Reader TTS

British comedian and quiz show host Richard Osman, 53, has taken the literary world by storm with his 2020 bestseller, _The Thursday Murder Club_, and the three follow-up books in the

series. The humor-filled mysteries feature a quartet of British retirees living in a posh retirement village in Kent who team up to solve murders. Netflix has acquired the film rights to

the books — with Helen Mirren, 78, Pierce Brosnan, 71, and Ben Kingsley, 80, set to star. Courtesy Pamela Dorma Books _The Thursday Murder Club_ books have sold more than 10 million copies

globally. What do readers love about Osman’s series? His U.S. editor, Pamela Dorman, senior vice president and publisher of Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, says she thinks they’re drawn to the

characters, who “represent a range of smart, energetic, intrepid seniors, each of whom had an illustrious career — one a labor organizer, one a psychiatrist, one a nurse and one a spy. They

bring all that experience to their new lives as amateur detectives.” She says Osman “wanted to show that seniors are perfectly capable of bravery, intelligence and, above all, humor in their

later years.” (The author will debut another series in September with the book _We Solve Murders_, which features slightly younger detectives: 30-something Amy Wheeler and her 50-something

father-in-law, retired police officer Steve Wheeler.) Nicole Angeloro at HarperCollins, who edits Elly Griffiths’ books, which are often compared to Osman’s (including _The Last Word_,

described below), says readers are attracted to an appealing mix of humor and gravity in _The Thursday Murder Club _and Griffiths’ novels. In _The Last Word_, “there’s a lot of affection

among the characters and for the characters and fun,” she says, but “you’re still dealing with secrets and death.” If you’re looking for other fantastic mysteries featuring older sleuths,

consider these six, which run the gamut. Some feature Osman-style playfulness; others are darker and decidedly uncozy. _THE QUEEN OF POISONS_ BY ROBERT THOROGOOD English screenwriter

Robert Thorogood — who created the BBC One murder mystery series _Death in Paradise_ — debuted his mystery novel series in 2021 with _The Marlow Murder Club_ , about a trio of older women in

Buckinghamshire who investigate a murder. The series has become so popular that it’s been adapted into a TV series set to air soon on _Masterpiece_ on PBS. This year, Thorogood released the

third book in the series,_ The Queen of Poisons_ , in which the Marlow Murder Club is called in to investigate the sudden death of the mayor during a town council meeting after traces of

aconite (or “the queen of poisons”) are found in his morning coffee.