Yep!
Actually, it’s more likely to be the other way around in our house…
Thanks to Grumps, as always, for the funnies.
Friday funnies . . .
Category: Humour
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
EXCERPT: A question had been nagging at Donna throughout lunch. ‘So, if you don’t mind me asking, I know you all live at Coopers Chase, but how did the four of you become friends?’
‘Friends?’ Elizabeth seems amused. ‘Oh, we’re not friends, dear.’
Ron is chuckling. ‘Christ, love, no, we’re not friends. Do you need a top-up, Liz?’
Elizabeth nods and Ron pours. They are on a second bottle. It is 12:15.
Ibrahim agrees. ‘I don’t think friends is the word. We wouldn’t choose to socialize, we have very different interests. I like Ron, I suppose, but he can be very difficult.’
Ron nods, ‘I’m very difficult.’
‘And Elizabeth’s manner is off-putting.’
Elizabeth nods. ‘There it is, I’m afraid. I’ve always been an acquired taste. Since school.’
‘I like Joyce, I suppose. I think we all like Joyce,’ says Ibrahim.
Ron and Elizabeth nod their agreement again.
‘Thank you, I’m sure,’ says Joyce, chasing peas around her plate. ‘Don’t you think someone should invent flat peas?’
Donna tries to clear up her confusion.
‘So if you aren’t friends, then what are you?’
Donna looks up and sees Joyce shake her head at the others, this unlikely gang. ‘Well,’ says Joyce. ‘Firstly, we are friends, of course; this lot are just a little slow catching on. And secondly, if it didn’t say on your invitation, PC De Freitas, then it was my oversight. We’re the Thursday Murder Club.’
Elizabeth is going glassy-eyed with red wine, Ron is scratching at a ‘West Ham’ tattoo on his neck, and Ibrahim is polishing an already polished cufflink.
The restaurant is filling up around them, and Donna is not the first visitor to Coopers Chase to think this wouldn’t be the worst place to live. She would kill for a glass of wine and an afternoon off.
ABOUT ‘THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB’: Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to…
The Thursday Murder Club
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?
MY THOUGHTS: How do I describe The Thursday Murder Club? It is humorous, without being silly. It is charming. It is entertaining. No, more than entertaining. It’s fun. And the characters are fascinating.
Elizabeth has a mysterious past. She has travelled widely and has an extensive network of contacts in surprising places.
Ibrahim is a retired psychiatrist, and is quite meticulous and thorough.
Ron was an infamous union leader, with a renowned boxer for a son who also makes an appearance in this story.
Joyce is a retired nurse, quiet and easily overlooked, but also a quick thinker.
PC Donna De Freitas is lured to Coopers Chase retirement village under false pretences, and soon finds herself involved with the Thursday Murder Club, who have been trying to solve an old case of Penny’s, an ex-detective now in a coma in the hospital wing. But when a murder happens in the village, the Thursday Murder Club turn their attention to solving that, believing that they have resources that the police don’t.
Coopers Chase is a vibrant village. Forget any preconceived notions you may have about retirement villages and their occupants. This one is full of fun and gossip, a real community.
There are multiple deaths and murders to be solved spanning a number of years, from when the original premises was a convent through to the present day. I gave up trying to solve any of them, and just went along for the ride. There are multiple twists and surprises, along with many poignant moments. The Thursday Murder Club is both an entertaining and touching read.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this read and am so very pleased to hear that there is going to be another, The Man Who Died Twice, to be published September 2021.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.7
#TheThursdayMurderClub #misterosman #vikingbooksuk
@richardosman @VikingBooksUK
#fivestarread #crime #contemporaryfiction #humour #murdermystery
THE AUTHOR: Richard Osman is an English television presenter, producer, director and novelist.
DISCLOSURE: I read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, published by Viking Books UK, for a Goodreads.com ‘All About Books’ group read. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads.com
Friday funnies….
I could use a laugh today, so come laugh along with me.
What a cutie!
And this is one for all of us who get earworms!
Happy Friday!
Friday Funnies . . .
It’s a beautiful night. The cicadas are doing their thing, the lights of town are twinkling in the valley below, and the stars sparkling in the sky above.
