The Thursday Murder Club audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
The book has one hundred and fifteen chapters of about three pages each, and most of them cut away just as something happens.
Short answer: for the The Thursday Murder Club audiobook vs book choice, we say read it on Kindle (57% confidence, close call). Lesley Manville reads the whole novel for Penguin Audio, 12 hours 26 minutes, with a bonus Osman and Keyes conversation at the end. Her award-winning narration favours audio; several viewpoints read by one narrator favour print, which keeps the chapter headings that name whose chapter it is.
Read it on Kindle
Award-winning narration points to audio, but several viewpoints and a diary are all read by one narrator.
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Confidence 57%, which puts it in the close call band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The Thursday Murder Club
Richard Osman
- Genre
- Cosy crime
- Published
- 2020
- Length
- 368 pages
- On audio
- 12 hrs 26 mins
- On screen
- Netflix film, 2025
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: award-winning or praised narration (6), 6 points. Reading: three or more points of view, one narrator (8), 8 points. 57% of the confirmed points favour reading, so the verdict is read it on Kindle at 57% confidence (close call).
The recording at a glance
- Narrated by
- Lesley Manville, who reads the entire novel
- Also credited
- Richard Osman and Marian Keyes, for an exclusive bonus conversation at the end. They do not narrate the novel
- Length
- 12 hrs 26 mins on Audible, or about 8 hours 17 minutes at one and a half times speed. Penguin Random House, Apple Books and xigxag say 12 hours 25, and Kobo US says 12 hours 24
- Publisher
- Penguin Audio, 3 September 2020 in the UK and 22 September 2020 in the US
- Recognition
- The Times named it Audiobook of the Week and called it the best escapist listen of the year
- Series note
- Manville reads books one and two. Fiona Shaw reads books three, four and five
- Also exists
- A separate abridged BBC Radio 4 reading by Haydn Gwynne, broadcast in early 2021
What this book actually is
One hundred and fifteen chapters, split into two parts, across 368 to 400 pages depending on the edition. That works out at about three to three and a half pages a chapter. Reviewers consistently note that chapters end on a cliffhanger and cut to a different strand, a rhythm widely attributed to the author's television background.
The book is written in two styles that run alongside each other. The bulk is third person following several characters, including the four club members and the police officers investigating. Interleaved with it are one member's first-person diary entries. The switch is signposted by the chapter heading, which carries a name: the publisher's own extract opens with a chapter headed 'Joyce' in a first-person diary voice, and follows it with a chapter headed 'PC Donna De Freitas' in third person.
The case for reading it
There is one argument for print, and it is a fair one. The chapter headings tell you whose point of view comes next, and in print you see that before you read the first word. With an ensemble this size, residents and police and suspects together, being able to glance backwards to check who somebody is has real value, and searching back through twelve hours of audio is no substitute. In print you can also see how short the chapters are and where the book divides into two parts. In the audiobook these come across only as brief pauses.
The case for listening to it
Lesley Manville reads the whole novel and differentiates the ensemble by accent and age, which does the same job as the chapter headings and does it at the moment you need it. One reviewer credits her range of voices and accents directly. The Times named the recording Audiobook of the Week and called it the best escapist listen of the year, a line quoted on Penguin's own audio campaign page. The structure also suits audio. The hundred and fifteen chapters are designed to cut away just as something happens, which works well for someone listening while walking. The comedy comes at roughly a joke a page, and jokes depend on delivery, which the narrator provides. The audiobook also has extra content: the recording ends with an exclusive conversation between Richard Osman and Marian Keyes that no print edition contains.
The audiobook in detail
Penguin Audio released it on 3 September 2020 in the UK and 22 September in the US. Lesley Manville reads the entire novel; Osman and Keyes are credited for the closing conversation only, which is worth knowing because retailer listings imply otherwise. The run time is 12 hours 26 minutes on Audible, 12 hours 25 on Penguin Random House, Apple Books and xigxag, and 12 hours 24 on Kobo US, which comes to about 8 hours 17 minutes at one and a half times speed whichever figure you take. Two things are easy to buy by accident. There is a separate abridged BBC Radio 4 reading by Haydn Gwynne, broadcast in early 2021, which is a different recording entirely. And Manville reads only the first two books in the series: Fiona Shaw takes over from the third.
Who should ignore this verdict
Audio suits anyone who wants the bonus conversation, because the recording ends with an exclusive conversation between Richard Osman and Marian Keyes that no print edition contains.
Audio suits anyone who listens while walking or doing something else. The 115 short chapters mostly cut away just as something happens, which suits listening, and Lesley Manville tells the ensemble apart by accent and age. The recording won the Sounds of Crime Award at CrimeFest 2021, and The Times named it Audiobook of the Week.
Audio also suits anyone who enjoys hearing comedy performed. There is roughly a joke a page, and jokes depend on delivery, which the narrator provides.
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
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The Impossible Fortune
This is book 5 of the series, read by Fiona Shaw, and either format works.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates The Thursday Murder Club audiobook?
Lesley Manville reads the entire novel. Richard Osman and Marian Keyes are also credited, but for an exclusive conversation recorded for the end of the audiobook rather than for narrating any of the book itself.
How long is The Thursday Murder Club audiobook?
12 hours 26 minutes on Audible. Penguin Random House, Apple Books and xigxag say 12 hours 25, and Kobo US says 12 hours 24, for the same recording. That is about 8 hours 17 minutes at one and a half times speed.
Why does the narrator change later in the series?
Lesley Manville reads the first two books, The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice. Fiona Shaw reads the third, fourth and fifth. Listeners discussing the change describe Shaw as acting it more, which places Manville at the more restrained end of the range.
Should I read or listen to The Thursday Murder Club?
Read it on our checks (57% confidence, close call). Several viewpoints read by one narrator are easier with the chapter headings that name them; the award-winning narration is the case for audio.
Do you have to read the books in order?
There are five: The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed, The Last Devil to Die and The Impossible Fortune. This is the first. If you intend to continue, note that the narrator changes after the second.
Do you agree with this verdict?
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: the narrator credit, the four published run times for the same recording, the publisher's own extract for the chapter headings, and the published chapter structure.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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