The Thursday Murder Club

Generally clubs and classes in retirement homes include things like baking, playing bridge or flower arranging. At Cooper's Chase retirement community, there is also the Thursday Murder Club. Richard Osman’s bestselling mystery novel is now a hit Netflix film.

Cooper's Chase isn’t your average old people’s home. A retirement community built in an old English manor house, its residents are comfortably off and have varied professional experience. Elizabeth, one of the founders of the club, is a former spy and her friend Penny, now suffering from dementia, was a police detective. It was she who obtained the police files on cold cases that the club investigates.

As the novel opens, they are looking into a case where a woman was stabbed and thrown from a window. Her partner claimed to have seen a masked man running away from the scene, before disappearing himself. The club asks Joyce, a new resident and former nurse, for advice about the victim’s injuries.

But soon their investigations become less theoretical when a real murder takes place connected to Cooper's Chase.

In the great tradition of detective novels, starting with Sherlock Holmes, the amateur detectives often show up the actual police. DCI Chris Hudson, leading the case, is the archetypical bumbling policeman, whereas PC Donna de Frietas, newly arrived from London, is happy to listen to, and receive help from, the club members.

Richard Osman is a familiar face on British TV, a regular on many comedy and quiz shows. Originally a TV producer responsible for programmes such as 8 Out of 10 Cats and Deal or No Deal. He stood in as a presenter on a teatime quiz show he produced, Pointless, and was so popular he switched careers.

Osman applied his flair for creating concepts when he turned to mystery writing. He was inspired by the retirement community his mother lives in, reflecting that the residents had incredible knowledge acquired in their past lives and careers. The first novel was the best seller and has been followed by three more, with a fourth one imminent.

The film, directed by Chris Columbus for Stephen Spielberg's production company, attracted a cast of the cream of British actors of a certain age. Helen Mirren plays Elizabeth, Celia Imrie is Joyce. They are joined in the club by Sir Ben Kingsley as the psychiatrist Ibrahim and Pierce Brosnan cast somewhat against type as Ron, former fiery union leader. The film has been leading viewing figures on Netflix since its release on 28 August.

The Thursday Murder Club
Netflix