The Thursday Murder Club (2020) by Richard Osman
Welcome to Coopers Chase--an upscale retirement village with all the mod cons from a "contemporary upscale restaurant" for all your dining needs to clubs and activities to suit everyone's tastes. There is a group for Art History and another for Conversational French...and then there's the Thursday Murder Club who meet (surprisingly enough) every Thursday to discuss old cases. They look over materials and examine evidence and try to figure out if the police fingered the right person. The group of sprightly septuagenarians are a diverse group. Elizabeth is the leader--decisive, persuasive, with more connections than an old-fashioned operator's board. We're never told exactly what Elizabeth was in a former life, but there are definite MI5 vibes going on. Then there is Ron--well-known in his younger years as Red Ron--always up for bucking the system and telling officials where to get off, especially in a fight for an underdog. And Ibrahim, a retired (semi-retired?) therapist, who uses his knowledge of human nature as well as his incredible encyclopedic memory and calculating skills in the good fight. The newest member (and our sometime narrator through diary entries) is Joyce. Joyce used to be a nurse and can help with medical knowledge. She also has a way of being easily overlooked that comes in handy. It allows her to observe others without them realizing it.
You might wonder how this merry band of sleuths are able to get their hands on case files. Well...as mentioned, Elizabeth has connections. Plus, one of the other founding members, Penny, was a cop. A cop who despite regulations made copies of everything...and brought it all along with her to the retirement village. [Penny has since slipped away into dementia and can no longer participate, but her files are the gift that keeps on giving.]
When Tony Curran, a local developer who, along with his partner Ian Ventham, plans to expand the retirement village and, incidentally, bulldoze his way through a old cemetery full of nuns, winds up murdered, the Thursday Murder Club get the chance to dive into a current murder investigation. They no sooner learn of Tony's death than Elizabeth has a foolproof plan to weasel their way into the good graces of the local police. DCI Chris Hudson isn't going to know what hit him. More bodies are found; Elizabeth and Joyce take day trips to London to track down suspects; and Ron and Ibrahim take a quick jaunt to Turkey--all in pursuit of justice. These four may be in a retirement community, but they've got all their wits about them--and that's more wits than most.
Well...that was just too much fun. It's worth the price of admission just for the scene where all the 70- and 80-year-olds in the community confront Ian Ventham and his earth-moving equipment. They hold a picnic-slash-tea party in front of the gates so he can't get in and start digging up the cemetery. Osman has created a great group of characters and it's incredibly easy to throw disbelief to the winds and go along with the idea of these four fearless amateurs taking on the bad guys. I enjoyed watching them out-maneuver the police and wangle information that the police might never have discovered. The one thing that keeps this from being a full five-star book is the plot itself--it's a bit convoluted for my tastes and there's one other stumbling block that I mention in the spoiler section below (don't venture further if you haven't read it). Otherwise--a thoroughly enjoyable mystery novel. ★★★★
Warning--spoiler below!
The one real quibble I have is that there isn't just one killer. We have multiple deaths and multiple killers and multiple motives--though I suppose that you could say that most of the killers were acting out of an urge to protect or avenge someone. But I prefer my mysteries a little tidier and that all the deaths are linked in a very real way. I will also say that I was disappointed that Tony was the first to die. Ian Ventham was a loathsome man and I fully expected him to play first victim. He does get his...but not for the reason I thought he would.
First line: Well, let's start with Elizabeth, shall we? and see where that gets us?
Last line: And right on time, there's my crumble. I will let you know how everything goes.
*************
Deaths = 9 (one hit on head; three poisoned; one hung; three shot; one stabbed)
29 comments:
Hi there. I’ve just finished this book and I’m sooo confused! Why did John kill Ian ventham because penny killed Peter mercer?
Please put me out of my misery and explain!!
Thanks
Lucy: It's been a few months since I read this and [full disclosure] my memory for detail isn't what it was [my memory gets more sieve-like as the years go by]. IF I remember correctly, Ian was killed because he planned to dig everything up for the expansion and John was afraid Penny's crime would come to light.
But why would that cause penny's crime to come to light. How is it connected. I am so confused
As I said--it's been a few months since I read it. I don't hold on to details like I used to. I don't know that it makes logical sense--but people who murder don't always have a logic that makes sense to everyone.
