Richard Osman appears to have shared a subtle dig at the highly divisive Thursday Murder Club film – as the latest of his true crime series has come out today, with glowing reviews from devoted book purists.
The author behind the highly successful novels celebrated the release of the fifth sequel – titled Impossible Fortune – in his newsletter, but seemed to send a slight shade at a movie adaptation change fans deemed ‘unforgivable’.
Readers were less than impressed at the cinematic arc for one character in the amateur sleuth flick, who despite being revealed as the killer in both versions has very different motives.
And many were baffled by scenes which saw Polish handyman Bogdan confess his crime even though there is no solid evidence against him – as in the subsequent murder mystery books, he becomes close with the crime-solving retirees and eventually starts dating police officer PC Donna De Freitas (Naomi Ackie).
However, sealing his fate as a convicted killer effectively shuts down the possibility that he will be a part of any future cinematic works.
Commemorating today’s release in an email announcement, Richard said that the ‘gang is officially BACK’.
‘In the books business, the day your book is published is called “pub day”. As opposed to the television business where every day was “pub day”,’ the presenter joked.
‘Can’t wait for you to get reading and see what mischief Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron are up to this time. Other friends are also back.’
Richard Osman appears to have shared a subtle dig at the highly divisive Thursday Murder Club film – as the latest of his true crime series has come out today, with glowing reviews from devoted book purists
However, while listing the other characters – in a seeming quip about the film, the author also mentioned Bogdan, who ‘must have somehow got out of prison’.
The seeming snub however, comes amid a promising time for fans, who will today be able to get their hands on the latest book in the crime series.
Critics have praised the reading, stating there is a ‘new dawn’ for the franchise, which sees the group tackle a new adventure when ‘avillain wants access to an uncrackable code and will stop at nothing to get it’, featuring high-tech bitcoin mysterious and a very eventful wedding.
‘When Richard Osman published his inaugural Thursday Murder Club novel in the autumn of 2020, it proved the perfect pick-me-up for a nation mired in the pandemic blues,’ Jake Kerr wrote for the Telegraph, awarding the novel four stars.
‘Five years and millions of book sales on, the latest instalment – the fifth in the series – has an equally vital function: to cheer up those of us who have just sat through the clodhopping Netflix adaptation of the first book.
‘Although the film boasts a blue-chip quartet of geriatric thespians as Osman’s crime-busting pensioners Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, it doesn’t have half the charm and liveliness of the novels – nor the emotional impact.
‘On the page, the superannuated sleuths defy the elements of caricature to possess a vibrancy that makes you invested in their triumphs and tribulations, large or small.’
Meanwhile, for the i,Moira Redmond was full of compliments for the novel, saying it proves how sharp the original source material is.
Thursday Murder Club viewers are fuming after the new Netflix adaptation made an ‘unforgivable’ change to Richard Osman ‘s beloved book series
‘The new Thursday Murder Club film is very watchable and has great actors, but is very much a certain kind of British film, and as so often in adaptations, the edges are smoothed and some of the jokes and subtleties are missing, other points hammered home plonkingly,’ she penned.
‘It makes you realise how nuanced and clever Osman is in his writing.’
‘The fifth novel in Osman’s bestselling Thursday Murder Club series sees crime-solving pensioners Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron engaging with secret codes, drug dealers, impecunious aristocrats and cryptocurrency, with assistance from former cocaine queenpin Connie, friendly cop Donna, Bogdan the handyman and Ron’s clever nine-year-old grandson,’ Laura Wilson wrote for The Guardian.
‘Although still grieving for her husband, Elizabeth steps up when Nick, the best man at Joyce’s daughter’s wedding, confides that somebody is trying to kill him.
‘Nick and his business partner Holly own a high-security storage facility and once accepted a payment in bitcoin, the value of which has risen to £350m. They want to cash out, but the money is protected by two codes, and as Nick and Holly have one each, neither can access it alone.
‘When Nick disappears, the quartet gets on the case. The central mystery is a satisfactory head-scratcher, but the true pleasure is a gently humorous read, peopled with characters who feel like old friends.’
Meanwhile, opting for another four out of five rating,Radio Times‘Helen Daly penned: ‘As ever, Osman uses the cosy crime frame to explore themes often overlooked in the genre: loneliness, loss and diminishing independence.
‘Here, Ron’s journey of letting go of his old self and embracing a new one is especially affecting and the novel would be even stronger if readers were able to linger on these themes just a little longer.
Writing on Reddit, several people demanded ‘justice for Bogdan’ – the Polish handyman brought to life on-screen by actor Henry Lloyd-Hughes – after his storyline was ‘bizarrely’ changed
‘The mystery itself is more high-tech than usual, with missing bitcoin sparking a chase that draws in ruthless players. The wealth-obsessed leave chaos and death in their wake, and the investigation has real bite.
‘As mysteries go in The Thursday Murder Club series, it’s a fairly exciting one with an element of the cat and mouse chase.’
Glowing reviews for the book come in the wake of collective outrage on behalf of Thursday Murder Club viewers.
The film is directed by Chris Columbus and was released by the streamer on August 26 after weeks of anticipation.
It follows four senior sleuths Elizabeth (DameHelen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Joyce (Celia Imrie), and Ibrahim (Sir Ben Kingsley) who band together to try and solve cold murder cases while spending their days at a charming retirement community.
When the body of Tony Curran (played by Geoff Bell)- co-owner of the retirement home Coopers Chase – is discovered, the pensioners find themselves hot on the trail of a murderer much closer to home.
Like in Richard’s bestselling novel, the killer is eventually revealed as his Polish employee Bogdan but everything that follows in the movie is a drastic departure from the book.
