Essay Questions

What does the title of the novel refer to?

The title of the novel contains the name of the club the main protagonists created to solve murder mysteries and old, forgotten cases. All the members are retired elderly who find joy in uncovering the hidden past and finding clues to resolve crimes as a part of their day. It has Thursday in its name because it is the only day the room was available for them to meet at the retirement center. The founder of the club is revealed to be Penny, who is currently in coma due to her illness. The main one who carries the club’s most important duties is Elizabeth, who, as it is implied in the novel, was a secret agent.

What is the meaning of the cemetery in the novel?

The cemetery plays an important role, both religious and historical, in the novel. The cemetery is the final resting place of the nuns who ran the monastery before it shut down. Ian Ventham wants to destroy it, which causes an uproar among the villagers, one of whom ends up murdering him. The cemetery is not only significant for its historical value, but it also contains a significant clue which reveals the truth behind a turbulent past that influenced the present murderous events.

What does the end say about the morality in relation to murder?

Despite all the murders being uncovered at the end, none of them gets arrested or pays the price. Penny, who murdered the man whose body was uncovered at the cemetery, and her husband, who killed Ian Ventham to protect her secret, aren’t punished by law, but by one spouse’s decision. Bogdan is revealed to be the killer of Tony Curran and his accomplice after he reveals it to Elizabeth’s husband, but his secret remains hidden, and he continues his peaceful life at the village. All the murders are either done for revenge, to punish the victims for their gruesome actions, or related to that, but the ending still raises a moral question of murder and punishment (or lack thereof) for it, a question of whether murder is justified in some cases.