Reflections on the Thursday Murder Club

I found yet again that joy of reading at night at 8–9-ish PM, with the TV off.

Not even white noise.

That’s mainly because it’s a cozy feeling when you know a bit more about each character, and you grow to like them.

I must say, at the beginning, I found it simple, a bit boring, but the kind of boredom you know you have when you shouldn’t have.

And you kick yourself for that and tell that impatient you that not everything needs to be fantastic and dramatic. Not everything needs to be Fitzgeraldian.

So you follow on and discover that it’s written from two perspectives — the one of a woman in her 70’s and the one of the omniscient narrator.

I think all the main characters are 60 plus (except a few), and the story is about a luxurious care house for people who reached an honourable age. It’s impressive, and it makes one think, hey, it won’t be so bad.

I just have to make it in life.

Huuuhah.

Maybe I could stay at Cooper’s Chase too and drink wine and smoke on the terrace of a coffee shop at 12 PM, with very different people from me, whom I made friends with there.

I believe anyone could learn from Richard Osman’s writing. The simple, sometimes very short chapters are just satisfying to finish.

Unlike long 20-page chapters, which, when one is over, you think twice about beginning the second one when you have “time”.

He’s doing a wonderful job at contouring the characters, in simple words, that don’t overwhelm you, as he sticks to a certain trait, and he explains it by giving an example here and there.

The cut to mundane things happens often, and the internal thoughts of the characters that can be deeper and meaningful are written in half a page, and then it’s cut to mundane things.

Which is settling. It’s like in life, right?

You can’t sit all day pondering your thoughts, or else you’d never accomplish anything. I’m not saying you shouldn’t spend more time. Each thing should have its timeframe.

Of course, I am fascinated by Elizabeth. What a woman. Does she know exactly how things will unfurl at all times? Does she plan in her sleep? At 70’s? That’s impressive.

Every day she asks herself a question and in 2 weeks timeframe, she answers that question. So every day, there is a new question to be answered and a new question to be asked.

She asks questions about the murder she’s investigating with her team of pensioners.

Every Thursday, they meet for the Thursday Murder Club in a room somewhere in the building, pretending they’re studying something else, of course. They bring files, evidence, and all that. Just like a team of detectives.

Elizabeth was a former investigator, but I’m still in the dark about where and how deep in the system she was. She travelled a lot, so she could have been a spy.

I have the feeling she was more than that.

Bear in mind, I’m not googling this because I don’t want spoilers.

So that’s how she knows how to investigate and where to start.

As Joyce is documenting their encounters, she’s taken with Elizabeth. She just knows she’s going to call in the morning, having already found the person they needed. And she’d say something like: We’re taking the train to X place. Get ready in 30 minutes.

She has connections, people who can come and help them out with an opinion, such as forensics, science people, doctors, and other police detectives (below the table, logically).

One thing that I love the most is her tenacity and straightforwardness. When a fellow woman detective — Donna De Freitas, called Elizabeth, the conversation went on like this (I didn’t copy it from the book, so it’s not word by word, this is how I recall it):

-Is it too late? (She just wanted to talk to her; she liked Elizabeth).

-Oh no, it’s not late at all (it was 10 PM).

-I’ve read the long dossier that you gave me, and I have some questions about it.

-That file was meant to leave you with questions, so that you would call me.

-Is that so?

-Yes, well, I don’t want to interfere with your job, but at the same time, I would love to interfere.

Oh, see, that’s hilarious. I just love her attitude.

As she kept talking, Donna thought of her as a maternal figure, and of course, the relationship became the one between a mentor and an apprentice. Donna De Freitas is much younger, and although she has some experience, she’d mostly done boring cases in her past. While Elizabeth — who knows what she’s dealt with?

Everybody wonders. But all we know is that she has the words, the plans, and the actions like a feminine James Bond.

I didn’t finish the book, so if you have, don’t be surprised that I don’t know.

It seems like she isn’t afraid of anything. Not even death or old age.

She takes care of her ex-husband, Stephen Best, who’s at his worst, on the verge of being taken to Willows, which is the nearby facility where the ones who can’t take care of themselves anymore are taken.

So Stephen lives in her apartment in Cooper’s Chase (yes, they have apartments there like in real life) and she takes care of him and also of her friend Penny, who is tied to the bed in Willows.

Penny doesn’t speak; she’s paralyzed. But Elizabeth visits, talks to her, explains the murder investigation, and comes to her as soon as she has some new information to share.

Even tells Donna that she would like to meet Penny.

Elizabeth’s kindness and grounding are well portrayed through these episodes of altruism and humanity. That’s probably why you tend to grow fond of her, and (I’ve peeked at the beginning of the series) they couldn’t have picked a better character to play her than Helen Mirren.

I always liked her.

The way she uses people to get information, the techniques, and the politeness she shows, even though she doesn’t have to. But she does, even with allegedly bad people.

I believe a character like that is always drawn after. Can’t wait to see what’s next, and I already recommend this book. It has made me read at 9 PM, so…