Wreaks of "cosy crime" - and that's good.
There's a reason that Richard Osman's series has been a runaway success for many people (or at least I can believe it) - the story is well written, the characters are extremely well drawn and the pages are a pleasure to digest.
I keep thinking I'm further along in the series than I actually am because the characters have quickly become a staple of crime fiction in my head.
Although I did find I was a little suprised at the some of the more grusome passages (realising that doesn't really fit the "cosy crime" sub-genre). Those parts did take me out of the story a little. Again, I feel like I've had more of these characters than I actually have (this is the second Thursday book I've read), so there's no reason why a few hard edges wouldn't be part of the story.
I did, however, have one complaint. I was quickly getting annoyed with the diary that Joyce would write in. For some reason I was having a hard time believing that Joyce was writing diary entries in such a conversational style as a pen and paper job, especially when the style of her writing/thoughts read as if she would be telling her husband… who's already shuffled off. I'm not 100% sure why I found it distracting, but I suspect that's not going to reduce any amount in the next Thursday books, so I'll probably need to find a way around it.
Otherwise, a lovely read. Definitely feels as if I'm visiting these characters, and it's always a pleasure sharing a bit of time with them all.
Others I've read in the "Thursday Murder Club" series: