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S4:E13 The Thursday Murder Club (2025 Film)
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This week, we’re discussing The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. This episode closes out our Anything Goes April theme with a mystery full of charm, humor, clever twists, and a very memorable cast of characters. We’re diving into the mystery itself, the dynamics between the members of the Thursday Murder Club, the tone of the story, and what made this one such a fun read to talk about.
Hosted by Crystal with co-hosts Keri and Lindsey.
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
Question of the Episode:
- Joyce is always baking up some goodies for guests. What is your favorite treat to offer company, or your favorite treat to be offered when you visit others?
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Thanks for listening to Based on a Book—see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(01:18) Book Ratings
(08:58) Book vs Movie Breakdown (SPOILERS)
(48:33) Final Verdicts & Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
Introducing the Podcast and Hosts
00:00:07
Speaker
Welcome to Based on a Book podcast, where we may not be bright-eyed, feisty old ladies yet, but we promise we're just as entertaining. I'm today's host, Crystal, and I'm fairly certain former government spies don't go around telling people that they're former government spies.
00:00:25
Speaker
I'm Carrie, better known as the podcast's clueless detective. And I'm Lindsay, and I can't wait to get old and obsess over cold cases. Yes, please.
00:00:36
Speaker
I can't wait to get old and do that with you.
Initial Thoughts on 'Thursday Murder Club'
00:00:39
Speaker
This week, we are discussing Thursday Murder Club. It was published in 2020 and is the debut novel of author Richard Osman.
00:00:49
Speaker
This is the first in a series. There are currently five books and a sixth is in the works. The story takes place in and around high-end retirement village, Cooper's Chase, where we follow the members of the Thursday Murder Club, a group of pensioners dedicated to re-examining and solving old cold cases.
00:01:10
Speaker
Just as the group recruits a new member, a present-day murder involving the developer of Cooper's Chase gains their attention and shenanigans ensue.
00:01:21
Speaker
i was really excited to use the word shenanigans in an episode. But before we get into the Netflix movie, I really want to know what you both thought of the book. So let's get into ratings. And I know everyone wants to know what our resident clueless detective thought. Carrie, what did you think? Did you figure this one out?
00:01:43
Speaker
i It's okay, girl. It's okay. There was a lot going on here. There was a lot going on in this book. A lot of red herrings, a lot of different directions that it was going in.
00:01:58
Speaker
got close in some areas with my suspicions. Not exact, but like when we get into the more spoilery sections, I think I can get into more details about it. But I think I got pretty close to the answer by the end. ah But I end up giving this book three and a half cleared suspects or not.
00:02:25
Speaker
I, I'm like in like a three and a half star rut right now. Like it's like yeah three or three and a half stars. Like that's a lot of my books right now. What I loved, I love the characters, of course. There are like a few people in the story that are like bad people.
00:02:44
Speaker
But when even... When people do bad things in the story, you still like feel something for them. And I think that's why I like this book so much. I love the age of the characters. I love the humor.
00:02:59
Speaker
Things that like I not necessarily like hated or anything. I just like didn't love so much. There was just like a lot going on. And mystery is just not my favorite genre in general. It's not something I gravitate towards a lot. So I think it takes a lot for me to like really love it. Like four and five stars are like absolute favorites for me. well I think it was really good and I recommend it. But just not a favorite.
Netflix Adaptation Discussion
00:03:25
Speaker
Okay, that's fair. Lindsay, you and i tend to be a little bit more dialed in on mysteries. um I know you've recently read a lot more with the Janet Ivanovich, Stephanie Plum series.
00:03:37
Speaker
So you're getting a little bit more exposure to mysteries in general. What were your thoughts on this book? And did you get close to Pegging Our Suspects?
00:03:49
Speaker
I tried to go into this one with like little to no expectations. I had a feeling and I'm not going to give away too much, but I had a feeling that the, ah the killer was going to be someone completely like unrelated, someone random that they were going to bring in. It wasn't going to be someone that they were discussing throughout the story.
00:04:14
Speaker
I, well, also there are like so many murders. So yeah. So many. yeah ah yeah I was like, are they all related? Are they all going to be the same person? So kind of like what Carrie said, I got kind of close, but i don't think I was really exact on a single one of them. But I had suspicions. But this one also started out kind of slow for me, and it was hard for me to get into it at first.
00:04:43
Speaker
And it's switching POVs so often. It's hard to keep up. I don't know who, like, we're in Joyce's point of view, then we're in Elizabeth's point of view. and It kept going back and forth and that was kind of frustrating. But once ah like it started picking up, it started getting funny. And then toward the end, it started getting really sad. So yeah, I gave this one four cult cases.
00:05:06
Speaker
That's fair. I loved this book. You guys know I've read a ton murder mysteries prior to this. Mystery is one of my all-time favorite, especially a a more cozy mystery. I'm not necessarily looking for like graphic violence or or even like over-the-top romantic interest. Just kind of like there should be a murder or a crime of some kind and we're going to solve it. That's my jam, right? That's my sweet spot for Personally, I give this book five red herrings because I'm pretty sure there were five red herrings. Or more. four more. The plot kept me guessing the whole way through. The characters had me all kind of wishing I could hang out with them because they like all...
