Thursday Murder Club Books in Order By Richard Osman
In life you have to learn to count the good days. You have to tuck them in your pocket and carry them around with you. So I’m putting today in my pocket and I’m off to bed.
― Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club
- The Thursday Murder Club (2020)
- The Man Who Died Twice (2021)
- The Bullet That Missed (2022)
- The Last Devil to Die (Exp. 2023)
What is Thursday Murder Club about?
Thursday Murder Club is set in a lovely retirement home called Cooper’s Chase, set near to the fictitious village of Fairhaven in Kent. We follow a group of four pensions who are named Elizabeth Best; Ron Ritchie; Joyce Meadowcroft; and Ibrahim Arif. They meet every thursday for their weekly Murder Club, where initially try to solve cold cases.
Richard Osman’s inspiration for the book came from when he visited a somewhat upmarket retirement village.
The first book of the series The Thursday Murder Club sold 45,000 copies in its first three days on sale and became a Sunday Times number one bestseller. As of 8 September, it had been sold in 16 countries. In the week leading up to 19 December, it sold 134,514 copies, making it the first debut novel ever to be Christmas number one.
Steven Speilburg’s production company, Amblin Entertainment, have bought the book’s global film rights.
Who is Richard Osman?
Richard Osman was born in the UK and is most well known to those of us in the UK as first, a TV presenter on Pointless, and secondly, like most around the world, as an author of his international bestselling series, Thursday Murder Club. He was born with nystagmus, which is an eye condition that significantly reduces his vision. He has made many appearances on panel shows such as Would I Lie to You?, Have I got News for You and QI. Also being a contestant on Taskmaster.
He currently lives in London with his wife and cat.
More women are murdering people these days,” says Joyce. “If you ignore the context, it is a real sign of progress.
― Richard Osman, The Man Who Died Twice
The Order
Below you will find the best reading order for Thursday Murder Club, the books all follow each other in very quick succession. So as a first time reader, we do highly recommend sticking to this order you will find below.
WARNING: There may be spoilers for some of the books mentioned. These are taken from the official descriptions but can sometimes spoil parts of previous books. So please be careful!
1. The Thursday Murder Club (2020)
Thursday Murder Club #1
114,220 words, 400 pages, 115 chapters, 7hrs 35mins to read
993 average words per chapter, 3.4 average pages per chapter
Published by Viking
3.91 out of 5 on Goodreads
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.
But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?
2. The Man Who Died Twice (2021)
Thursday Murder Club #2
126,180 words, 432 pages, 84 chapters, 8hrs 25mins to read
1,502 average words per chapter, 5.1 average pages per chapter
Published by Viking
4.41 out of 5 on Goodreads
It’s the following Thursday.
Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He’s made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life.
As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn’t that be a bonus?
But this time they are up against an enemy who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can The Thursday Murder Club find the killer (and the diamonds) before the killer finds them?
3. The Bullet That Missed (2022)
Thursday Murder Club #3
118,450 words, 413 pages, 92 chapters, 7hrs 55mins to read
1,287 average words per chapter, 4.4 average pages per chapter
Published by Viking
4.43 out of 5 on Goodreads
It is an ordinary Thursday, and things should finally be returning to normal. Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club are concerned. A decade-old cold case–their favorite kind–leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.
Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill or be killed. Suddenly the cold case has become red hot.
While Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim chase down the clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?
From an upmarket spa to a prison cell complete with espresso machine to a luxury penthouse high in the sky, this third adventure of the Thursday Murder Club is full of the cleverness, intrigue, and irresistible charm that readers have come to expect from Richard Osman’s bestselling series.
4. The Last Devil to Die (Exp. 2023)
Thursday Murder Club #4
400 pages
Published by Viking
4.45 out of 5 on Goodreads
Expected publication 14th September 2023
You’d think you would be allowed to relax over Christmas, but not in the world of the Thursday Murder Club.
On Boxing Day, a dangerous package is smuggled across the English coast. When it goes missing, chaos is unleashed. The body count starts to rise – including someone close to the Thursday Murder Club – as our gang face an impossible search and their most deadly opponents yet.
With the clock ticking down and a killer heading to Cooper’s Chase, has their luck finally run out? And who will be ‘The Last Devil To Die’?
If murder were easy, none of us would survive Christmas.
― Richard Osman, The Bullet That Missed
Overall
Thursday Murder Club is a great cosy mystery that deserves its place on every bookshelf. It is full of fun and loveable characters, with a great story and mystery to keep you going throughout each of the books.
If you have enjoyed any of Richard Osman’s work and want to learn more about his or any other of his work, then feel free to give him a follow on Twitter.
As an added bit of fun, you can actually follow Joy, one of his characters from the Thursday Murder Club here, @greatjoy69
Which one is your favourite or most looking forward to picking up next?
Let us know!
Happy reading!
After a certain age, you can pretty much do whatever takes your fancy. No one tells you off, except for your doctors and your children.
― Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club
Total Word Count in Thursday Murder Club and More!
(Only Including Published Works)
- Total words: 358,850 words
- Total pages: 1,245 pages
- Total chapters: 286 chapters
- Total reading time: 23hrs 55mins
More of the same, but different:
For More of Anything:
Things to Note:
- Word count is an approximation.
- Amount of pages may differ due to different publications, font style and/or size etc.
- Time spent reading is generally an approximation based on the word count and the average reading time. The average reader will read 250 WPM (Words Per Minute).
- This is the original publisher of the books.
- The current Goodreads score at the time of writing.
- For more information on word lengths and what they mean, check out our handy guide here.
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