Tea, Grief, Homicide: Welcome to Richard Osman's World

The bestselling author of The Thursday Murder Club speaks with Cosmo India about the adaptation of his work, why he is unlikely to switch genres, and why he loves writing about 'real people'.

- By J Shruti

I’m in the middle of signing 10,000 books, so this is such a welcome relief to speak to you,” Richard Osman, the English television presenter, producer and novelist, genially tells me over a WhatsApp call. The author of the multimillion bestseller The Thursday Murder Club series, where four retirees in a retirement home chase and solve murders, had his latest and fifth book in the series, The Impossible Fortune, released at the end of September. Prior to his international fame as an author, Osman was best known as the host of BBC's Pointless, the iconic British television quiz show.

Osman’s books, inspired from the literary canon of great detective works like Agatha Christie's, foreground characters more than the mystery, and have come to pioneer the “cosy” crime fiction genre. The book’s amateur detectives include the steely Elizabeth, who used to be a spy; the gregarious Joyce, who is a nurse and a baker; former trade unionist and suspicious-of-everything Ron; and the cautious therapist Ibrahim.

Cosmopolitan India learns why Osman has a difficult relationship with the term “cosy”, his writing template, his involvement in the Netflix’s movie adaptation of his works, and the humongous success of his books.

You seem put off by the term “cosy crime fiction”.