A Murderous New Year, The Thursday Murder Club Book Review, Only Murders in the Building, Hotstar series review.

The New Year 2022 viewing and reading started quite murderously this year. It just so happened that the series we started watching on Hotstar (Only Murders in the Building) and the book I picked up to read (The Thursday Murder Club) coincided at the same time. Was it my subconscious seeking an escape from reality after the end of the holiday season? Or just the desire of some comfort murder mystery through once again a stuck-at-home Omicron January? Because a classic who-dun-it story-telling is that all-time fail-safe genre, to which nothing else comes close.

Starting with Richard Osman’s record-breaking bestselling first novel (published 2020), #TheThursdayMurderClub. I’ve had my eye on this for a while and when his second in the series was released a few months ago (The Man Who Died Twice), I knew it was time for me to start the first. Set in an upmarket retirement village off London, the story is about a group of sixty and seventy-something seniors, who past their prime, get together to form the Thursday Murder Club, self-appointed sleuths investigating murders from the past and indeed, murders in the present that come knocking in their neighborhood. Through a series of characters, twists and turns, and more than just a single murder, the Club finally solves the mystery before the police can, and nail their presence as the best crime-solving sexagenarians and septuagenarians, this side of London.

The reason why this book is enjoyable is not because of the intriguing plot with a never-could-guess reveal at the end. Even though the mystery is interesting and not predictable. No, this is clearly not an Agatha Christie. The reason why the book possibly became such a best seller is because of bringing two otherwise completely contrasting worlds together. The world of a British retirement village and the world of crime and detectives is not something one would expect to see enmeshed with each other. But, it is this very cocktail that Osman masterfully creates, that hits the spot.

We see ourselves warming up to these irresistible oldies, who despite their age-related handicaps, are driven by a common mission to find the killer and solve the mystery. The four characters of the Murder Club - Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron - are built nicely, each with their unique personalities, and back-stories, complete with a lifetime of both joys and sorrows. Osman strikes a fine balance between keeping a light and humorous touch to the aging cast of the book, while still maintaining the dignity, the respect, and the love we all are familiar with our own parents and grandparents. Even as we’re engrossed in finding out who-dun-it, we also enjoy the flow and texture of the novel, which is like sipping a warm cup of tea, in the British countryside. Will be checking out the second in the series soon.

If The Thursday Murder Club is a cup of tea, Only Murders in the Building is a tall cappuccino in your hand. If the best-selling fiction novel made heroes of oldies just doing and enjoying their oldie life, the critically acclaimed series makes heroes of oldies almost denying their age and going all out youth sleuth mode. Like Osman’s book, this Hulu original also brings together two contrasting worlds in the service of solving a murder mystery. Again like the book, this 10-episode series also has a nice unpredictable mystery, with a merging of death in the past and a crime in the present. But Osman’s book is British to the core, set in contemporary London, yet with an evocation of a past nostalgia. And the Hotstar series is American, or rather New York to the core, set in contemporary Manhattan, in the posh Upper West Side apartment building, the Arconia, with an action-packed life of a multitude of variety of singles- the bitter, the cynical, the self-obsessed, the loners, the artists, the ex-stars, the maladjusted and the wanna-be’s.

Only Murders in the Building is a thoroughly enjoyable classic who-dun-it, starring the legends Steve Martin and Martin Short and I suppose kind-of-a-teenage-legend, Selena Gomez. Three single and unlikely individuals, who get together, only because of their love of crime podcasts and an opportunity that presents itself to solve a murder that’s just happened in the building. Every episode brings a new twist and turn, till they finally almost don’t solve the mystery and then they finally do. Or do they? The storytelling is absolutely delightful, that mingles a Broadway theatre dramatization with the episodic engagement of a Podcast, as the 3 protagonists indeed make their detective work into a live “Broad-cast”.  The chemistry between Steve Martin and Martin Short is a complete joy and reminiscent of the Father of the Bride series. As well-past-their-prime sexagenarians, they deliver a fantastic performance that is both funny and endearing. Selena Gomez is a discovery, playing her silent, cynical, judging, Gen Z foil to the two over-the-top boomers. A highly recommended watch. Just good old simple and engaging storytelling. The way it should be.

As the deliciously murderous January ended, February hasn’t so far created a stir. But I see Kenneth Branagh’s next Poirot (Death on the Nile) is out in theatres. Looks like we need to give a murderous end to February too. What say?