In case you’ve just emerged from an isolated cult or have been living in a doomsday bunker for the last three years, The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman has taken the world by storm. It’s fun, delightful and oh so very British.
Confession: I have a deep attachment to our retired sleuths: Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, who live in an ‘upscale’ retirement village called Cooper Chase.
These lovable snoops make me laugh, and their zest for life is inspiring. (Yes, I do realise they are fictional characters, but sometimes I worry about their choices…)
In this third book of the series, Osman ups the stakes when former spy Elizabeth receives a threatening text demanding she kill her friend, former KGB Colonel Viktor. If she shirks this mission, her best friend Joyce will be in the firing line. Meanwhile, the gang are investigating the disappearance of former news anchor Bethany Waites. This gives Joyce the perfect excuse to flirt and fangirl with Bethany’s co-host, the charming (and incidentally, gay) Mike Waghorn.
This book really zipped along for me – I enjoyed the twists and turns and the relationships between the four friends. This series often makes me laugh, always makes me smile and yes, there are a few tearjerker moments, particularly if you have ever loved someone with dementia, but don’t be put off; it’s all done with a light touch.
Readers often want to know if this series needs to be read in order – it’s not essential, but you will enjoy it so much more as new characters are introduced in each book and the payoff is in the way these characters grow and change together. I’ve already started reading the next book in the series, because I would dearly love to see Joyce find a nice chap to bake for and talk the ears off – preferably Ron. I think those two would annoy each other perfectly.
-Katrina Roe, RRL Administration Centre
