Book Review: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman (Osman)

 

Author Richard Osman may not be an overly familiar name for Americans, but he’s definitely a “celebrity” in the U.K., where he’s a comedian, TV personality, game show host, and “presenter”. The Thursday Murder Club is his first novel (with a contract for a second in 2021), and is a mixture between classic British “whodunit” and humorous and quirky character study. Different chapters are shared from different characters’ points of view, and each of them has an intriguing take on the plot.

 

The “Thursday Murder Club” is a group of four seniors living in a luxury retirement village in Kent. Once a week, these four distinctly different individuals gather to look over the evidence in a variety of “cold case” murders, and brainstorm solutions to the cases. This comfortable routine is disrupted — or should I say enhanced — when an actual murder takes place in their midst, and these four “amateur sleuths” think they know more about the case than the actual police, and set out to solve the murder (or at least assist in solving it).

Filled with colorful characters whom you’ll grow to care about, witty and snappy dialog, thoughtful observations on growing older and still finding a place for yourself in a changing world, and a truly challenging and creative mystery plot, The Thursday Murder Club is a wonderful first entry for a promising new mystery author. One of my favorite reads in 2020! I can’t want to see more from Richard Osman.

 

[ publisher’s official The Thursday Murder Club web site ] | [ official Richard Osman Twitter feed (he doesn’t have a website) ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Keep Moving and Other Tips and Truths About Aging by Dick Van Dyke on Compact Disc

Keep Moving and Other Tips and Truths About Aging
by Dick Van Dyke [Compact Disc Biography Van Dyke] 

Having enjoyed Dick Van Dyke’s very entertaining autobiography — My Lucky Life In and Out of Showbiz — a couple of years ago, I was excited to see that he had a new book out in 2015, and that he had recorded the audiobook adaptation of it himself. I was surprised, once I started to listen to this one that it wasn’t purely an entertainment biography, but was, instead, Van Dyke’s guide to how to live life as a senior. Van Dyke had just turned 89 at the time he was writing this volume, and looking back on almost 90 years of life, he has developed a number of personal philosophies and behavior choices that keep him happy and healthy and he’s happy to share with his fans. Don’t get me wrong — he does share quite a lot of stories about his life in showbiz, but frequently with an eye towards illustrating his points about lifestyle choices that lead to happiness and personal contentment.

Personally, I find his one most essential rule of behavior to be the most interesting — as the title of the book indicates, that’s “Keep Moving”. Van Dyke quotes a lot of statistics throughout the book, but one telling stat was that one of the most essential activities for maintaining a healthy and active mind in your senior years is to dance…and Dick dances every single day! A fun and enlightening volume, particularly entertaining as read by Van Dyke in audiobook format!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try My Lucky Life In and Out of Showbiz, by Dick Van Dyke (also on audio by Van Dyke).]

[ official Keep Moving web page from Weinstein Publishing ] | [ Wikipedia page for Dick Van Dyke ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?  
New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!