00:05:54
Speaker
were someone I could identify with at some point. The shifting POVs, I feel like for me, added to the layers of secrets and suspense building of like getting a little bit closer, but oh maybe not, and and learning to understand all the characters.
00:06:12
Speaker
As someone who reads a lot of mystery series, i could tell that like when I read this the first time, because this is a reread for me, I did not know that it was a series. And I knew as I was reading it, oh, we're building to something bigger.
00:06:27
Speaker
um and And I think that was because of the shifting POVs. um My feelings were feeling. I was feeling the feelings. All of them. That was it. um And the end kind of left me questioning how I personally define justice.
00:06:45
Speaker
i And I really love a book that leaves me questioning truth that I thought I knew, you know? and so I really like that. I am still shocked, even on this reread, absolutely shocked that this is a debut novel because to me, this is murder mystery mastery. This is...
00:07:05
Speaker
just the epitome of, you know, like there's a handful, like Agatha Christie, like like these big mystery writers. This is up there. You know, it reminds me a lot of Sherlock Holmes. It's it's just so good. It's so good.
00:07:21
Speaker
So for the the mystery reader of the group, I would say that This is up there. Yeah. This is way up there. And it's like, it has new books coming out like recently. Like I think the most recent one was like last last year. Yeah.
00:07:36
Speaker
And it's like the fifth book, right? Yes. Richard Osmond is also writing a second mystery series. I have not read them, but he is saying that each one of his series that he's working on right now is going to continue. So Thursday Murder Club, there's a sixth one coming out. And from what I understand, he is already planning a seventh and an eighth. Like he's...
00:07:56
Speaker
plans on continuing these. And honestly, I'm thrilled to to keep reading them. I haven't yet, honestly, because I was waiting to do this with you guys. So I will probably be reading that going forward. I'm happy that was a five star for you. That's awesome. I honest i needed a five star. I needed one. It's been a minute. I needed one. yeah The Netflix adaptation of this movie is directed by Chris Columbus. It released in August of 2025.
00:08:25
Speaker
With an all-star cast. Okay. Literally insane. Seriously. Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, Sir Jonathan Price, and David Tennant. And that's...
00:08:40
Speaker
Just a few. That's just few. I saw David Tennant and i I literally screamed. The scream I scrumped when I saw David Tennant. And he plays such a slimeball character. I love it. yeah It was so so well done. It's so just lovely. But despite all the big names, the movie has overall mixed reviews. On the like high end mixed, but still mixed. Mm-hmm. So let's get into what worked, what didn't, and whether or not we think this movie holds up to the book. This is your spoiler warning.
00:09:13
Speaker
If you have not read the book or watched the movie, we're about to get into specifics. So this is where you should pause and come back. We promise we will still be here when you're ready. So...
00:09:26
Speaker
The book opens with a very short epigraph from the POV of the killer or a killer. It says, killing someone one is easy. Hiding the body.
00:09:37
Speaker
Now that's usually the hard part. That's how you get caught. This sets the tone for the entire book before the first chapter opens. And the first chapter is from Joyce's first person POV. She is the only person we get first person POVs from. um And it's like journal entries. And so this first chapter is Joyce's first journal entry as she becomes involved with the members of the Thursday Murder Club.
00:10:04
Speaker
The movie opens in black and white with scenes of a murder and Elizabeth briefing Ron and Ibrahim on the details of the cold case that they're about to reexamine.
00:10:17
Speaker
It then shifts to Joyce giving her daughter a tour of the sunny and joyful Cooper's chase, ultimately showing her the puzzle room and stumbling into the regular meeting of the Thursday Murder Club and their murder board.
00:10:33
Speaker
How do you guys feel about the opening of the book and the movie? And do you feel like they each set the stage well? Well, first of all, the fact that um Joyce had the POV where she's writing in like diary entries, immediately suspect.
00:10:52
Speaker
You're a suspect. i do it Immediately, i you are suspicious and you're on my suspect list. I've been reading way too many unreliable narrators lately. That was a first suspect for me.
00:11:10
Speaker
I'll admit, joyce Joyce made my suspect list at some point. It wasn't at the very beginning, but there was one point i was like, wait a minute, Joyce. Where were you?
Setting and Emotional Impact of the Story
00:11:21
Speaker
yeah In 1970. Yeah. You have like a flashlight on her. Yeah. literally Where were you this night on 1970? Sitting at the interrogation table slams her hands on the table. Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:35
Speaker
you I'd just be over here eating cookies. draw you down um There's baked goods. so yeah All she does is write her first entry in the diary. of like, where were you? I don't trust i don't trust these narrators, man. Not anymore. I've been reading too many of them. This is a cozy mystery, okay? We don't have quite...
00:11:59
Speaker
quite the level of like Gone Girl and Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. More things. Yeah, no, no. come Come back, come back. Yeah. who We're a little bit more calm over here, okay?
