So, this was honestly a fun and very light novel. I didn’t find it overly dark (even though it definitely has dark themes in it!) because the overall atmosphere of the book was airy and jolly (oddly enough). We mainly follow Donna (a female police detective), Elizabeth (the self-pronounced leader of the Thursday Murder Club), and Joyce (the newest addition to the club). This novel is very open in terms of POV and often follows many different characters, but the three I listed are the ones we see the most from. 

The writing style, in my opinion, was fine but honestly because of how we jumped from POV to POV, I got a little confused at times. I’d have to stop and look to see who we were talking about and if it was Joyce or Elizabeth or someone else entirely that we were hearing from. Not my favorite type of POV with the multiple ones that we get, but I also feel like it impacted the flow of the story. I often felt like I was taken out of the story because of how many times you switch who you’re hearing from. I think the novel would have been fine with a maximum of four point of views. 

In terms of plot, I felt like it was absolutely perfect. Everything made sense, loose ends were tied up (even if our MC didn’t know it), and I had plenty of “ah-ha!” moments that made it so worthwhile. There aren’t any grisly details into the murders, so don’t worry about that, and you definitely weren’t left scratching your head at the end of the novel wondering what the heck just happened. A perfect wrap up. 

I think the shining light of this novel is the characters. Elizabeth is a firecracker. Joyce is soft spoken and the peacekeeper. They balance each other nicely. Donna and Chris also make a great team and it was so sweet to see Donna taking care of Chris throughout the novel. All of the characters in the novel had something to say and a purpose, which you don’t find often with stories, so this was a real treat. Especially since they are all retirees, it’s like they have no fear again and just go running towards the danger (or shuffling, but either way it’s hilarious). Not only that, but the author wrote the novel in a way that was still respectful towards their age and the point of life that they’re in. Death is often mentioned and so is losing friends, but they were all so spunky and fun that you couldn’t help but love them. One of my favorite characters, though, was Bernard. He had this tragic vibe and y’all know I’m all for the tragic characters. 

Spoilers ahead.

My favorite part about the whole reveal? When Bogdan tells Elizabeth’s husband, Steven about how he killed Tony and Gianni. It felt so… matter-of-fact and he just said it outright like it was the most casual thing in the world. Not only that, but Steven would obviously forget about the whole encounter due to his dementia. It all felt comical and just… right for the type of book that this was. 

Overall, I really loved the story as a whole and especially its characters, but the multiple POVs really pulled me out of the novel at times trying to figure out who I was supposed to be following as the reader. This was a very lighthearted mystery and perfect for a Sunday afternoon. I’d give it a 3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4/5 for social platforms. 

Source: Audiobook from Libby Public Library

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)