While you wait for The Impossible Fortune

Richard Osman’s latest novel, The Impossible Fortune, is the fifth book in The Thursday Murder Club series and has quite a holds list at the library. The series follows four unlikely friends who have dubbed themselves the Thursday Murder Club. Initially they would gather each week in their retirement village’s puzzle room to chat about unsolved crimes. But soon they begin to work with police (not always completely welcomed) to investigate live cases. 

The club has successfully solved multiple crimes up to this point, but their sleuthing in The Impossible Fortune is temporarily put on pause as each member deals with other life events. Joyce is wrapped up in wedding planning for her daughter Joanna. Ron has family troubles. Elizabeth is grieving. Ibrahim is playing therapist for his favorite criminal. However, when the Thursday Murder Club is involved nothing is guaranteed to stay calm for long. 

The club begins trying to solve another potential murder and there’s another puzzle they keep hearing of that is said to be uncrackable. Putting their minds together once again, will they be able to solve the mysteries surrounding them before it’s too late? 

If you’re looking for more stories featuring elderly characters wrapped up in unexpected situations, I’ve got a great line up of recommendations for you. Don’t forget to also check out Osman’s novel We Solve Murders, which is the start of a new series.  

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson 

Allan Karlsson has lived a long life and now the day before his 100th birthday Allan is in a nursing home. He’s in great health despite his advanced age, but he's not particularly thrilled with the grand birthday party that is being planned. Determined to have the nursing home not be his last stop in life, Allan steps into some slippers and sneaks out his window in search of something more.

Allan is no stranger to grand adventures as he’s played a role in many important events throughout the 20th century and met many people who most individuals will only read about in history books. This new adventure is sure to live up to the rest, at least as far as it can now that’s Allan is 100.  

Along the way Allan comes into possession of a suitcase full of cash, deals with some rather unpleasant criminals and encounters a murderous elephant. Despite all that could stop Allan he strides forward through each misadventure while revealing the past that built him.

With some danger along the way and a darkly humorous old-man guiding you through his journey, you are sure to find enjoyment from this novel. You don't have to stop your reading here though because Allan's story continues in The Accidental Further Adventures of the 100-Year-Old Man.

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann 

Agnes Sharp is the owner of Sunset Hall, a home she shares with her unruly elderly friends in the English countryside. Instead of a nursing home they prefer to be roommates with control over who they live with and they decided on the rules. For the most part, the roommates have the usual issues of old age. They lose their reading glasses frequently and are noticing decreased mobility. Grandchildren are causing trouble and fights around food tastes are common. However, even those who seem most predictable can be hiding something unexpected.  

When the police come to the Sunset Hall to let the residents know a body has been found next door, long faces are seen all around. But beneath the surface the panic rises as the folks of Sunset Hall worry about what their hiding in the shed by the house or rather who they are hiding in the shed.

Relieved to learn the body police found wasn’t the body (Lillith) hidden in the shed, the Sunset Hall residents are driven to figure out who the killer is themselves so they can pin Lilith’s death on them too. The Sunset Hall gang is determined to not let anything stop them, even if the local authorities and a broken stair lift might slow them down.  

Much like the Thursday Murder Club, the Sunset Hall crew unexpectedly find themselves at the center of a crime and must put all their sleuthing skills to the test. However, the added complication of also trying to cover up a murder of their own adds an unexpected twist that will keep you turning page after page. You might also check out the sequel, Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime, because you won’t be able to get enough of these quirky characters.

Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge by Spencer Quinn 

Mrs. Loretta Plansky, a 70-something widow, is just settling into retirement in Florida. She believes she has things under control when it comes to balancing care for her 98-year-old father and offering financial help to her children and grandchildren. But one midnight phone call changes everything.  

Startled awake, a voice claiming to be her grandson, Will, asks Mrs. Plansky to send $10,000 to help him out of a bind. The caring grandmother she is, Mrs. Plansky says yes, despite not having received a thank you for the last round of money she sent. Not that she's keeping track or anything.

When morning comes around, a new realization dawns on Mrs. Planksy. She has lost everything to scammers and there's nothing law enforcement can do to help her get all her life's savings back. Humiliated and angry, Mrs. Plansky is determined to prove she's not so easily scammed. With a single clue in hand, she heads to a small Romanian village in a desperate search to get her dignity and money back.  

Mrs. Plansky could be the perfect addition to the Thursday Murder Club with her fierce determination to right the wrongs. You'll be rooting for Mrs. Planksy as unexpected events force her into becoming an amateur sleuth. Her skills will be tested once again in Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue, which deals with even more troublesome events.

The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers by Samuel Burr

f you love mystery but want to try something a little less murder-y for the moment, give The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers a try! It’s a  lighthearted mystery with a lovable cast of characters and you get to help solve puzzles that drive the story forward. That’s right, there are actual puzzles, like a cross word and a maze, that you can solve while reading! Please don’t write in our library books, but you could trace the puzzles onto another slip of paper if you want to solve them for yourself before moving onto the next chapter. 

Clayton Stumper is a man in his 20s, but based on how he dresses and acts you might think he’s much older and likely to get along with your grandparents. The way Clayton acts makes much more sense when you consider his untypical childhood.  

As a newborn baby Clayton was abandoned by his birth mother on the front steps of the fading institution known as the Fellowship of the Puzzle Makers. The last of the puzzle makers living at the institution raised Clayton despite many of them already being old enough to be his grandparents. 

When Pippa Allsbrook, a famed crossword puzzle creator and Clayton’s adoptive mother, dies she leaves behind her final and most important puzzle yet. She leaves a guide to help Clayton take on life beyond the boundaries of the puzzle maker’s commune and finally uncover his birth parents. 

Determined to figure out his story, Clayton sets forth to solve each puzzle clue Pippa left behind, even if it changes everything Clayton and the Fellowship of Puzzle Makers knew.