have been an excellent cast member for the movie adaptation, though of course she's not old enough!

Very enjoyable.
AliceMerray 26/08/2025
5.0
4.0
stephvidler 05/06/2025
4.0
4.0
Very enjoyable, could not stop listening.
Defendman 02/12/2024
5.0
5.0
midmollyme 02/06/2024
2.0
2.0
Really didn't enjoy this at all. All the publicity around these books is just hype, poor story line, very poor characters and hopeless pace. Don't bother 😡😡😡
Johnboy 17/05/2024
5.0
5.0
flowerbookworm 26/12/2023
3.0
5.0
Christienp 01/09/2023
5.0
5.0
DeesAU 15/05/2023
5.0
5.0
Traficote 25/04/2023
4.0
5.0
Elleevo02 22/03/2023
5.0
5.0
Absolutely loved this book!! So clever and funny, thanks Richard 🙂 and thanks to Lesley Manville for such wonderful voices for the fabulous characters. I could see them all so clearly in my mind as I listened.
Just love Lesley reading Joyce, it's just brilliant!! This is a real delight and treasure!
suedickson 04/03/2023
5.0
5.0
juleshurst 14/02/2023
5.0
4.0
I loved this book! It keeps you guessing right until the end with plot twist after plot twist. The way Richard Osman creates his characters and weaves their stories is masterful. I have never experienced a book about murder which has been so heartwarming.
BH 20/01/2023
5.0
5.0
lthomas 22/12/2022
1.0
1.0
HelenMac 27/11/2022
5.0
5.0
Brilliant! Twists and turns and very amusing!
kama 23/09/2022
5.0
4.0
I loved The Thursday Murder Club. A well-paced, funny and surprising story, with a host of fantastically written characters. It was so refreshing to have the narrative told by a bunch of OAPs!
megchaplin 08/12/2025
4.0
3.0
A fun story and easy listen 😀
Laurie 🐱 08/12/2025

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