The Thursday Murder Club

One-Sentence book review
A fun, interesting murder-mystery spearheaded by a bunch of retired septuagenarians and their quirky personalities.

Summary, thoughts and notesLike any murder-mystery, the plot revolves around a murder and trying to figure out who did it. What sets this book apart from the rest is the fact that our main group of crime-solving protagonists are all in their 70s and live in a retirement village. They gather every Thursday to discuss and to try to solve unsolved murders from one of the members' past work as a detective (hence the name of the group and the book). This is all fun and games until an actual murder occurs, and then a couple more, all around or relating to the retirement village. The members of the Thursday Murder Club all have their eccentricities and quirks that both set them apart from each other, but also highlight what each one bring to the table when it comes to solving crimes. Along with our elder protagonists, we also have the help of two of the city's finest detectives, who mostly dismiss the Thursday Murder Club as a quirky group of grandparents, but who also provide some interesting moments throughout the book.As for the mystery itself, it's not anything out of this world, but does provide some interesting moments. I will mention that I did expect a bit more from the way the murders were presented, in the end none of them were really connected, and I feel like it was a lost opportunity to just have a more interesting plot with more impactful discoveries. The way the book is written made me feel like I was almost reading the screenplay for a movie or a TV show, the chapters are so short, and they jump from one perspective to the next, it felt like the different cuts to different scenes we constantly see in TV shows. I do have to wonder if the this was intentional on part of the author to make easier adaptations for movies or TV shows.

Themes and Character NotesI feel that as a murder-mystery, this is pretty cookie cutter, run-of-the-mill, normal, which is not a bad thing at all. The twist here is obviously that the main crime solving group we follow are older people who combine the adorableness of grandparents with the cunning of a crime solving squad, and that does help set this book apart from others. The characters also have very distinct personalities, Elizabeth, the leader of the Thursday Murder Club, is a very cunning, straight to the point, woman. Joyce is the newest member of the group, an ex-nurse, who is more casual about the whole murder solving thing in the beginning, but grows to take it more seriously. Ibrahim, an ex-psychiatrist, whose people skills and introspection abilities also help out a lot. Finally, Ron rounds out the club as a former union leader, headstrong and belligerent. This mix of personalities make for some very interesting interactions and moments throughout the book.

What Worked, What Didn'tThere is a definite focus in the various interactions between the characters throughout the book, while the murder itself is the main driving force behind the plot, it sometimes feels like it takes a backseat to character interactions. I personally didn't mind this, but I can also see how some might be turned off from this if they are more interested in the murder itself.The super short chapters and constant, quick perspective changes can also be a jarring at times, it really clicked for me when I started viewing it as a TV show with many cuts between different scenes, but it did take me some time to get used to.

Personal Recommendation
If you want an easy read about a murder mystery, with interesting and quirky characters, and don't mind short chapters that don't dwell too much on one subject and constant changes in point of view and perspective, I'd definitely say to give this book a try, otherwise, this might not be for you. Additionally, if you want a very complex mystery with intricate connections and red herrings between many characters that keeps you on your feet guessing what might come next, you might want to avoid this book as it might fall short of those expectations. For me, personally, I like this book and will probably continue to read the rest of the series, just maybe not immediately.