Shelfology Book Pairing

The first novel in the multi-million copy bestselling murder mystery series

by Richard Osman

THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE RECORD-BREAKING, MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING THURSDAY MURDER CLUB SERIES. ---------- 'Smart, compassionate, warm, moving and so VERY funny' Marian Keyes 'So smart and funny. Deplorably good' Ian Rankin 'Thrilling, moving, laugh-out-loud funny' Mark Billingham In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late? The Times Crime Book of the Month Guardian Best Crime and Thrillers ---------- 'A warm, wise and witty warning never to underestimate the elderly' Val McDermid 'I completely fell in love with it' Shari Lapena 'This is properly brilliant. The pages fly and I can't stop smiling' Steve Cavanagh 'Steeped in Agatha Christie joy' Araminta Hall 'Pure escapism' Guardian 'As gripping as it is funny' Evening Standard 'An exciting new talent in crime fiction' Daily Mail 'A witty and poignant tale' Daily Telegraph 'Funny and original' Sun Richard Osman, Sunday Times bestseller, March 2024 The Bullet that Missed broke the record for the fastest-selling adult fiction hardback ever, September 2022

A Novel

by Haruki Murakami

The long-awaited magnum opus from Haruki Murakami, in which this revered and bestselling author gives us his hypnotically addictive, mind-bending ode to George Orwell's 1984. The year is 1984. Aomame is riding in a taxi on the expressway, in a hurry to carry out an assignment. Her work is not the kind that can be discussed in public. When they get tied up in traffic, the taxi driver suggests a bizarre 'proposal' to her. Having no other choice she agrees, but as a result of her actions she starts to feel as though she is gradually becoming detached from the real world. She has been on a top secret mission, and her next job leads her to encounter the superhuman founder of a religious cult. Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange disturbance that develops over a literary prize. While Aomame and Tengo impact on each other in various ways, at times by accident and at times intentionally, they come closer and closer to meeting. Eventually the two of them notice that they are indispensable to each other. Is it possible for them to ever meet in the real world?