57 pages 1 hour read

Richard Osman

We Solve Murders

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024

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Background

Authorial Context: Richard Osman and the Thursday Murder Club series

Richard Osman, a British television presenter, producer, and writer, gained literary acclaim with his bestselling debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club (2020). The success of this first novel led to the sequels The Man Who Died Twice (2021), The Bullet That Missed (2022), and The Last Devil to Die (2023). The series was a humorous take on the cozy murder mystery genre, traditionally featuring amateur sleuths, minimal graphic violence, and a lighthearted tone despite the presence of crime. The novels were particularly praised for their warmth, wit, and empathetic characterization.

The Thursday Murder Club series is set in the English luxury retirement village of Coopers Chase, where a group of elderly friends—Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron—meets weekly to solve cold cases. One of the key themes of the books is age and society’s often dismissive attitudes toward older people. By portraying the main characters as intelligent, adventurous, and relatable, Osman challenges stereotypes about aging, highlighting the wisdom and life experience of older individuals.

We Solve Murders is broader in scale than the Thursday Murder Club series.