I am ready for my bed, and will leave you with a few laughs…
And a little wishful thinking….
(I have a problem….)
Good night all, I hope you have had an awesome Friday. ❤📚
Friday funnies . . .
Yes, it’s Friday here in New Zealand, and there’s good news and there’s bad. Our Covid levels have dropped 1, so while Auckland is at Level 2 (operating with restrictions) the remainder of New Zealand is Level One, operating with caution, contact tracing etc. The new normal.
The bad news is there’s currently a tsunami warning out for the coastal areas of the middle to upper north Island. Large areas have been evacuated following a m. 8.1 earthquake in the Kermadec Islands. It’s been downgraded but is still in force for the east coast. The Kermadec quake followed a smaller cluster off the East Cape earlier in the morning.
Now, let’s have something to cheer us up…
Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Stay safe, stay calm, read a book!
They’re a little late, but here’s The Friday Funnies!
Have a happy day!🤣😂
For the little grey cells . . .
FOR THOSE WHO ARE BORED WITH THE CURRENT RESTRICTIONS
Something for seniors to do to keep those “ageing” grey cells active! And for you younger ones, to get them growing!!
1. Johnny’s mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child’s name?
2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall and he wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?
3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?
4. How much dirt is there in a hole… that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?
5. What word in the English Language… is always spelled incorrectly?
6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the summer. How is this possible?
7. In California, you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?
8. What was the Prime Minister’s Name…in 1975?
9. If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?
10. Which is correct to say, “The yolk of the egg are white” or “The yolk of the egg is white”?
11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?
Here are the Answers: (No peeking!)
1. Johnny’s mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child’s name?
Answer: Johnny, of course.
2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall, and he wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?
Answer: Meat.
3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?
Answer: Mt. Everest; it just wasn’t discovered yet. [You’re not very good at this are you?]
4. How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?
Answer: There is no dirt in a hole.
5. What word in the English Language is always spelled incorrectly?
Answer: Incorrectly
6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the summer. How is this possible?
Answer: Billy lives in the Southern Hemisphere.
7. In California, you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?
Answer: You can’t take pictures with a wooden leg. You need a camera to take pictures.
8. What was the Prime Minister’s Name in 1975?
Answer: Same as is it now – Boris Johnson [Oh, come on …]
9. If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?
Answer: You would be in 2nd. Well, you passed the person in second place, not first.
10. Which is correct to say, “The yolk of the egg are white” or “The yolk of the egg is white”?
Answer: Neither, the yolk of the egg is yellow [Duh]
11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?
Answer: One. If he combines all of his haystacks, they all become one big one.
IMPOSSIBILITIES IN THE WORLD
1) You can’t count your hair.
2) You can’t wash your eyes with soap.
3) You can’t breathe through your nose when your tongue is out.
Put your tongue back in your mouth, you silly person.
Ten (10) Things I know about you.
1) You are reading this.
2) You are human.
3) You can’t say the letter ”P” without separating your lips.
4) You just attempted to do it.
6) You are laughing at yourself.
7) You have a smile on your face and you skipped No. 5.
8) You just checked to see if there is a No. 5.
9) You laugh at this because you are a fun loving person & everyone does it too.
10) You are probably going to send this to see who else falls for it.
I posted this because I didn’t want to be alone in the idiot category.
TO ALL MY INTELLIGENT FRIENDS
Keep that brain working; try to figure this one out….
See if you can figure out what these seven words all have in common?
1. Banana
2. Dresser
3. Grammar
4. Potato
5. Revive
6. Uneven
7. Assess
Give it another try….
Look at each word carefully. You’ll kick yourself when you discover the Answer. This is so cool….
NOW DON’T LET ME DOWN
No, it is not that they all have at least 2 double letters….
Answer is below!
Answer:
In all of the words listed, if you take the first letter, place it at the end of the word, and then spell the word backwards, it will be the same word.
Did you figure it out?
No? Then share this with more people and stump them as well.
Then, you’ll feel better too…..!