00:12:12
Speaker
i was like, suspect! Oh, Lord. Honestly, immediately, i just like the vibes of it. and you know, coming in that they meet on Thursdays, like they talk about cold cases. I like their in how individual each character is with their personalities and how they come together and balance each other out. um And then they have like their missing link in Joyce that they need because she was a nurse. So she is able to like give them extra details on things related to the cold cases that they're looking at. um Also, like a big difference in my perspective when reading was the setting of Cooper's Chase. Yeah.
00:13:02
Speaker
Yeah. Between the book and the movie. In the book, I'm thinking like, you know, retirement home, like, very, like, chill, relaxed, like not super over the top.
00:13:14
Speaker
When we get into this retirement home, we're at Hogwarts. Like, this is crazy. It's and I think that that's a huge difference. between American retirement home and retirement village versus a more like European style. I think, I'm not sure. I've never been to Europe. But mean, they've got llamas everywhere. That was hilarious.
00:13:39
Speaker
The llamas is hilarious. But that very much had me like, because I kind of thought the same thing, especially as they're going into each different like unit, they went into Ron's apartment, and they went into Joyce's apartment, that like, as we see each one, I'm like, what is happening here with these fancy gabled ceilings? And like the wind, the windows are all different shapes. And, you know, it was very, yeah, Hogwarts-y. And the location was like, featured on like a lot of different Like other films, I think. Yes. They used um the Engle... vi Where did it go?
00:14:14
Speaker
Engle something. Yeah. Englefield House. Yeah. In Berkshire. Which is has been used on a lot of different films. And so I feel like... Especially like the bright, sunny...
00:14:28
Speaker
You know, as they're like touring the grounds and she's showing Joanna the like archery club. And then they have the like the the artist art club where they're like drawing the the male model. And, you know, it's all outside in this beautiful sunny weather. And I'm over here like, I thought it rained a lot in England.
00:14:51
Speaker
I don't know that... I don't i don't know. then you see me going by on the scooter. Meep, beep. Across the field. Oh, my gosh. Honestly, it looks fun. i mean, it looks great. It's just not what I pictured. Like, I didn't picture it so over the top and so fancy. No, when I retire, that's where I want to go. yeah I mean, honestly, it looks really fun. It looks really expensive. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Very, very expensive. Absolutely.
00:15:18
Speaker
so I was going to say the the actress who played Joanna is ah Ingrid Oliver. Isn't she married to Richard Osman? Haven't they been married since like 2022? I don't know. Why would you ask me that? I'm pretty sure they're married. Oh my gosh. That's so funny. I'm going to find out. Wait, where's my button?
00:15:39
Speaker
here There we go. crazy I didn't know that. What I do know about him Richard Osmond actually is like known as a producer and presenter of like different quiz shows. Yes. Like he did not necessarily, he was not an author before this. Like I'm sure he wrote like bits and pieces of the quiz show or whatever.
00:15:59
Speaker
But like this is seriously his first novel. Like what the heck? And he shows up on Taskmaster, which is one of my favorite shows. yeah That one always makes me laugh. um It says spouse Richard Osman. What do you know? Lindsay, you always come in with the best info. I know. over here like, damn, this was my episode. I should have known that. Nope.
00:16:20
Speaker
Nope. Also something that's like really cool is that. Chris Columbus, the director, he basically like wanted to have like this all-star cast and everything. And every person that he asked to be on in this movie said yes immediately. like They were so down for it. like I think Helen, the lady that plays Elizabeth, she like had read the book already going into it and had already loved the series.
00:16:54
Speaker
Also, welcome back to the podcast, Chris Columbus. yeah right Welcome back to the podcast. And Pierce Brosnan. And Pierce Brosnan. i'm I think we had Dave and Ted in another one, too. i just don't remember which one.
00:17:08
Speaker
Yeah, I don't remember. i should remember that. i all i don't know. We talk about Doctor Who now and then. so yeah you know we just throw it in there when we feel like Last time we saw Pierce Brosnan, he was like, half-forced.
00:17:20
Speaker
That's true. That's true. I liked seeing him with just two legs this time. Yeah. Way better. Way better. What was I saying, you guys? You threw me off track. Sorry. We were talking about the beginning. We were talking about Cooper's Chase. We just got to Cooper's Chase. We just got to Cooper's Chase. And I'm not going to go through like every single bit of the story because honestly, there's too much. There's way too much. But I want to talk about specifically the characters Because they, it's like Carrie said, like each one has very specific, like fills a specific role and need within the club and brings a different, you know, perspective to the table. Like Ron is chosen specifically because he, first of all, he kind of forced his way in. And also he never believes anything anyone says. And that kind of healthy doubt has helped them to re-examine some evidence. Yeah.
00:18:12
Speaker
Ibrahim is very like analytical and organized and practical. Joyce, of course, has the medical expertise. And Elizabeth, we learn it's hinted at in the book, hinted at in the book that she worked for a government agency at some point.
00:18:28
Speaker
She comes out and says she worked for MI6 in the movie, which I hated that. I wish she had not said that, but I digress. So I want to talk about were there any characters in the book that you particularly loved or particularly hated? Now, mind you, I got confused about all the extra side characters and stuff. There are over 70 characters in this book.
