Read time: 4 minutes
🎧 Listened in audio
📢 Narrated by Lesley Manville
⏱ Duration: 12 hours 26 minutes
Read as part of my Book Club (we’re tackling Book 2 next)
🏷️ Publisher: Books on Tape (Penguin Audio imprint) / Penguin Books
Book Blurb:
In a luxury English retirement village, four sharp, seventy-something residents meet every Thursday to dig into old police files and puzzle over unsolved murders. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron formed the Thursday Murder Club for fun, but when a local developer is found dead, their cold-case hobby suddenly becomes a very real, very current investigation. As the body count rises and secrets surface, the unlikely sleuths lean on wit, experience, and sheer stubbornness to outpace the official police inquiry. The question isn’t just who did it, but how much history this quiet village has tried to bury.
Let’s talk … murder!!!
This was my second attempt at The Thursday Murder Club. I tried reading it in 2024 and couldn’t finish it then. This time I went in again through the audiobook, hoping the narration would pull me into the story in a way the text didn’t before. Sadly, the result was the same. I couldn’t finish it.
And that surprised me. This is a hugely popular cozy mystery. People love it. The series is everywhere. There’s even a Netflix adaptation with actors I absolutely adore. Knowing all that, I really wanted this book to work for me.
But why?
Part of it is the narrative distance. The story often feels like it’s being observed from above rather than lived from the inside, which made it hard for me to visualize scenes, even with Lesley Manville’s polished narration in my ears. I’m a very visual reader, usually an audiobook plus a Netflix adaptation is a cheat code for immersion, and I adore the casting of Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Tim Ellis in the film world of this story. But even after watching the movie, the book’s characters still felt like well-drawn sketches pinned to a corkboard instead of people moving through a space I could see.
The mystery itself is clever and layered, with multiple threads, red herrings. The very British blend of murder and mildness that has clearly charmed millions of readers. I can absolutely see why this series became a phenomenon. The premise is irresistible, the banter is dry, the setting is ripe for endless cases. However, the chemistry matters, and sometimes you meet a book that looks perfect on paper and still doesn’t click in your gut. That was this for me. I’ll keep going with book two for the sake of my book club, but at this point I’m not sure I’ll be booking a long-term stay at Cooper’s Chase.
Would I recommend it?
This one sits firmly in the “it’s not you, it’s me” category. If you love quintessentially British cozy mysteries, layered plots, and don’t mind a bit of narrative distance from the characters, this might absolutely work for you, and clearly does for a huge chunk of readers. For me, the emotional disconnect and difficulty visualizing the world meant I DNFed it twice. I’m glad I tried, but I won’t be pressing this one into people’s hands.
If you liked (or wanted to like) this vibe…
- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
For readers craving older protagonists with emotional depth and quieter, character-driven storytelling.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - The Appeal by Janice Hallett
A unique mystery told through documents and messages that invites readers to solve the case.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Warm, quirky, and voicey, with a memorable older heroine and a more intimate emotional tone.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
Features an unconventional group investigation with seniors and writers, plus a more grounded, atmospheric feel.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Gentle, character-first mystery with a vivid sense of place that may satisfy if you wanted more texture and warmth.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
Mystery Book Club Question
This one left me curious. Have you ever picked up a wildly popular book that everyone else loved, but for some reason it just didn’t click for you? Or if you’ve read The Thursday Murder Club, did you fall in love with the characters right away, or did it take a while to warm up to them? I’d love to hear where you landed on this one.
Book Links:
Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal
Indiebookstores.ca
Bookshop.org
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
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