The Upside of Homicide
Murder is typically viewed entirely within negative terms. But in every single instance, there is somewhere a silver lining to be found. For cops on the go with a burning ambition, for instance:
“The sun is up, the skies are blue and murder is in the air.”
The Epicenter of Ambition
In this particular story, the silver lining is extended to a certain young female officer new in town and with ambition burning white heat. Things are much different here than where she transferred from and PC De Freitas is definitely not yet used to the slow pace:
“More than anything, she is supposed to be a reassuring presence in a terrifying world. Donna understands that, and it also gets her out of both the station and paperwork, so she volunteers. Fairhaven Police Station is sleepier than Donna is used to.”
Life in a Retirement Town
The Thursday Murder Club is comprised of several members of an upscale retirement community. Upscale means that they get to slowly die surrounded in more comfort, but nevertheless they all are still slowly dying:
“They sit in silence. Broken only by the quiet electronic beeps by Penny’s bedside. All that remained of her, like a lighthouse blinking far out to sea.”
The Effects of Aging
The novel posits the idea that one of the effects of aging is utter transformation of a person from what they used to be. Well, maybe not utter transformation, but nearly everybody undergoes some oppositional alteration from the person they were in their youth:
“But in her later years, Asima was not a religious woman either. She shook off her faith slowly, like the leaves from a tree, until nothing remained.”
On a Scale of Ten
Picture a couple of guys sitting around adding up the possibilities of which is a murderer and who is not. They arrange to situate the results on a scale of ten. One means almost utterly unlikely to have committed the crime. Ten means the person better start looking for a lawyer.
“Ibrahim shakes his head. ‘You get a seven. You are very combative, you are hot-headed, often irrational, you were there at the heart of the scuffle and you are insulin-dependent, so you know how to use a needle. That adds up.’”