00:18:52
Speaker
I found a list online to help me keep track of who was who. But Lindsay, I want to start with you. Was there any character, whether the main character or a side character, that you really loved or hated?
00:19:04
Speaker
I feel like Little had something to say. She wanted to pipe up. She also enjoyed this novel. Yeah. She must have. I feel like I liked each individual character for different reasons.
00:19:18
Speaker
I'll admit, like I said, when i when I first started it, it was a little slow for me. And it was because I felt like it started with a lot of complaining. I was like, oh my God, i don't want to hear people complain. Fair.
00:19:31
Speaker
But, you know,
Comparing Book to Movie: Key Scenes and Adaptation Challenges
00:19:34
Speaker
it got better. i i i enjoyed each character. they They grew on me and I love them and they're like my grandparents and i want to go visit them. Talk cold cases. Yeah. There you go. There you go. Carrie, anybody that you you felt connected with in some way?
00:19:51
Speaker
I really like Elizabeth, obviously. I mean, i just think... I just like that she's so pushy. And, like... And I like that she, like, doesn't care. And she's gonna get it done, whether you like it or not. Like, one of...
00:20:08
Speaker
My favorite scenes in the book is them. And also I love Donna. the that She's not a detective. She's a police constable. PC DeFratis. Yeah.
00:20:22
Speaker
Yeah. I really love her character. And I like the dynamic between her and Elizabeth. um When Elizabeth gets her on the case...
00:20:33
Speaker
to be able to start ah trying to solve Tony's murder. And the way that they go about that, where Elizabeth like visits her, visits Donna, and is just like, we're going to get you on the case. Don't worry about it.
00:20:52
Speaker
We'll deal with it. like this late This lady is in a retirement home, and she's like, just don't worry about it. we'll We'll get you on the case. And they have this whole plan. They have a shenanigan.
00:21:02
Speaker
Yeah, they have this whole shenanigan planned to get this together to get her on the case. And it takes like 20 minutes to do that. And like, I just love that Elizabeth is like, she's like, don't worry about it. I got this. She's like a puppet master. She orchestrates all of this. Yeah. And I love it.
00:21:20
Speaker
I also love, how pronounce it? Abraham? Abraham. Abraham. I love his character a lot. I feel like it's very much myself sometimes. where I love his little notebook that he brings out. and He's just like jotting down notes and like very precise about how things are done and how they should be done. um Very analytical. i also, a really random character coming out of nowhere.
00:21:50
Speaker
I really liked the storyline between Joyce and Bernard. oh yeah. That one was cute. And it's not in the movie. It's actually completely removed from the movie. Yeah.
00:22:04
Speaker
But it was such a touching story where it like really moved me very deeply it made me cry. the story made me cry so much.
00:22:19
Speaker
I cried about everything in this book. Oh, yeah. mean That's what i do. I just cry all the time, apparently, when I read these books, regardless of what it's about. But I was crying so much in the story because there's, like, so much, like, about life and death in this book. And when we're given these, like, red herrings in different...
00:22:41
Speaker
directions, we're like also given life lessons. Like you're going in this direction of this red herring where you're thinking you're about to solve who murdered this person. And then you're actually, bam, life lesson, bam, death, good luck. You know, like, because we're also like dealing with the retirement home and everyone's like, you know, and the reality. Yeah. The realities of people facing their mortality yeah and watching their friends dying around that. Yeah. And it's like making you reflect of what that's like and making you reflect like at the end of your life and like watching people around you and growing old with people around you. Yeah. This was like actually low key, very sad. Yeah. i guess Super sad. it affected me. But in a lot of ways, I think hopeful that there is exact joy and fun and yeah purpose in your life, even when you get to this point where you're getting close to the end. Yeah. That's exactly how it felt. Like, it's like, I was crying, not so much of like being sad, like as in like, I'm like, really upset about it. But it's like a sad- It's beautiful. Yeah, exactly.
00:23:56
Speaker
yeah Yeah. I think one of my favorite characters in the book, he's a very small character. He was not in the movie at all, was Gordon Playfair. He was the owner of the farm that was adjoining Cooper's Chase that Ian Ventham was trying to buy.
00:24:12
Speaker
and he was kind of a spiteful old man. He was refusing to sell to Ian Ventham specifically because he didn't like Ian Ventham. didn't need the land. He didn't want it anymore. He was old and ready to retire, but he was not going to sell just because he didn't like that guy. And you know, i identify with that. you know That level of spite at that age, I want that. I hope I'm still feeling that. Yeah. I really liked that.
00:24:37
Speaker
There were a lot of characters in the book that might have gotten a mention in the movie. Like I think Gordon's character got a mention in the movie. Yeah. But ah particularly to me, Father Mackey's storyline was completely left out. I hate they left that out. That's such a good storyline. it was such a great storyline. It was definitely a red herring, but it was a good one.
00:25:01
Speaker
Also, it was Jeffrey from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Right? how i'd like I'm telling you, when I say this cast is full of people that you're going to be like, oh that guy. It's just so good. It's so good.
