The Thursday Murder Club

1. General Impressions 

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• This novel is the first installment in the Thursday Murder Club series. Does it make you want to read the rest of this series? Why or why not?
• Did author Richard Osman’s identity as a popular English comedian influence how you approached this book? Can you tell it was written by a comedian?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection 

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Joyce’s participation in the Thursday Murder Club introduces her to new friends, which make her life richer. Have you ever started a hobby or joined a club that changed your life?
• If you were part of the Thursday Murder Club, would you make choices that are different from those of the main characters? How do you imagine that your personal interests, history, and expertise would have influenced the actions of the club?
• People underestimate the club members because of their age. Have you ever been discounted or underestimated because of your age, whether because you were young or more experienced? Did you work to prove your critics wrong like the Thursday Murder Club does?
• This novel deals with the topic of extrajudicial justice. How does this topic influence the plot? What do the characters think of this topic? What is your personal opinion on this topic?

3. Societal and Cultural Context 

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• Characters like Joyce, Elizabeth, and Donna all face varied systemic prejudices on account of their gender, age, or both. How do systemic prejudice and stereotyping work in this book? In what settings and moments in the plot are ageism and sexism most evident? How do ageism and sexism overlap, and what is the effect of this overlap?
• What are the larger ethical implications of the club looking into the murders? Think about how concepts like vigilantism affect the novel. Do the club members have larger ethical frameworks they operate under? Are there moments where the characters engage in actions that are ethically dubious? How do characters bring justice into their own hands in this novel, and what are the larger implications of this behavior?
• Against the backdrop of the main action is a story about commercialism and how hyper-development impacts smaller communities by destroying their sacred or special places, like the Garden of Eternal Rest. How does this theme relate to similar stories in the real world? How does this topic connect to the main plot, and what do you think of how this novel resolves this topic?

4. Literary Analysis 

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• How is Osman’s history as a television writer reflected throughout the structure and techniques he uses to slowly unfurl the central mystery and plot in this novel?
• The novel alternates between the first-person point of view of Joyce’s diary and a third-person point of view encompassing all the characters. What impact does this shifting point of view have on the narrative? What unique meaning is gained in each perspective?
• What is the significance of setting this novel in a retirement community amid a group of retired characters? Would their character arcs be different if they were a different age?
• How do the main characters’ former professions affect their character arcs and agency in affecting the novel’s plot?
• Mystery novels often use foreshadowing to hint at the resolution of the mystery, and red herrings mislead readers about the mystery’s true answer. Readers often do not realize these elements are foreshadowing or red herrings until they have finished the novel. In retrospect, what bits of foreshadowing and red herrings structure this mystery? Did they influence your opinion on the central mystery?

5. Creative Engagement 

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• This book is the first in a series that follows the same cast of characters investigating various murders. If you were to continue this story into a new mystery, what would happen?
• Imagine if the main characters of this novel were dropped into a different famous mystery novel (for instance, something by Agatha Christie or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). How would they approach this case?
• This book is being developed into a film directed by Chris Columbus and starring an all-star cast, including Helen Mirren (Elizabeth), Pierce Brosnan (Ron), Ben Kingsley (Ibrahim), Celia Imrie (Joyce), and Jonathan Pryce (Stephen). Does this casting line up with how you envisioned the characters? If not, who would you cast in their place? If so, who else would you add to the cast?

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