Richard Osman: Biography
Richard Osman was born on November 28th, 1970 and is currently 55 years old. Richard Osman was born in Billericay, Essex, England.
Richard Osman is known for writing in the Mystery and Cozy Mystery genres.
Richard Osman is the author of the Thursday Murder Club series which currently consists of 5 novels. The Thursday Murder Club series started in 2020 with the novel The Thursday Murder Club. The most recently released novel in the Thursday Murder Club series was The Impossible Fortune which was released in 2025. There are no upcoming novels for the Thursday Murder Club series.
Richard Osman has also written the We Solve Murders series which has 2 books including We Solve Murders and We Chase Shadows.
Prior to becoming an author, Richard Osman was well-known as a TV presenter. He hosted numerous shows such as
Two Tribes and
Richard Osman's House of Games. Richard also worked as a TV producer for the likes of
10 O'Clock Live and
8 Out of 10 Cats. In the 2010s, Richard was the co-presenter of
Pointless alongside Alexander Armstrong on BBC One, and also was the guest host for
Have I Got News For You. He also attended Trinity College in Cambridge, where he studied politics and sociology.
Richard has also hosted a podcast with Marina Hyde titled "The Rest is Entertainment".
Richard Osman's brother,
Mat Osman, is a founding member of the band 'Suede', playing the bass guitar and is also a published author.
In an interview with
Bookpage, Richard said he has always been addicted to reading crime fiction, citing authors such as
Agatha Christie,
Patricia Highsmith, and
Shari Lapena. In the same interview, Richard talked about how his work as a TV host influenced his writing. In television you need to grab peoples attention immediately, and he adapted that philosophy to writing - grabbing their attention and then entertaining them.
Richard Osman won the 2022 Dead Good Reader Award in The New Kid on the Block Award for Best New Series category for the Thursday Murder Club series. The series takes place in a retirement village, featuring four people in their 70s who become unlikely friends, and create a club to solve murders. The book series and its popularity were the reasons that Richard left his co-hosting job at
Pointless. The books are strongly character-driven, with great care put into the writing of each character. In interviews, Richard has said that he can identify with different characters at different times, although the two he resonates the most with are Joyce, due to her using her British kindness to get her own way, and Ibrahim, as Richard also loves statistics and lists.
Richard's motivation for
The Thursday Murder Club stemmed from visiting a retirement community and the friendships and mischievous nature he noticed between the residents.
Richard Osman: Awards & Accolades
Richard Osman won the British Book Awards, Author of the Year, in 2021.
Osman's books have also won multiple awards, The Thursday Murder Club won the Nielsen Awards, Platinum Bestseller, in 2021 as well as the CrimeFest - Sounds of Crime Award in 2021. The Man Who Died Twice won the CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award, in 2022. We Solve Murders won the Libby Book Awards, Best Mystery, in 2025.
The following novels by Richard Osman were also nominated for these awards:
- The Thursday Murder Club: Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel (2021). Macavity Award, Best First Mystery (2021). Lefty Award, Best Debut Mystery Novel (2021). International Thriller Writers Award, Best Hardcover Novel (2021). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2021). Barry Award, Best First Novel (2021). British Book Awards, Audiobook of the Year (2021). CrimeFest, Last Laugh Award (2021). CrimeFest, Crime Fiction Debut Award (2021). Anthony Award, Best First Mystery (2021).
- The Man Who Died Twice: British Book Awards, Fiction Audiobook of the Year (2022). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2022).
- The Bullet That Missed: Goodreads Awards, Best Mystery and Thriller (2022). Anthony Award, Best Hardcover Novel (2023). British Book Awards, Fiction Audiobook of the Year (2023). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2023).
- The Last Devil to Die: Goodreads Awards, Best Mystery and Thriller (2023). Anthony Award, Best Mystery Novel (2024). Libby Book Awards, Best Mystery (2024). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2024).
- We Solve Murders: Goodreads Awards, Best Mystery and Thriller (2024). Lefty Award, Best Humorous Mystery Novel (2025). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2025).
- The Impossible Fortune: Goodreads Awards, Best Mystery and Thriller (2025). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2026).
Richard Osman's House of Games was also nominated for best Daytime Programme in the 2022 Royal Television Society awards, and his production team were nominated for best Daytime award in the BAFTA Awards.