00:25:17
Speaker
Yeah. um I also feel like we didn't get, as far as the characters go, I feel like the movie did a little bit dirty the Donna and Chris friendship that was building. Oh my gosh. Yes. It was such a great friendship. So that there's Donna DeFreitas is the police constable that Elizabeth kind of recruits into like a de facto member. She's, she's a consultant for the Thursday murder club at this point, an unpaid consultant. Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:49
Speaker
And then there's Detective Chief Inspector Chris... Who's last name? I can't remember. Hudson. Hudson. and There you go. Thank you. He's on my list now. But Chris and Donna begin to build this friendship. Like, we don't get a lot of Donna's backstory either, which...
00:26:06
Speaker
i don't necessarily think was super important to the storyline by any means but it was nice and building her character and again this was one of the signs to me that we were building a series was the like we got backstory on a lot of characters I did not expect to get backstory on yeah and then towards the end of the book Gordon Playfair does move into Cooper's Chase and I so I'm like Is he going to become a member of the Thursday murder club? Because I need that spiteful energy in the next book. And so I'll let y'all know when I get there. But yeah.
00:26:36
Speaker
And so I, but I do feel like that friendship building between Chris and Donna, because at first I was like, are they going to date? I would like, I don't, I don't not want to see a romance, but also I'm not reading this for a romance. And so for them to see it build into this really comfortable platonic kind friendship.
00:26:59
Speaker
I thought was really lovely too, because again, we're seeing a lot of that happening with the retirees um at Cooper's chase, but to see that with a young couple, like a young you know group of people as they're starting to like settle into their like middle age lives.
00:27:15
Speaker
I really enjoyed. Was there any other character in the movie that you felt like got kind of a raw deal um compared to their storyline in the book or anybody you wish you had seen more of?
00:27:27
Speaker
I think um Ron's son, yeah Jason, they switched up. Well, first of all, played by Tom Ellis.
00:27:39
Speaker
but He's also in ah Lucifer. yep That was a surprise to me. I did not know he was going to be in this movie. Yeah. But they did, ah they added a weird spin to his character the movie. Where they had him, like he was of like, they were suspicious of him. Mm-hmm.
00:28:02
Speaker
of murdering tony in the book but not to the point of arresting him like they do in the movie and then they have this whole storyline where um jason was sleeping with i believe it was ian's yeah ian's wife that was a really weird thing that they did i didn't like that that was bizarre would anybody but i'm sorry I agree about the the Chris thing. I didn't like what they did with his character because I think that he they also made him like more aggressive towards the Thursday murder club because he was not that way in the book. Like he actually wasn't. He was kind of like going along with it and working with them more.
00:28:50
Speaker
Yeah. Instead of combating against them. Lindsay, was there anybody that you wish got a little more screen time in the movie or you feel like they didn't do the character quite right? I found it interesting that the way they portrayed the bad guys, like the bad guys were just bad in the show.
00:29:11
Speaker
where Whereas, you know, they did some bad things in the book, but like especially Elizabeth, she was able to look past. Mm-hmm. What they had done. And in the Netflix series, they were just they were just bad people.
00:29:25
Speaker
Didn't like them. Didn't root for them at all. No sympathy. And that's, you know, i want to talk about some of the scenes in the book.
00:29:37
Speaker
in In particular, or in the movie in particular. But one is Bobby Tanner, the flor who we find out is the of hiding as a florist. I'm going by Derek Ward. In the book, it is very much like he realized he needed to get out of organized crime. And so he's gone clean. And now he's a florist, but he's still hiding.
00:29:59
Speaker
You know, he's under so under an assumed name because he did some bad stuff in his life, but he's he doesn't want to do that anymore. Right? in the In the movie... We get him, A, still involved in organized crime.
00:30:13
Speaker
B, Elizabeth like walks in on him while he's like got blood dripping down his hands from the thorns on the roses. it was just To me, it felt so weird compared to the book. Because in the book, even though a lot of these people do bad things...
00:30:33
Speaker
We are led to believe they all have their own, they all have reasons that, although still not okay, are some somewhat understandable. Somewhat, we can a little bit empathize with them.
00:30:45
Speaker
And redemption is possible. Right. Yeah. Yeah. i I have a hot take about that. I think that sometimes when we see these adaptations, it's almost like They struggle to adapt the complexities of a character to screen.
00:31:12
Speaker
Like yes the complexities of the fact that we could have redemption in a really that someone that had a bad past like that, like the whole point of the story of all these bad people possibly having redemption and could be have good in them is like,
00:31:30
Speaker
they can't fathom putting that on screen like it's like that's not entertaining like they have to make it like this you know what i mean like they have to make it this there has to be this crazy bad people and that's how the only way you would watch a murder mystery kind of right and then it's almost too complex to comprehend on screen right and then the way they did tony where tony was a really bad guy in the book but in the show they tried to make him like Oh, yeah, he's done bad things, but yeah he has a family member who lives at Cooper's Chase. He's the only one that's trying to keep it together not demolished. Right.
00:32:08
Speaker
They did weird things with the bad guys. Ultimately, in the book, we have three murders and three murderers.
00:32:20
Speaker
But there are so many red herrings. Yeah. And somehow still, even with all these red herrings, they all kind of tie together into what leads to the three murders or what causes these murderers to commit these murders.
