For readers who prefer murder mysteries with more whodunit and less gory details, British author Richard Osman has a killer series for you. Five years ago, Osman introduced book lovers to a quartet of amiable, captivating characters called The Thursday Murder Club.
There are currently four titles in the series and a fifth coming out in September. The first book, The Thursday Murder Club, sold 45,000 copies its first three days. It sold a million copies in the UK the first year of its release (2020), the only book ever to do so (including J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter.). The series has sold 10 million copies worldwide as of early 2024. Steven Spielberg immediately snapped up the film rights to the series in 2020 and Netflix is releasing The Thursday Murder Club movie on Aug. 22 to theaters. It stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley.
The Founding
The Thursday Murder Club (TMC) was founded by a group of active seniors for the purpose of solving cold cases the police had abandoned. Every Thursday afternoon members meet in the Jigsaw Room in the upscale British retirement community of Cooper’s Chase to root through old police files. The files were provided by an ex-police inspector, a charter member of the club who is no longer involved due to health issues.
Sometimes described as a “cozy mystery” or “cozy crime” series, Osman’s books have been compared to famed British mystery writers Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Like those authors, his mysteries are erudite and seasoned with a healthy dose of witty dialogue sandwiched between impressive scenes of puzzle detection and crime solving.
A charmingly diverse group, all four of the main characters are 70-plus years old. Each possesses specific talents and expertise that, when combined, make them a formidable group of problem fixers and clue solvers.
The Crime Solving Quartet
The unflappable Elizabeth Best is the unofficial leader of TMC. Her previous career as a MI5 agent has provided her experience with murder and investigations. Joyce Meadowcroft is a widow, mother, and former nurse, who is eternally optimistic and whose engaging diary entries inform readers what’s happening behind the scenes. Ron Ritchie is a former trade union leader renowned for his bellicose personality and passionate tenacity, and Ibrahim Arif is a retired psychiatrist who is meticulous to a fault. Like Goldilocks, he likes everything in life “just right.”
The author has described the adventures of the Thursday Murder Club as the “A” Team meeting Ms. Marple. Osman’s quirky quartet and a few other sidekicks who regularly appear have stolen the hearts of readers and set the literary world ablaze.
A Debut Author With a Familiar Face
Richard Osman debuted his first novel in 2020, but he already was a familiar face in the UK. He’d served as a game show host and producer for 20 years and helped create “Pointless,” a decades-long quiz program that still airs today. Admittedly, he made a comfortable living as a creator of game shows and show host, but he’s always loved to write and admits to being an aficionado of crime novels.
“I loved the creative side of making formats (game shows) and being a TV presenter is fine, it’s fun, but it wasn’t particularly challenging me,” he said in the 2023 Write About Now podcast. During a two-month break in filming game shows, he decided to begin a mystery novel and drew inspiration from a retirement community where his mother lived.
Osman said he was always impressed with the talent and wisdom of residents in the community when visiting his mother. He respected how many of the seniors had much to contribute professionally despite their advanced age. During one visit he was admiring how beautiful the community was when he imagined the shock of a murder occurring in such a serene environment. He thought the idea of a group of retirees outfoxing the police and solving a crime would make an interesting premise for a book.
That was the genesis of the series and the beginning of a new career for the 6-foot-7-inch, 54-year-old.
A Successful Writing Process
Osman prefers writing short chapters but admittedly it has nothing to do with his story’s pacing. He limits himself to writing two hours a day, which usually amounts to 1,000 to 1,200 words.
“I try to write a chapter a day, that’s why I have short chapters,” he said on the Write About Now podcast. “I’m very goal oriented; I try to pick the beginning, middle and end. I know where I want the chapter to end and I know where I want it to start. Let’s get that chapter done and tomorrow I’ll start the next chapter. I find that’s really, really helpful.”
No one’s going to argue with Osman’s writing strategy since he’s successfully crafted a new mystery gem every year. The smashing debut of The Thursday Murder Club in 2020 was followed by “The Man Who Died Twice” (2021), “The Bullet That Missed” (2022), and “The Last Devil to Die” (2023). A new TMC book, “The Imposs!ble Fortune,” will be released Sept. 30.
In 2024, Osman took a break from his senior crime solvers and launched “We Solve Murders,” a new series featuring a laid-back retired investigator and his thrill-seeking daughter-in-law who works in global private security. With Steve Wheeler’s investigative experience and Amy Wheeler’s derring-do, solving murders is their new family business.
Aging Isn’t for the Faint of Heart
Behind the clever dialogue and gags, all of Osman’s TMC books exhibit a powerful emotional depth. His characters balance solving mysteries alongside dealing with the physical and emotional challenges of aging. Every character deals with real-life issues like physical frailty, grief, complex family relationships, and even dementia.
A former police inspector and co-founder of the club, Penny, is in a nursing home due to dementia. Joyce replaced her. Throughout the series, Elizabeth’s husband Stephen exhibits subtle episodes of creeping mental impairment; as his mental acuity declines, Osman sympathetically portrays the emotional toll it takes on Elizabeth.
Likewise, Ron slowly comes to grips that he may still have a bull in the china shop mentality, but he often uses a cane when no one is around.
This could be one reason for the books’ popularity across all ages. The characters aren’t portrayed as superheroes, but as overlooked underdogs gifted with wisdom and intelligence. Their age and status in life makes them non-threatening and somewhat invisible to the public, prompting both the police and criminals to underestimate their capabilities. This often leads to humorous situations where unsuspecting individuals on both sides of the law are blindsided by the gang’s audacity and perspicacity.
One such scene occurs early in the first book when the quartet invites a police representative to Cooper’s Chase under the pretense of discussing home security. The actual purpose, though, is to glean information on a murder case and develop a source within the local police department. When TMC learn that the ambitious female police officer they’ve invited isn’t assigned to the case they are investigating, the four ingeniously get her placed on the police investigative team through some devious and humorous machinations.
These intriguing interactions between the club, the local police, and some shady characters often lead to fascinating side stories and surprise relationships.
The Literary Tightrope
Infusing murder mysteries with laugh-out-loud dialogue, poignant interludes, and endearing characters is an enviable skill few novelists possess. In every book, Osman has successfully accomplished a rare trifecta: writing mysteries that entertain, respect the sensitivities of aging, and remind readers that friendship is important at every stage of life. It’s a good bet that readers will continue to find those human qualities in his characters endearing and relatable.
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