The Thursday Murder Club premiered in August on Netflix.
When the stellar cast was announced – featuring the likes of Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, and Ben Kingsley – fans of Richard Osman’s beloved book were ecstatic, myself included. Published in September 2020, The Thursday Murder Club is the debut novel from the former Pointless co-host and consists of 382 pages, according to Goodreads.
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The film has a run time of 1 hour and 28 minutes. Since the first book, Richard has gone on to write four more books in the series: The Man Who Died Twice (2021), The Bullet That Missed (2022), The Last Devil to Die (2023), and The Impossible Fortune (2025).
Here’s a look at some of the main differences between the Thursday Murder Club TV book and film.
What is The Thursday Night Murder Club About?
Synopsis: The Thursday Murder Club follows a group of spirited pensioners living in a quiet retirement village who meet weekly to investigate unsolved crimes. But when a real-life murder happens on their doorstep, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim find themselves caught up in a mystery that proves they’re far sharper than the local police.
The Thursday murder club book vs film.
When a beloved book like The Thursday Murder Club finally gets its big-screen debut, there’s undoubtedly a lot of anticipation and expectations surrounding it. For it to receive mixed reactions wouldn’t be surprising.
Character Portrayals
I was actually quite happy with the casting overall. I think each actor really embodied the core members of The Thursday Murder Club, their quirkiness, and overall, unique character traits, and there didn’t seem to be many changes from the book. Helen Mirren portrayed Elizabeth as we all love – sharp, nosy, and cautious as she should be.
Meanwhile, Pierce Brosnan did a great job with Ron, as well as Celia Imrie as Joyce, and Ben Kingsley’s Ibrahim. However, some readers will remember that Ron is a gruff ex-union man, tattooed and proud of his working-class background and that wasn’t portrayed in the film, though it didn’t take much away from the overall film in itself.
However, David Tennant’s Ian Ventham did annoy me a bit. He was really whiny and not the type of businessman I remember after reading the book.
Similarly, Jason Watkins’ portrayal of Jason Ritchie (renamed Richie in some versions) seemed off, as though the character didn’t have much personality. Meanwhile, don’t get me started on Daniel Mays’ Chris Hudson. In the book, Chris is clumsy and self-deprecating but also lonely, and quietly good at his job. The film reduces him to the archetypal “bumbling policeman.”
Setting
The film is set in an idyllic English retirement village of Cooper’s Chase, which is simply breathtaking to watch on screen. And it’s exactly how I’d pictured it.
However, I would’ve loved to see darker scenes, particularly as the gang and police were closer to finding their culprit in the murder case. The movie stays firmly on the “cosy” side of the spectrum, and it feels more like a sunny Sunday-afternoon drama than a murder mystery.
Plot Changes
Condensing a 400-page mystery novel into a two-hour film is never easy, and unfortunately, some of the bits I enjoyed from the book were cut. One of the biggest casualties is Father Mackie. In the book, he’s a key suspect in the murder investigation and tied to a secret graveyard subplot. In the film, his entire storyline is cut.
Another major change is the ending involving Bogdan, the Polish handyman. At the end of the movie, we see that he is arrested for killing Tony Curran, but this isn’t the case in the book. In the film, however, his motive is changed completely, which fundamentally alters both his character and the tone of the story’s conclusion.
Married couple, Penny and John, are barely in the film despite their storyline being an important one. Penny, bedridden in a nursing home, holds vital clues about a past case, and John plays a morally ambiguous role in protecting her secrets. The film reduces them to brief cameos near the end, which feels like a disservice to the richness of their subplot.
And hopefully, I’m not the only one to realise how different Elizabeth and Detective Donna De Freitas’ relationship is in the movie compared to the book. In the book, Donna is cautious, almost defensive, when Elizabeth first starts meddling in police matters. The film appeared to skip over this as Donna quickly accepts Elizabeth’s involvement. But then again, I do think that this is just down to the length of the movie.
And hopefully, I’m not the only one to realise how different Elizabeth and Detective Donna De Freitas’ relationship is in the movie compared to the book. In the book, Donna is cautious, almost defensive, when Elizabeth first starts meddling in police matters. The film appeared to skip over this as Donna quickly accepts Elizabeth’s involvement. But then again, I do think that this is just down to the length of the movie.
Narrative
One of the novel’s most distinctive features is Joyce’s diary, as she gives readers a window into the club’s antics and personalities. However, the film drops this device, opting instead for a traditional third-person narrative, which was dissapointing to say the least.
Additional Changes
Not to be picky, and I know these changes aren’t really a big deal, but they changed The Thursday Murder Club meeting room as well, getting rid of or omitting side characters like Turkish Gianni altogether. I’m not sure about the creative process behind this one, but it all seems a bit chaotic.
What Worked
Despite all that, there’s still lots of things I love about The Thursday Murder Club, including the casting, the production design, and the chemistry between the four leads is undeniable. The film also nails the wit and friendship that make the club so endearing.
Final Thoughts
I think the mystery element in The Thursday Murder Club felt very rushed, like there wasn’t much of a build-up to it. And again, unfortunately, there were just way too many scenes that were cut out, and some changes that felt a bit ridiculous to have made. All in all, The Thursday Murder Club works better as a novel – or perhaps, as many fans have suggested, as a limited TV series. If you loved the book, the movie is still worth watching.