According to the author’s version, Bogdan’s motive for killing his land developer boss is to avenge the death of his friend Kaz many years prior to the events unfolding at Coopers Chase in present day.
It is revealed to readers that Tony hired a hitman, Turkish Johnny/Gianni, to murder taxi driver Kaz because he had seen the buildershoot someone at a pub during a botched drug deal.
Enraged by Kaz’s death, Bogdan killed Tony’s associate straightaway and covered it up.
Years later, Bogdan also took Tony out by tampering with the security system at his residence before sneaking in and then bludgeoning him to death.
Bogdan’s reason for killing Tony is entirely different in the movie in which the stoic handyman takes Tony’s life in an act of self-defence.
It is revealed to viewers that Tony and one of his friends, Bobby Tanner (Richard E Grant), were smuggling immigrants into the UK by luring them with better prospects then withholding their passports and essentially enslaving them.
Bodgan is one of Tony’s smuggled workers who ends up killing him after the Coopers Chase co-owner refused to return his passport so he could visit his mother back home in Kraków, Poland.
Like the book, it’s retired spy Elizabeth’s husband Stephen (Jonathan Pryce) who figures out the identity of Tony’s killer, but the movie adds the additional detail of Elizabeth becoming fearful that Bogdan will poison her husband.
The movie also strays from its source material when Bogdan confesses his crime to the pensioner even though Stephen has no solid evidence against him.
He is arrested after Stephen surreptitiously records his confession and hands it over to the investigating police officers as it appeared the makers effectively closed the door on his return to the film franchise.
This deviation left Netflix viewers with a ‘sour taste’ because Bogdan has a very different arc in Osman’s Thursday Murder Club books, Reddit users pointed out.
Reacting to the movie’s ending, many flooded the social media platform with angry messages demanding ‘justice for Bogdan’.
‘They have shot themselves in the foot for any future films without Bogdan,’ one person wrote.
Another said: ‘Agree. Watched with my parents, mum read it as well and we didn’t like this change at all. It completely changed an integral part of the story and the future stories.’
A similar comment read: ‘My reaction was exactly the same. I could have dealt with all the plot/story changes if they didn’t do what they did to Bogdan.’
One also said the change ‘doesn’t make any sense’ while another person felt it ‘literally added nothing’ and that the movie ‘took away so much from Bogdan’s character’.
‘I found him very likable in the books, and reading about his character development was such a crucial piece to the story/series,’ they continued.
Another felt the makers ‘didn’t understand the essence of Thursday Murder Club, Bogdan, Elizabeth, and Stephen’ as they added: ‘You can’t read the books and arrest Bogdan.
‘It just screams they don’t get it.’
A third said the movie’s ending was ‘such a bummer’ while yet another declared ‘you can’t do my boy Bogdan dirty like that’.
Some swore off watching any sequels over the movie’s ‘unforgivable’ plot, noting ‘one disappointment is enough for me’.
One scathing review compared the movie to an ‘episode of Law and Order’ while another noted the film’s script ‘butchered’ Bogdan’s confession to Stephen by using it as a ‘gotcha’ moment.
‘This is literally the worst adaptation I have ever seen,’ one comment read. ‘Bogdan was/is Elizabeth’s RIDE OR DIE and vice versa. I will never watch another one of these unless the writers are replaced. 0/10. No redeeming anything.’
Others felt that the movie sacrificed Bogdan so Ron’s son, boxer-turned-reality TV star Jason Ritchie (played by Tom Ellis) would have a bigger role in any sequels.
‘It seems like they’re setting it up that way,’ one person wrote. ‘Which is asinine. I get that the guy who plays Jason is a great actor and all but Bogdan was such an important character in the book – especially when it came to his friendship with Stephen.’
‘It’s pretty obvious that they’re cutting Bogdan for Ron’s son and I hate it. I love Tom Ellis, but Bogdan is my favorite character in the book,’ another disgruntled viewer noted.
Others also felt that the film’s director Chris Columbus and its script writers would find a way to ‘redeem Bogdan’.
One person suggested that ‘there was enough foreshadowing to suggest’ Bogdan will be released from prison, adding: ‘He kept repeating it was an accident, so maybe some evidence will arise showing it was an accident or self-defence.’
They conceded that while this wouldn’t be ‘enough in the real world’, it could secure Bodgan’s release in ‘film world’ – especially considering the ‘modern slavery’ storyline.
‘Bogdan is literally a victim of modern slavery,’ one person highlighted. ‘His passport was stolen and he was forced to work. Realistically I think he would get off lightly.’
Another felt the changes were the result of trying to fit Richard’s 600-page book into a two-hour movie without changing who killed Tony.
‘They also teed up that it was a self defense case, and showed how Bogdan was already the victim of a crime, so it’s not insane to say he’d be back if they make sequels
However, another viewer pointed out, Bodgan’s status an an illegal immigrant would logically suggest he would ‘probably be deported even if he was just magically released based on vibes’.
Many felt that the decision to stray so far from the book’s handling of Bogdan’s character would also mean it’s impossible to carry out other storylines such as his romance with Donna.
‘How will a cop marry someone who confessed to murder/manslaughter?’
‘I hated what they did with Bogdan! And the fact that Donna was the one to arrest him!!! If they make any sequels, how are they planning to resolve that issue considering Bogdan and Donna are together in subsequent books?’ another wondered.
Yet another enraged viewer said: ‘Even if they found a way to get around the murder charge so that he could be in future movies…he just wouldn’t be the same any longer.
‘It was just so sad,’ they continued. ‘He is such a great character.’
