Do you ever see a book and think that it will either be a great read or one that, though not entirely a complete waste of time, was not as amazing as you thought it would be? Well, this was that book for me. With the reviews on Goodreads being high, I thought I would fit in with those who gave it high ratings, but alas, not all crime novels are created equal, and sometimes you’ll read a book that’s a miss.
Looking over the time it took me to read The Thursday Murder Club, I’m surprised that it took me a week as, oddly enough, it felt like it took much longer. In a roundabout way, I would say the book reads rather slow. There are over 100 chapters, some only half a page long and many shifting perspectives between the various characters, and between these, there are journal entries from Joyce, one of the members of The Club. With the inclusion of these first-person accounts, I found myself a little lost at times, and I almost wished they were either not there, or that others also had such passages in the book. Perhaps what bothered me along with the pacing, which, given the ages of the characters is understandable, was the very linear progression of action. I found that there were few bumps in the plot the more I read, or if there were any they appeared after some time. Maybe linear isn’t exactly the right phrase in this case, and instead, I would compare the novel to a staircase-like narrative structure. (Is this real or did I just make that up? Who is to say..) If any of that makes sense, what I’m saying is that the rises in action were almost sudden, and between those, the plot just seemed to move along with very few embellishments. It may seem like a strange thing to say since I’ve just gone on about how slow the novel moved, but dare I say there were instances where things moved a little too quickly and I found myself needing to read back a few paragraphs to accurately figure out what was going on. Granted, that could be down to my own fault of not fully paying attention to what was going on at times, having my head in the clouds, a rare occurrence though tends to be more likely if I find that I can’t fully engross myself in the text.
Though the tale moves, it moves slowly. Nonetheless, it is worth picking up if you’re into layered crime novels which, for the most part, are easy to follow and read. It is in its own ways still relatively gripping, I did find myself enjoying certain moments of it, I would never just completely label a book as bad, simply acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t for me. The appeal is there, I see why the ratings are high, and there is something to it that kept me reaching for it and at times even turning the pages a little quicker to match the pace of the unveiling of action. Like every book from any genre, you will find those who love it and find those who like it a little less. For me, though I see how this book can be admired, and how it can be adapted into other forms of media, I found it almost challenging to get through and hard to connect to any of the characters, which is regrettable because, for the most part, they were all pretty likable. Even though you learn some of what the characters used to do and who they are and their hobbies and family ties, it’s hard to imagine any of them except for one having a limp and needing a cane, and another being relatively nimble for her age. Some questions and confusion, some things that could have been answered a little better, some gaps, but, it all somewhat comes together and I’m fairly certain that at least one of the murders got solved.
As for whether or not I’ll be picking up the sequel when it comes out, it’s a little unlikely after this one.
aga is reading 
1 Comment