Richard Osman: Lists & Other Mentions
- We Solve Murders was the Reader's Digest Book Club October 2024 Pick.
- The Thursday Murder Club was the PBS Book Readers Club October 2025 Selection and a BBC Radio 2 Book Club September 2020 Pick.
- The Last Devil to Die was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2023.
- The Impossible Fortune was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2025.
- The Thursday Murder Club was a Dead Good Books: 100 Best Crime Books Of All Time Selection in 2020 and a Wall Street Journal: The 25 Best Mystery Novels of the Past 25 Years Selection in 2025.
- The Man Who Died Twice was a The Sunday Times: The Top 100 Bestsellers Selection in 2024.
Richard Osman: TV/Movies Based on Books
While there are no adaptations at this time, Steven Spielberg acquired the film rights to The Thursday Murder Club, and it started filming in June 2024. It stars Helen Mirren as Elizabeth, Pierce Brosnan as Ron, Sir Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim and Celia Imrie as Joyce.
Related Authors
Fans of Richard Osman also enjoy these authors:
- M.C. Beaton, author of the Agatha Raisin Series.
- Alan Bradley, author of the Flavia de Luce Series.
- Kate Carlisle, author of the Bibliophile Mystery Series.
- Ellie Alexander, author of the Bakeshop Mysteries Series.
- Peter Lovesey, author of the Peter Diamond Series.
- Faith Martin, author of the DI Hillary Greene Series.
- Eva Gates, author of the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series.
- Diane Mott Davidson, author of the Goldy Schulz Series.
- Victoria Gilbert, author of the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries Series.
- Simon Brett, author of the Fethering Mystery Series.
Richard Osman: F.A.Q
When was Richard Osman Born? How old is Richard Osman?
Richard Osman was born on November 28th, 1970. Richard Osman is currently 55 years old.
Where was Richard Osman Born?
Richard Osman was born in Billericay, Essex, England and is English.
What awards has Richard Osman won?
Richard Osman has won the following awards: Author of the Year at the British Book Awards (2021).
What book awards has Richard Osman won?
What was the first book Richard Osman wrote?
The first book written by Richard Osman was The 100 Most Pointless Things in the World, published in 2013.
What was the most recent book Richard Osman wrote?
His most recently released work was The Impossible Fortune on September 30th, 2025.
What is the most popular book by Richard Osman?
Based on the number of readers on Book Notification, the most popular Richard Osman book is
The Thursday Murder Club. Here are his most popular books:
- The Thursday Murder Club (8.18)
- The Man Who Died Twice (8.79)
- The Bullet That Missed (8.87)
- The Last Devil to Die (8.86)
- We Solve Murders (8.52)
What genres does Richard Osman Write?
Richard Osman primarily writes in the Cozy Mystery and Mystery genres. His work includes sub-genres such as Amateur Sleuth, Small Town, and British Crime Fiction.
Are there upcoming new books by Richard Osman?
Richard Osman has a new book coming out on September 15th, 2026 called
We Chase Shadows.
Click and we will keep you updated on this via e-mail, and about any new books Richard Osman announces in the future.
How many books has Richard Osman written?
Richard Osman has written 14 books. 5 books in the Thursday Murder Club Series, 2 books in the We Solve Murders Series, 3 Non-Fiction Books, 5 books in the BBC's Pointless Series.
Is the book The Thursday Murder Club being adapted to movie or TV?
Yes it is. Filming began in June 2024, with a likely 2025 release date. It's being reported that it will have a cinema release date, and then later be released streaming on Netflix.
How tall is Richard Osman?
In what order should I read the "Thursday Murder Club" books by Richard Osman?
It's highly recommended to read them in order. While each mystery within the books generally standalone, you would miss out on the relationships and relationship building of the core characters. There is also key character traits which follow on from previous books.
What condition does Richard Osman have?
It is called "nystagmus", which means he has reduced vision in his eyes. When working on TV, he has to learn and memorize his scripts due to issues with reading the autocue.
What inspired Richard Osman to write the "Thursday Murder Club" series?
Richard was always a lover of crime fiction, and a visit to a retirement village is what inspired him to write "The Thursday Murder Club" series, after seeing the residents in action. In an interview with ABC News in Australia, he also mentioned that he was essentially filling a void, as he was looking for a specific type of book and couldn't see it, and the article stated that it's a push back against the idea that people in their 70s are "harmless and peripheral to the action".