I agree this plot line is a flaw. Penny (a police officer) killed the murderer who said his girlfriend was a victim of a burglary because he got away with it and she wanted justice. So I can only surmise that John thought the body would be found and linked to Penny - though how, I don't know.
A few too many crimes, characters, threads - but an enjoyable listen (on Radio 4).
This may help, the body was buried in the graveyard which was part of the new development.
I don't understand why Penny, a police officer murdered Peter Mercer, there is no reason other than that he murdered his girlfriend. A police officer just wouldn't do that.
Just finished the book. Couldn't lut it down. Odd end. So Penny murdered the body in the graveyard?
I thought the body in the graveyard was the sheep farmer that John killed?
The sheep farmer was a made-up story to protect Penny. The body Bogdan dug up belonged to Peter Mercer, the boyfriend of the girl mentioned at the very beginning of the book. Penny killed him to avenge her.
So..
Peter Mercer was killed by Penny in anger, effectively. Mercer was then buried in the graveyard by Penny.
John (Penny's husband) therefore killed Ian, because he was concerned Penny's crime would be discovered.
Bogdan killed Tony after Tony gave orders for the death of Bogdans friend (in the past). He'd waited for the opportunity so as not to seem too obvious.
Meanwhile, in the past Matthew (the priest who wasn't a priest!), had got a nun (Maggie) pregnant. The nun then took her own life, aswell as the life of their unborn baby.
I think that's right..?! I may be off but this is how I've understood it.
Agree. Did Elizabeth commit a crime, too?
elizabeth made a confession to matthew saying how the bones that were discovered by bogdan were actually the man of someone she murdered out of self defence… BUT this is totally not mentioned at all when suddenly her ‘confession’ is told by john saying that the bones buried belonged to peter (the one who pennie murdered). so why then does elizabeth say that?
I think Elizabeth confesses that as she thinks it is very similar to what she believes Matthew did and wants to goad him into admitting it?
Yes that’s right although it’s a bit of an odd approach! The whole Penny murder bit is far fetched and disappointing that a kind of unrelated incident ended up being the motivation for the murder of Ian. Would have been better if had been closer to home.
I agree.
I got so lost at the end.
Also, too many characters called Peter. When Peter Mercer was mentioned at the end, I thought I'd missed a trick somewhere. But no. A new Peter. Different one. There were at threat 3 in the book.
Thank goodness I found all these reviews and explanations from you all. I couldn't wait to read this, sounded just my type of book. I probably got about halfway through and began to think I had missed some clues, and more and more characters began to emerge. When I thought I was nearing the end, and people started to confess their sins, I was determined I would finish the book before I went to bed, which I did around 2am, and lay awake for hours trying to work it all out! I am relieved that all my questions were addressed by someone, and it wasn't just me! Trouble us, could I manage the next one?
LindsayC
Hi, I cant seem to figure out who says the beginning lines of the book before the first chapter. "Killing someone is easy . Hiding the body, now thats actually the hard part......." Was it Penny??? or?????? I'm so frustrated!
Can someone please shed some light? Why was there a long story about Father Mackie, admitting to killing someone, by way of shooting the victim in the leg? Dragging the body to bury it in the garden of eternal rest. And then no more is mentioned about it? Then we learn that that in fact, John killed Peter Mercer by shooting him in the leg. Are there two bodies buried with gunshot wounds to the leg? Confused!
I've just finished this and the plot did make sense to me. Whether I thought it was a good plot or not is another matter....
So, the story about Father Mackie shooting someone in the leg after an illicit encounter - that was a story told by Elizabeth to Father Mackie in the confessional. She said it because she theorised that he'd killed the man discovered in the grave. He hadn't, but he went on to reveal his true story (ie. he'd had an affair with a nun and she'd committed suicide after falling pregnant). That's why he'd returned to Coopers Chase and why he didn't want the graveyard excavated.
Much of this book's revelations made little sense or felt cheaply earned. The suicide of Bernard for example, was one of *three* suicides in the book (Bernard, Penny's husband John, Maggie the nun) and felt like the author had done little to justify deploying that development.
