 First edition | |
| Author | Richard Osman |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
Publication date | 3 September 2020 |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | 978-0241425442 |
| Followed by | The Man Who Died Twice |
The Thursday Murder Club is the debut novel by Pointless and House of Games presenter Richard Osman, and is the first installment in his "Thursday Murder Club" series. It was published on 3 September 2020 by Viking Press, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House.
A group of pensioners (Elizabeth Best; Ron Ritchie; Joyce Meadowcroft; and Ibrahim Arif)[1] set about solving the mystery of the murder of a property developer[2] in the luxurious Cooper's Chase retirement village near the fictitious village of Fairhaven in Kent.[1]
Osman's inspiration for the book came from a visit he made to an upmarket retirement village.[1] He wrote the book over 18 months in secret.[2]
After a 10-way publishing auction,[1] Penguin Random House acquired the rights to The Thursday Murder Club and its sequel The Man Who Died Twice for a seven-figure sum[3] in 2019.[4]
The book was published on 3 September 2020. It sold 45,000 copies in its first three days on sale[4] and became a Sunday Times number one bestseller.[5] As of 8 September, it had been sold in 16 countries.[4] 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.[6]
In The Times, Christina Hardyment said the book has an "ingenious plot".[7]
The Guardian described it as the "fastest selling adult crime debut" in recorded history.[1]
The book was adapted for BBC Radio 4 and broadcast in early 2021, read by Haydn Gwynne.[8][9]
On March 5, 2020, Steven Spielberg's production company Amblin Entertainment bought the book's global film rights, to be written and directed by Ol Parker.[10][11] Filming was reportedly set to start in March 2024, with Viola Davis and Meryl Streep rumored to be attached.[12][13] On April 18, 2024, Chris Columbus was announced as director, replacing Parker.[14] On April 23, Osman confirmed via an episode of The Rest Is Entertainment that Helen Mirren would play Elizabeth, Pierce Brosnan would play Ron, and Ben Kingsley would play Ibrahim with Joyce yet to be cast.[15] Two day later, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film.[16]
Book number two of the series, The Man Who Died Twice, was released on 16 September 2021, a third, The Bullet That Missed, in September 2022 and a fourth, The Last Devil to Die, in September 2023.[4] A fifth book in the series is planned for release in 2025.[17]