The Thursday Murder Club [ESP/ENG]

The entire novel takes place in a retirement community in England, where four friends: Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron dedicate themselves (every Thursday) to investigating unsolved cases, cases that have already been filed away by the police, and the truth is that they all have a knack for it and, according to their professions, can contribute well-founded opinions; Elizabeth, for example, was a spy in her youth, Joyce was a nurse, Ibrahim is a retired psychiatrist, and Ron is an activist. However, their golden moment arrives when a crime occurs in their community. It's not an isolated case, nor something that happened years ago (like all the crimes they analyze), but one that happened recently. A local real estate developer named Tony Curran suddenly turns up murdered. Then the club of retired friends gets to work on their own investigation, as if it were Scooby-Doo's Mystery Inc. And their investigation isn't in vain; they actually discover clues, like some bones they found in a cemetery, which somehow connect the developer's murder to the previous cases that the protagonists in the club always analyze.

Toda la novela trascurre en un complejo de personas jubiladas de Inglaterra, allí, cuatro amigos: Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim y Ron siempre se dedican (Cada Jueves) a investigar casos no resueltos, casos que ya han sido archivados por la policía, y la verdad es que todos tienen madera para ello y según sus profesiones pueden aportar opiniones con mucho fundamento, Elizabeth por ejemplo fue espía en su juventud, Joyce fue enfermera, Ibrahim es un psiquiatra jubilado y Ron un activista. Sin embargo su momento de oro llega cuando ocurre un crimen en su comunidad, no es un caso aislado ni tampoco algo ocurrido hace años atrás (como todos los crímenes que ellos analizan) sino uno que ocurrió actualmente, un promotor inmobiliario local llamado Tony Curran de pronto apareció asesinado, entonces el club de amigos jubilados se pone manos a la obra en su investigación particular como si se tratase de Misterio a la Orden de Scooby Doo, aunque su investigación no es vano, realmente descubren pistas como unos huesos que encontraron en un cementerio y que de alguna manera conecta el asesinado del promotor con los cimentes anteriores que siempre analizan los protagonistas en el club.

I think what attracted me most to this novel is the vindication of the rights of the elderly, mainly the right to be recognized as valuable members of the community, who regardless of their age can still contribute something good to the world. The seniors in the club never let criticism stop them, much less did they think that they were like useless furniture or that because of their age they could no longer do the same things as before. On the contrary, it was when they became even more determined in their purpose, and that is admirable. And the best thing of all is that these activities helped to strengthen their friendship and their skills.

The characters aren't one-dimensional; on the contrary, they're nuanced and distinct from one another, which leads to rich and dynamic dialogue. I also appreciate the novel's structure, which alternates between third-person narration (my favorite style) and Joyce's diary entries, offering a more personal perspective on the situation. This format is particularly interesting, even more entertaining. I also like the touches of humor in the novel, as they help to lighten the mood during darker situations, such as the crimes themselves.

The narrative style of this novel is also quite fast-paced and has many unexpected twists that keep you engaged and excited while reading, so I highly recommend it. Thank you very much for reading my review.