Also, Penny's initial crime makes little sense. She killed Peter Mercer in a vigilante murder because he'd killed his girlfriend (the original crime the Murder Club were investigating at the start of the book). She buried his body in the graveyard and confessed the crime to her husband John during her dementia. He invented a story about killing a farmer to cover up her crime but the Murder Club saw through the ruse. He killed Ian Ventham to prevent the graveyard excavation from revealing Penny's crime.
So:
Peter Mercer's girlfriend killed by Peter Mercer
Peter Mercer killed by Penny
Penny killed by her husband John at the end
John commits suicide after euthanising Penny
Bernard commits suicide because he deceives his late wife's family into scattering fake ashes on the Ganges
Ian Ventham killed by John (to stop Peter Mercer body being discovered)
Young drug dealer killed by Tony Curran in the pub
Taxi driver Kazimir killed by Turkish Johnny (to cover up drug dealer murder)
Tony Curran killed by Bogdan (revenge for Kaz murder)
Turkish Johnny killed by Bogdan (revenge for Kaz murder)
Maggie the nun commits suicide (pregnant by Father Mackie)
Think that's all!
So who was it Karen recognised in the photo that led them to speak to John? Was it John and he worked there and coincidentally ended up with Penny who had secretly buried a body there?
Yes that's right, John (the local vet). But I think that it wasn't important that John was there in the 1970's it's that his wife, Penny, was around and so could have used the graveyard to bury Peter Mercer. PM's leg wound was from his time as a soldier... invalided out of the army.
IMO, Elizabeth jumping to this (correct) conclusion is all a bit too much of a neat coincidence to tie in with the opening crime under investigation (stabbing of Anne Madeley)!
And, call me woke, but I would have liked more context of Penny's experience that led her to kill Peter Mercer. Mysogeny, discrimination, accumulated injustices that led to her snapping.
Agreed. After I sorted out all the characters and their motivations, which I couldn't do on my own and had to turn to outside sources (not a good sign from a reader's standpoint), the only murder that made absolutelty no sense was Penny's vigilante murder of Peter Mercer. It makes me question whether to read any more Osman books. Thoughts anyone?
Tim here. Just finished the book and needed to search for answers like several others on this blog. List of killed/killers very helpful, thanks PhilS
I won’t rush to get the next Osman book but this was still an enjoyable read, I expect his next will be less confusing.
Thank you! I agree. If Peter Mercer was in police custody, he must have been a suspect. What would make Penny kill him before he was at least questioned at the police station? If he was subsequently let go because her colleagues weren't going to pursue him any further, then track him down and do it.
Also, Elizabeth is so smart and well-connected but she never once looks into Bogdan, the guy who installed Tony Curran's security system?? Come on. If neither she or the police suspected someone right in front of their faces, how are they going to figure out who was buried in that grave?
actually the first sentence is "Killing someone is easy." it's the beginning of an intriguing introductory paragraph which many people seem to have missed, perhaps because of the formatting of the Kindle version. the paragraph in full:
Killing someone is easy. Hiding the body, now, that’s usually the hard part. That’s how you get caught. I was lucky enough to stumble upon the right place, though. The perfect place, really. I come back from time to time, just to make sure everything is still safe and sound. It always is, and I suppose it always will be. Sometimes I’ll have a cigarette, which I know I shouldn’t, but it’s my only vice.
I mention this because it raises the question: who said this?
**spoiler alert**
presuming the statement is made by a character, my best guess is Penny. why?
because of the eleven deaths mentioned (thanks, @PhilS), only one killer buries their victim: Penny buries Peter Mercer in The Garden of (not so) Eternal Rest.
...right? the thing is that I didn't notice this paragraph when I read the book, nor did anyone in my small, informal book club. we stumbled upon it in a set of suggested book club questions. going to back to look for the text is what leads me to believe the Kindle formatting is to blame as it's hidden at the end of the "Contents" section; you do not see it if you skip to Part One: Meet New People and Try New Things.
that last line is a curious one. it seemingly has nothing to do with the rest of the paragraph. and this being a murder mystery, one is led to believe it's important hint to the identity of the speaker.
however, having already read the book and not having infinite spare time, I did a cursory search of terms like "smoke" and "cigarette" to see if the book offered other clues to the identity of the speaker... to no avail.
I'm left to presume Penny was at least an occasional smoker. and that the sentence exists to suggest Penny doesn't consider murdering a guilty man a vice.
thoughts?
Post a Comment