00:32:39
Speaker
Everyone has a secret. And I think that's part of kind of the one of the themes of the book is that as we get to a certain age in our lives where we start to reflect on the things that we've done and whether or not, you know, we could have done them differently or should have done them differently or coming clean. um And we get that storyline a lot. But of course, at first we think, oh, they're coming clean about
Book vs. Movie: Ending and Character Analysis
00:33:04
Speaker
a murder. Nope. Turns out they were hiding a completely different secret.
00:33:07
Speaker
So I want to know, How many different people did you think were the murderer that turned out not to be a murderer? And I want to start with Carrie.
00:33:17
Speaker
oh No. Everyone. Everyone. Everyone's a suspect. Okay. So to be totally honest, the entire time, the entire story, i was like, it is some it is someone within this club.
00:33:35
Speaker
thought that. Yeah. yeah And that never changed. and Regardless of the information given to me. i was like, it is someone in this club.
00:33:46
Speaker
It is someone in this club. and that's all. may have murder in the name of the club. so Yeah, I was like, it is 100. I've read too many of these. Someone in this club is suspicious. And 100% suspected...
00:34:02
Speaker
what's his name but Bogdan Bogdan yeah yeah I like that name a lot I love that name who too I 100% suspected him Bogdan and i was like and these people in this club suspicious okay Lindsay how many people did you assume were the murderer that were or think were the murderer and then definitely were not There was one point in time where I suspected everyone. yeah And it may have been just for a a split second, but I may have suspected every single person. It really hit me hard when I thought it was Joyce because they were looking at a photo from the 70s and the girl...
00:34:45
Speaker
Gordon's daughter was like oh I recognize that face and for some reason I was like it's Joyce i don't know why i' isn that's fair I just knew i just knew the whole time that was Bernard Bernard or whatever i knew i knew Actually, i know now I remember why I thought it was Joyce. She was writing an article for like the paper or something and she put an older photo of herself in it. And that's why I thought it was her.
00:35:15
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Then I thought for sure it was Father Mackey for a little bit. I was like, dude's suspicious. He really doesn't want him digging in there. He didn't exist before the Yeah. He wasn't a real father. wasn't a real priest. Yeah.
00:35:29
Speaker
I was like, oh we got him. We got him. Nope. Nope. It was too soon. it was way too soon. Yeah. I was like, we' we're not even halfway through the book. Yeah. and it was too I don't know. And it was too obvious.
00:35:41
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, it was the three murders is really like the first one. like we knew we knew the first one was in the 70s because that's when we walk in on Thursday Murder Club talking about that first murder in the 70s. But then we think it goes away.
00:35:56
Speaker
Yeah, I was gonna say, I didn't think that was part of what we were trying to solve. Right. it It wasn't until Bogdan found the body that I was like, oh, that one. Wait, I bet. I know. yeah i know this. We saw the pictures. Yeah, I was ready.
00:36:12
Speaker
ah Were there any scenes in the movie that got added that you did not enjoy? I will say flat out the whole like Elizabeth driving with Donna um and talking about like Donna being like, this is a fancy car. She's like, it was a retirement gift. And she's like, zoom, zoom, zooming through. I'm like, mm-mm.
00:36:31
Speaker
I don't like this. She was driving an Aston Martin, which is what ah Pierce Brosnan would drive as James Bond. I did notice that. I was like, oh, okay. But I also just felt like a random, like, it's not a car chase because this is these are pensioners. These are retirees. So we don't do that anymore. But her just whipping around, I feel like that was not an Elizabeth thing do. it was not classy. Elizabeth was classy.
00:36:58
Speaker
she She might have been all about the shenanigans and orchestrating everything and pulling all the strings, but I feel like she wouldn't have been that showy. You know what I mean? i felt like that was weird. Was there anything added that that you didn't, that felt weird to you, Carrie?
00:37:15
Speaker
i I mean, i know' i don't remember. Was Tony's? Is that Tony's mom that was in it? Tony's aunt. Tony's aunt. Was she in the book? No. Okay. I didn't think so. I thought that was added. I didn't like that added.
00:37:31
Speaker
In the movie. I was like, what's the point of this? Yeah. It was weird. And she was, if you notice, like, you would be watching a scene and she would just be lurking in the back. Yeah. And I'd be like, can you stop? She was nosy. She wanted to be in the club, but they didn't invite her. Yeah, exactly. i know that feeling, okay? Yeah. I'm old enough now that I would hopefully at that age, too. I'll just be like, I would like in this club. Yeah. Also. Okay, let me tell you something else that I really didn't like.
00:37:58
Speaker
So and she's back. Yeah, I'm back. and So Elizabeth, she's like, here's an intruder in her house because Bobby Tanner, he's like has somebody like, yeah. leaving flowers in her house and the way that she approaches the intruder and like kind of doesn't care that somebody just broke into her house and like left the door open and ran away. That upset me like that. She did not even care that that just happened. No reaction whatsoever.
00:38:29
Speaker
Like that would freak me out. Or even I know that she like has a past of like, she's kind of like a boss bitch, but yeah, She would still have some type of reaction.
