''The Thursday Murder Club'' is the debut novel by ''

Pointless ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to ...

'' and ''

House of Games ''House of Games'' is a 1987 American neo-noir heist thriller film directed by David Mamet, his directorial debut. He also wrote the screenplay, based on a story he co-wrote with Jonathan Katz. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mant ...

'' presenter

Richard Osman Richard Thomas Osman (born 28 November 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, novelist and comedian. He is the creator and former co-presenter of the BBC One television quiz show ''Pointless''. He has presented the BBC Two quiz sho ...

. It was published on 3 September 2020 by

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

, a subsidiary of

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...

Plot

A group of pensioners (Elizabeth Best; Ron Ritchie; Joyce Meadowcroft; and Ibrahim Arif) set about solving the mystery of the murder of a property developer in the luxurious Cooper's Chase

retirement village A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves; however, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socializ ...

near the fictitious village of Fairhaven in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Publication

Osman's inspiration for the book came from a visit he made to an upmarket retirement village. He wrote the book over 18 months in secret. After a 10-way publishing auction,

acquired the rights to ''The Thursday Murder Club'' and its sequel '' The Man Who Died Twice'' for a seven-figure sum in 2019. The book was published on 3 September 2020. It sold 45,000 copies in its first three days on sale and became a ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' 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.

Reception

In ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'',

Christina Hardyment Christina Hardyment (born 1946) is a British writer who has written on a wide range of subjects including parenting, food, gardens, children's books, domestic life, and British history. Personal life Hardyment lived mainly in England, save f ...

said the book has an "ingenious plot". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described it as the "fastest selling adult crime debut" in recorded history.

Adaptations

The book was adapted for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

and broadcast in early 2021, read by

Haydn Gwynne Haydn Gwynne is an English actress. She was nominated for the 1992 BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance for the comedy series ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1991), and won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured ...

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

's production company

Amblin Entertainment Amblin Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions and Steven Spielberg Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshal ...

bought the book's global film rights. The film will be written and directed by

Ol Parker Oliver Parker (born 2 June 1969) is a British director, producer and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the 2018 musical film ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again''. Early life Parker was born in London, England, and brought up in the village of Radw ...

Sequels

Book number two of the series, '' The Man Who Died Twice'', was released on 16 September 2021, and a third book, ''The Bullet That Missed'', was released in September 2022. The fourth book in the series is due for release 14 September 2023

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thursday Murder Club, The 2020 British novels British crime novels Viking Press books Novels set in Kent 2020 debut novels