If you liked
Books like The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman
The Thursday Murder Club sets four sharp-witted retirees loose on cold cases from their upscale care home, and finds real murders and real feeling along the way. Richard Osman writes cozy crime with a surprising emotional undertow. If you want more warm, funny, clever mysteries, these are the picks.
The shortlist
What to read next
The Maidby Nita Prose
“The Maid by Nita Prose 2022 review. A neurodivergent hotel maid finds a guest dead in his suite and becomes the primary suspect. New York Times bestseller and the basis for the Florence Pugh film.”
Anxious Peopleby Fredrik Backman
“Anxious People by Fredrik Backman 2020 review. A failed bank robber takes a Stockholm apartment-viewing hostage. Backman's structurally most ambitious novel and the basis for the Netflix limited series.”
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fineby Gail Honeyman
“Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 2017 review. A thirty-year-old Glasgow office worker develops her first adult friendship. British Book Award Book of the Year 2018.”
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastleby Stuart Turton
“The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton 2018 review. Aiden Bishop wakes in eight different bodies at a 1920s country house and must solve a murder. Costa First Novel Award winner.”
Big Little Liesby Liane Moriarty
“Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 2014 review. Three mothers at an Australian elementary school converge on a kindergarten Trivia Night where someone will die. The contemporary domestic-suspense novel that defined the late-2010s book-club shelf.”
A Man Called Oveby Fredrik Backman
“A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 2012 review. A fifty-nine-year-old Swedish curmudgeon plans his suicide until a young family moves in across the courtyard. Backman's debut.”
FAQ
Common questions about The Thursday Murder Club read-alikes
- What is the closest match?
- The Maid by Nita Prose. Another cozy mystery with a genuinely lovable narrator and the same balance of light whodunit and warm heart. If the tone of The Thursday Murder Club was the draw, this is the obvious next read.
- I want the warmth and humor without a murder.
- Anxious People, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and A Man Called Ove all deliver the same funny-then-moving ensemble of flawed, endearing people. Osman fans tend to love all three.
- I want a trickier mystery.
- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton is a clever time-loop puzzle box, and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty hides its crime inside a town's worth of secrets. Both raise the difficulty from Osman's gentle cases.
- Should I keep reading the series?
- Yes. Osman continued the Thursday Murder Club gang across several sequels, and readers agree the ensemble only gets more endearing. Once you love these four, you will want the rest.
The original