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Wrapping Up October Reads: Cozy Mysteries
We’re wrapping up our October focus on cozy-ish mysteries as a “read for fun” genre, with The Thursday Murder Club by British game show producer Richard Osman.
More on the book in a moment.
First, in case you missed the past couple of newsletters:
Quick note: I use Amazon affiliate links and am almost exclusively a Kindle reader or Audible listener, frequently through my library's digital loan platform, Libby.
British authors and stories set in Europe have become a niche interest for me for several months now.
The Thursday Murder Club joins the ranks of John Le Carre’s Cold War spy tales and Robert Harris’s historical fiction gems like V2: A Novel of World War II. For nonfiction fans, Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile makes a great companion to V2, as both paint vivid experiences during The Blitz and Hitler's Luftwaffe bombing of London from September 1940 to May 1941.
I first noticed The Thursday Murder Club browsing through the Libby app, and noticed that only one of the four titles in this series was available. Every other title in the series had a wait time of a couple of months for both Kindle and audio.
Since the book was so popular, I thought, "Why not?" I checked it out using my (local library plug here) Fort Smith Public Library card, and was hooked from the first chapter of the story.
The book was packed with chuckle-out-loud moments, which told me it was worth keeping on with the series.
📚📚📚📚 Book Rating: 4 of 5 📚
I’m tempted to give The Thursday Murder Club a perfect 5-book stack rating. I read the whole series in about two weeks.
However, based on feedback from a couple of friends who landed on “meh” for this one, I’m giving the book a four stack rating.
Why I’m Recommending This Book
This isn’t your average mystery, and that’s why it deserves a spot here. Set in a retirement village where a knitting circle could double as MI6, The Thursday Murder Club delivers cozy British humor with a twist. If you’re in the mood for a twisty, laugh-out-loud ride through the British countryside and a reminder that age brings wisdom and mischief, this one’s for you.
🎧 If audiobooks are your thing, this is a fantastic listen. The narration by Lesley Manville is stellar. She does a terrific job bringing each character to life with that signature British wit.
When a Good Book Makes Everything Else Fade
Favorite quote from this book:
"I know that life goes on, and that there are pills to take, and books to read, and quizzes to watch, but really, this murder does tend to overshadow everything."
This line captures what I love about a good cozy mystery—it has that power to draw you in and, even if just for a few moments, let everything else slip away. And isn’t that the beauty of reading? Unplug your love of reading from hustle culture. Read for fun.
Tracy’s Takeaway (for what it's worth 😉)
Age doesn’t define curiosity; it sharpens it. Find a way to stay engaged with what you love, and you’ll always have something to look forward to.
That’s exactly what led me to unplug from the hustle culture — to shed the guilt over the stack of books I “should be reading” and to instead pursue stories, topics, and genres that sparked curiosity in the moment.
As of this week, I’m working an 81-week reading streak. So that's pretty cool. 😎
