Richard Osman nods to film-adaptation backlash as fifth Thursday Murder Club novel debuts to praise

Richard Osman used his newsletter to celebrate the publication of Impossible Fortune, the fifth installment in his Thursday Murder Club series, while underscoring a simmering feud around the franchise’s film adaptation. The message, sent to readers on pub day for the book, also carried a wink toward fans who bristled at the Netflix movie’s shifts from the source material. Observers described the tone as a tactful nod to a difficult fan moment as Osman’s long-running cosy-crime universe moves into a new chapter.

Impossible Fortune places Osman’s amateur sleuths—Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron—back at the center of a case that intertwines high-tech intrigue and personal stakes. The plot weaves in a Bitcoin mystery, a high-security storage facility, and a wedding that promises both celebration and danger. As in the novels, supporting characters including Donna De Freitas, the police officer, and Bogdan the handyman appear in ways that hard-wire the series’ balance of wit, warmth, and detection. But the book’s success has come alongside sharpened attention to how the film adaptation departed from the pages, especially around Bogdan’s arc, and how the cinematic version altered key moments that fans say are central to the character’s development.

Public reception to the book portion has been buoyant, with critics noting a new dawn for the franchise even as readers continue to compare the printed novels with the Netflix adaptation that sparked fan outrage earlier this year. The Telegraph’s Jake Kerr praised Osman’s fifth installment as a timely respite for readers who felt let down by the movie, saying the novel “has an equally vital function: to cheer up those of us who have just sat through the clodhopping Netflix adaptation.” Kerr credited the pages with the warmth and energy that have defined the series, even as he acknowledged the film’s missteps.

Moira Redmond, writing for the i, lauded the book’s sharpness and noted that the original material remains formidable when presented in print. Redmond argued that the source material’s cleverness rekindles the appeal of the quartet and their interplay, especially as the narrative threads through modern anxieties such as cryptocurrency and data security.

The Guardian’s Laura Wilson offered a broader reassessment, describing the fifth novel as a solid puzzle with a satisfying central mystery. Wilson highlighted the quartet’s evolving dynamics and Elizabeth’s leadership as central to the book’s charm, while noting that the true pleasure lies in the characters’ enduring friendships and gentle humor as they navigate a case involving codes, criminals, and corporate intrigue.

Radio Times reviewer Helen Daly echoed the sentiment that Osman uses the cosy crime frame to explore loneliness and independence, with Ron’s personal growth standing out as especially affecting. Daly wrote that the book could have benefited from lingering longer on these themes, but still found the execution moving and entertaining within the familiar framework.

The online fan conversation surrounding Bogdan’s portrayal in the film has not cooled. Reddit threads and social-media chatter focused on the character’s altered fate, with many readers and viewers expressing displeasure that Bogdan’s confession to a crime occurred under circumstances not aligned with the books. Critics of the adaptation argued that the changes undermined Bogdan’s arc and raised questions about whether future installments could maintain continuity faithful to Osman’s prose. Some commenters suggested that the film’s shifts were a consequence of trying to compress a 600-page novel into a two-hour feature, while others contended the adjustments erode one of the series’ most beloved dynamics—Bogdan’s bond with Elizabeth and his role within the retirees’ circle.

The movie itself, directed by Chris Columbus, premiered on Netflix on August 26 and follows the four senior sleuths as they investigate a murder at Coopers Chase, a retirement community. The cast features Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie and Sir Ben Kingsley, with Henry Lloyd-Hughes portraying Bogdan in a storyline that diverges markedly from Osman’s written version. Fans who prioritized fidelity to the books expressed disappointment at the altered motivations, the shifted relationship lines, and the sense that the film shortchanged Bogdan’s complexity. Several viewers also worried about how the changes could affect potential sequels, should the franchise continue on screen.

Despite the controversy surrounding the film, Impossible Fortune has buoyed Osman’s standing among readers and critics who view the books as the franchise’s beating heart. The author’s newsletter note about the “gang” being back—paired with a light jab about the difference between “pub day” in publishing and television’s perpetual cycle—reads as a carefully calibrated nod to the ongoing dialogue between fans of the novels and viewers of the screen adaptations. As the books press forward, readers can expect Osman to continue refining the balance between clever plotting and character-driven warmth, while audiences weigh the merits of cinematic reinterpretation against the strength of print—and perhaps await the next chapter where Bogdan’s fate, in whatever form, continues to spark discussion about fidelity, adaptation, and what fans value most in a beloved series.