Hadley and Grace by Susanne Redfearn
EXCERPT: Five minutes later, they are on their way. (Hadley) glances at Mattie beside her and Skipper behind her, unable to believe it, stunned that it is happening. For fifteen years, she’s been searching for a way out, and now, just like that, she is doing it, driving away with the kids. Her heart pounds with adrenaline and a small sense of pride.
‘We’re not going back?’ Mattie says, startling Hadley from her thoughts.
‘You packed your mom’s apron,’ she says to Hadley’s surprised expression.
Hadley swallows hard, wondering if her last minute decision to shove the keepsake in her bag will tip Frank off as well. The apron is hand embroidered with daisies and stained in a dozen places; her mother wore it almost every day of Hadley’s childhood, and it is one of the few things of her mom’s she has left.
‘Don’t worry,’ Mattie says, reading Hadley’s fear. ‘Dad never goes in the kitchen drawers.’ And all the pride Hadley felt the moment before deflates, knowing how much she has failed her daughter all these years.
ABOUT ‘HADLEY AND GRACE’: Needing to escape her abusive marriage, Hadley flees with her two kids, knowing it might be her only chance. A woman who can’t even kill a spider, Hadley soon finds herself pushed to the limits as she fights to protect her family.
Grace, new mother of baby Miles, desperately wants to put her rough past behind her for good, but she finds it impossible when her path crosses with Hadley’s, and her quest for a new start quickly spirals out of control and turns into a terrifying flight for survival.
Stronger together than apart, the two find their fates inextricably entwined, and as the danger closes in, each must decide how much she is willing to risk for the other.
MY THOUGHTS: I started off by not liking this story or its characters very much: A shallow, beautiful, abused wife and her husband’s secretary, a single mum with a criminal record who has left her compulsive gambler husband. What’s to like? As it turns out, there’s a lot to like about this book. Once Hadley and Grace have robbed Frank and are on the run, we get the real measure of these two women and the children they have in tow.
From a fairly average start, Hadley and Grace explodes into an implausible but thoroughly entertaining romp involving the FBI, a kidnapping or two, occasional gunfire and several car chases. This is a read that will have you holding your breath one minute, then bursting into laughter the next, and reinforces my theory that the best friends are found in the oddest of places.
Hadley and Grace has been compared to Thelma and Louise, but I enjoyed this a whole lot more. A fun read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.4
#HadleyandGrace #NetGalley
#crime #thriller #humour #contemporaryfiction #familydrama
‘Today is not forever. It’s just today.’
‘You brought your baby to a robbery?’
‘You wore stilettos to a robbery?’ (Abridged)
‘The first three letters in diet are a warning.’
THE AUTHOR: Suzanne Redfearn is the award-winning author of four novels: Hush Little Baby, No Ordinary Life, In an Instant, and Hadley & Grace. In addition to being an author, she’s also an architect specializing in residential and commercial design. She lives in Laguna Beach, California, where she and her husband own two restaurants.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Hadley and Grace for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
Friday Funnies . . .
I hope these brighten your day a little, perhaps bring a smile to your face. Happy Friday everyone!
Driving, a lost skill –
Have a wonderful weekend and, if you’re on the road, drive safely.
And thanks again to Grumps for sending me stuff to keep me sort of sane during the working week. It seems that he has too much time on his hands and I don’t have enough…🤣😂
Friday Funnies….
Thanks to my Aussie friend Grumps again for supplying the Friday Funnies. They were just what I needed to read when I got home from work all tense and stressed!
Have a laugh on me, and a very happy Friday!
Very Clever
Funny But True
Seems Like They’ve Had Some Bad Customers
Doctors Be Like
This Synagogue Sign In Toronto
You’re Obsessing About This!
We All Know That One Guy
Target
Sign In India
Noah
No Trespassing
The Good News Is We Do Accept Debit Cards
Heard
#39
Wonder How Many Times Someone Knocked Before The Sign Was Made
That’s A Big Muffin
Strip Clubs Quarantined Sign
Well…
What’s your favourite? I love both the Algebra one (I was never any good at algebra, or geometry….letters are for reading, and numbers for counting!) and the wet floor sign.
I hope that I have brightened up your day. ❤📚