00:38:41
Speaker
Yeah. Lindsay, anything that just kind of, eh, to you? There was a lot of a lot of little things. The whole thing with Ian and his wife, and... I don't like how they changed the characters. I just... yeah I don't like how they changed any of the characters. The scene with Bobby, like we talked about earlier, i There were a bunch of little things I didn't like.
00:39:06
Speaker
That's fair. Any scenes from the book or the movie that you particularly loved? I want to start because if I don't get talk about this, I'll burst. But when they first invite Chris and Donna to come meet with them because they're going to share the financial records. And they're trying to make Chris super uncomfortable. I love this in the book and in the movie.
00:39:27
Speaker
Because they like turn the heat up to make it really hot. And they put him on the couch like smushed between Ron and Ibrahim. And then offer him a cup of tea and a cake. And he can't set it down. and he can't eat like it was just so hilarious i just laughed through that whole scene in the book and in the movie they did do that really well yeah and then donna's like or they're like i'll give you the financial records if you tell me the time of death and like chris won't say anything and then donna says it and then she's like here you go yeah there's the financial records it was so good it was such a good scene yeah i i love the fact that
00:40:07
Speaker
like this group of people just kind of run the show the entire time and they're like we can run the show because like we can kind of do everything that we want because no one's going to suspect us no one's going to question what we do and that's like it cracks me up i love that so much it's too good any particular scene that you you really loved lindsey I did really like toward the end when Steven is playing chess with Bogdan and they all burst into the apartment because they think Steven's been poisoned.
00:40:44
Speaker
i did like that scene. That was really good. Yeah. I loved that that they kept that relationship between Bogdan and Steven in the movie because I thought it was so touching in the book that like mutual respect for each other.
00:41:00
Speaker
I thought was really lovely. i think there were there were quite a few scenes like that in the book, though, that were either super touching or just absolutely hilarious that I feel like kept me reading. It really kind of kept me going these moments of like laughing one minute and crying the next just through the whole thing.
00:41:23
Speaker
Was there anything in the book, that any reveal in the book that made you kind of gasp or just be like, oh no way? ah It was the Father Mackie one for me. that Yeah, that that was a big one. Yeah, that one was pretty... I think the ending with Penny, that one...
00:41:45
Speaker
was kind of surprising for me. Yeah. That kind of threw me for a loop. i was like, wait, I forgot about Penny. Right? So that's... that I want to talk about the end a little bit more in depth because we end up with the same murderers in the movie and the book, right? but We get there, we get to each of them in slightly different ways, right?
00:42:11
Speaker
Particularly Bogdan, right? Like we yeah know that he is the one who ultimately is the one who killed Tony Curran. But the reason he does it is different in the movie versus the book.
00:42:26
Speaker
You know, in the book, he's very, this is a cold served revenge is what this is. He has been waiting for the right moment for a very long time. um In the movie, it's because Tony Curran is running some like immigrant labor passport crime process.
00:42:47
Speaker
thing organized crime situation and is basically holding bogdan's passport hostage and bogdan can't leave to go visit his mother and he wants to get his passport back and confronts tony to get his passport back and it acts it ends up accidentally killing tony curran so i feel like to To me, I feel like that one in particular, I didn't find quite as satisfying.
00:43:18
Speaker
Because again, it goes back to what you said, Lindsay, about them like changing the villains. They changed the bad guys, their motivations, their intentions. You know, Bogdan was ultimately a bad guy in the book.
00:43:34
Speaker
This was not an accident in the book. This was planned out. This is premeditated murder. you know do you Do either of you feel like any of the the sad the endings were satisfying in the movie versus the book or were they all kind of okay for you?
Final Thoughts and Sign Off
00:43:55
Speaker
Well, something I saw was that people were upset about how the movie ended with Bogdan because in the book series, Bogdan is a very important character throughout the series.
00:44:10
Speaker
So it's concerning that he gets arrested in the movie series right because that kind of indicates if they continue in the movie series, they're They're going to be messing with the story a lot. Right. Right.
00:44:22
Speaker
So from my understanding, Bogdan is going to be essential to the Thursday murder club, which I think is interesting. And see, that's kind of the vibe i got from the end of the book was that we're going to see more of this guy.
00:44:35
Speaker
and I feel like in the movie, how could we see more of him? He's going to jail now. Exactly. You know? Yeah. What about the ending with Penny? Yeah. That was wild.
00:44:50
Speaker
I mean, that was, so we find out that Penny is the murderer of the 1970s murder from the beginning of the book. That this, the boyfriend was basically going to get away with murder and she just couldn't stand that.
00:45:08
Speaker
And so she, she pulled a Batman, basically a vigilante style justice. Mm-hmm. And so that leaves me questioning again. so it leaves her husband in a position to, he didn't know. He didn't know at all through all of this until she started having like dementia type episodes. And she kind of told him what had happened
00:45:41
Speaker
So her husband, John, then is stuck with this knowledge that she killed the man and has buried him up at the cemetery. And now they're about to dig up the cemetery. And that's when John ends up killing Ian Ventham to make sure that that body doesn't get dug up because he doesn't want to see his wife's name ruined.
