Why people recommend it
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is a lighthearted yet clever cozy mystery novel that follows an eccentric group of retired pensioners solving crimes from a retirement village. The book was discussed on The Book Review podcast on the December 2025 episode What Did 2025 Mean for Books?, where John Maher pointed to Richard Osman's series as a prime example of mainstream cozy mysteries, noting that they offered purely comforting reading experiences without any distressing elements that might alienate readers. Earlier, on the September 2024 episode The Fall Books We're Looking Forward To, Shuman Katib also mentioned the novel, reminding listeners that the first book in the series originally came out in 2020 and established its premise around the group of amateur detective pensioners. Across these episodes, the podcast contributors used Osman's hugely popular series to illustrate broader trends in genre fiction, specifically highlighting its comforting tone, accessible plotting, and enormous commercial footprint in the contemporary mystery market.
Who recommended it
- John Maher Discussed
- Shuman Katib Discussed
John Maher — 1 mention
“let me give you the big mainstream example and that's the Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club books are 100% cozy mysteries there's nothing that's going to make you blanch Tina...”
Shuman Katib — 1 mention
“so his first that came out in 2020 was called the Thursday Murder Club and it followed a group of pensioners”