Richard OsmanThe Thursday Murder Club

Do you ever forget for a minute what book you're reading but then when see it and remember you get all excited? That's this book

I gave this book every chance, I really did. But finally after 200 pages I can take no more.I’m not particularly well read and for no other reason other than as a point of reference, some of my favourite books are: A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini) The Godfather (Mario Puzo), On The Road (Jack Kerouac), The Beach (Alex Garland), Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton), The Book Thief (Markus Zusak), Shantaram (Gregory David Roberts) and The Catcher In The Rye (J.D.Salinger).Although I never expected The Thursday Murder Club to affect me in the same way as any of these books…. after seeing the incredible Amazon review scores, I at least expected to be able to get through the book without losing the will to live.To cut to the chase, it’s not that it’s poorly written, it’s just not interesting in any way. It feels like an omnibus of The Last Of The Summer Wine. Very safe, very nice. Zero edge, originality or craft. It reminded me of my own (very poor) short stories written for English GCSE. It’s not outlandish to assume that if Richard Osman wasn’t a tv personality, this book wouldn’t have seen the light of day.It obviously appeals to some, in the same way that Inspector morse or the antiques roadshow has a devout following. But my god please ensure you are the target audience before starting this book.For me personally it was one of the most boring books I have ever attempted to read.

I have always enjoyed watching Richard Osman and was curious to read his books, with a holiday coming up it was just the perfect time.I found the premise interesting and the characters intriguing, not quite what I imagine when I think about a retirement village. A murder investigation solved in a rather unusual way.Some of the chapters jumped between characters and I felt I had to stop and think where it related to the story in general and remember who was who.The members of the ‘Thursday Murder Club’ Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron all aspire to be amateur detectives. At times finding out more information than the police themselves, not being caught up in red tape they have a certain freedom and a large array of contacts with special skills.They do share this information with the police but as a contingent that they are recognised as having some involvement in the case, and information should be shared equally.I do find this area a little unrealistic, as I don’t think it really rings true to life and I don’t think the police would allow busy bodies to be involved in investigations no matter how sleepy the town is.The character of Elizabeth was a little overbearing and smug at times in my option but still readable. I liked the other three main characters in the club but didn’t really get enough about them.Overall, the book was easy to read, not your typical crime novel. There was more twists and turns than I expected and was as surprised with each new revelation. An enjoyable book, but it may not be to everyone’s taste, my advice don’t take it too seriously, after all it is just a work of fiction.I’m off to read the next book and passing this one onto my partner and will update with his views afterwards.

I couldn't wait to read this book but for the first half I was so bored and disappointed I almost gave up on it but I'm not one to give up on anything so plodded on and am glad I did because it definitely got better to the point of being intriguing! I would recommend to anyone to give it a chance if at first you're not sure. I promise it gets better! And I'm now ( much to my surprise) looking forward to starting the next in the series!

When’s there’s loads of reviews and it’s on the bestseller list people then expect the book to be life changing, so don’t put your hopes up that high and you’ll find it to be an enjoyable enough read. Bought this to get back into reading and it was an easy read once I got my head around the different characters. Not overly long and part two is much better than part one. People are picking holes in how much the police let the club be involved in the case, but this is a fictional story after all. My only gripe would be that I’m not sure why people (like the reviews on the cover) say it’s “hilarious” as the only thing I mildly laughed at was the Bumstead bit! Makes people expect a comedy which this isn’t. However, I enjoyed the twists and turns and the whodunnit and how everyone was interlinked some way or another. There are highs and lows and, of course, murder… and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series!

I'm probably in a minority here, but I really couldn't get on with this book.I keep thinking I'm reading a film script and not a novel that is drawing me in. It's all a bit, well, twee. The characters are stereotype and using the present tense really does make it feel even more like a film script than a novel.Sorry Richard, but to me, you wrote this purposely for a screen adaptation in mind and one aimed at your early Sunday evening simpleton watchers who still like things like "Still open all hours".3 stars because I managed to get half way through before not being able to stand it anymore.