00:46:04
Speaker
here In the book... It is so touching how upset John is that he has been put in a position to do this, right? He didn't want to do this. He realizes what he's done.
00:46:22
Speaker
But it is he loves his wife so much. The idea of her legacy being destroyed by this one act. like He feels like the only thing he he could do for her anymore was to protect that for her, to protect her name, you know?
00:46:39
Speaker
And it's really touching. I feel like the movie kind of touches on that, but we never got to know Penny and John in the movie the way we did in the book. We never got to know how important they were to Elizabeth, to each other in the movie, the way we did in the book. And so that ending fell flat for me in the movie.
00:47:03
Speaker
Yeah. did Did you guys have any thoughts on on that? Yeah. I agree. i mean, I totally agree. i think I cried at the end of the book because, you know, obviously...
00:47:21
Speaker
the way that that went down was more emotional. And, you know, what Elizabeth says, she's like, it's still like murder. Like it's still like bad. And yeah, we have to tell someone about it. And then she kind of leaves them knowing how it's going to end up.
00:47:39
Speaker
where, you know, they died together, basically. Right. and And she kind of, like, figures that when she leaves, because he's like, can I just have a moment alone with Penny? And then that's how that happens. Right.
00:47:53
Speaker
And... And throughout the story, we see Elizabeth continuously going back to Penny to, like, fill her in on what's going on, you know, even though she's, like, you know, basically in, like, a coma at this point.
00:48:11
Speaker
And like a medically induced coma, I'm assuming. And she's like constantly filling her in on what's happening in the Thursday murder club. We're dealing with an actual case right now. And like her husband sitting there, like listening to it the whole time too. Right. And we're constantly getting those up updates um throughout the story and even bringing in Donna and be like, look, Donna, like this is Penny. Meet Penny. Like we do get that in the movie for like a second, but just like not as much in the book.
00:48:42
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Well, that brings us to the very, very end. What are our final verdicts? Lindsay, let's start with you. Book. I'm going book. 100%.
00:48:53
Speaker
hundred percent Carrie? Yeah. going to have to agree. Definitely book. The movie was just like, it was also a little slow too. Yeah. No, I agree. I'm i'm very much a book. This was a two hour movie. yeah I feel like they could have done better by cutting out some of the weird stuff they added and adding back in some of the stuff they cut out. Yeah. yeah So that's that's how I feel about that.
00:49:21
Speaker
Agreed. And that brings us to our question of the episode. Joyce is always baking up some goodies for her guests.
00:49:33
Speaker
What is your favorite treat to entice company to visit? Or if you're like me and don't necessarily want visitors, what is something someone could bake to entice you to come visit? Let's start with Carrie.
00:49:48
Speaker
Um, i don't really know how to cook. I'm not a very good cook. Okay. So i have to keep it simple if I'm bringing something and I always like to make a, these like pumpkin cookies. I think I've told you guys about these before.
00:50:05
Speaker
um But they're super simple. They only take like a few ingredients, but my grandma makes them. And they're like not so terrible for you either. So I always like to bring those. That's like my favorite treat to bring. And then I always force my sister to make me pumpkin bread.
00:50:23
Speaker
It's a pumpkin theme, apparently. there you It's good. It's a good flavor. Yeah. Lindsay, what about you? i used to bake all the time. And I was always bringing... cakes and cookies and things to work like i always used to bake but now that I'm more at home I like to make cookies when people come to visit me cookies are my favorite chocolate chips knickerdoodle the pecan turtle delights like I love cookies that's my favorite
00:50:54
Speaker
There you go. i I used to bake a ton. i don't think I have baked in years. it's I don't really like cooking. I've realized that over the years I cooked mostly because it was expected of me rather than i enjoyed it. So now I just hardly do. Also, I don't necessarily like having company.
00:51:13
Speaker
I don't mind visiting, though. And if I am going to visit and you want to convince me to come see you, cheesecake is the way to my heart. I don't even care if you made it yourself. Go get store-bought. I don't care. Honestly, everything that Joyce was making this movie, I was like, ugh, cake. I need it. I need that right now. Yep.
00:51:32
Speaker
My stepmom makes an amazing homemade danish, i her cream cheese danish. i i've I literally have driven a thousand miles for that Danish. It is delicious. i love that. hu So that's, you know, honestly, the way that a woman's heart is through her stomach too. Fellas, you should know that by now. oh Well, this one wraps up our Anything Goes April.
00:51:57
Speaker
We sure do hope you've had as much fun as we have. Let us know what you think by joining the conversation on our socials. We seriously love the perspectives you all bring to our conversations and discussions. Also tune in next month as we begin to revisit the series we've been covering.
00:52:15
Speaker
Carrie is kicking it off with 50 Shades Freed. 50 Shades Freed. There we go. And i for one, am seriously looking forward to seeing what the heck is about to happen because we left on, i don't know what that was and I need to know what happens next. Yeah.
00:52:33
Speaker
But until then, Please remember, we all have a sob story, but we don't all go around killing people. Bye! Bye!