Books Like The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club follows four residents of a luxury retirement village who meet weekly to discuss cold cases — until a real murder lands on their doorstep. Readers who want books like The Thursday Murder Club are usually after the same mix: a cozy but clever puzzle, a cast of witty amateur sleuths, plenty of British humour and characters you'd happily have tea with.

Our picks

If you loved gentle humour and kindness in a mystery

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Alexander McCall Smith

Why Matchbook recommends it: Precious Ramotswe opens Botswana's first female-run detective agency — warm, wise and full of charm.

If you loved an unlikely sleuth

The Maid

Nita Prose

Why Matchbook recommends it: A hotel maid who takes everything literally becomes a murder suspect — a cozy, big-hearted mystery with a memorable narrator.

If you loved comic chaos around a murder

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

Elle Cosimano

Why Matchbook recommends it: A struggling novelist is mistaken for a hitwoman — laugh-out-loud funny with a genuinely twisty plot.

If you loved piecing clues together yourself

The Appeal

Janice Hallett

Why Matchbook recommends it: A murder in an English amateur-theatre group told through emails and messages — a clever puzzle you solve alongside the lawyers.

If you loved a nosy older sleuth

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Jesse Q. Sutanto

Why Matchbook recommends it: A meddling San Francisco tea-shop owner finds a body and decides she's the best person to solve it.

If you loved village gossip as detective work

The Murder at the Vicarage

Agatha Christie

Why Matchbook recommends it: Miss Marple's first full outing — the original sharp-eyed older woman everyone underestimates.

If you loved a knowing, clever puzzle

Magpie Murders

Anthony Horowitz

Why Matchbook recommends it: A classic English whodunit hidden inside a modern mystery — playful, twisty and very British.

What did you love about The Thursday Murder Club?

The romance? The characters? The setting? The twists? Tell Matchbook what worked for you — and what didn't — and we'll find your next read.