All fluff and no substance? The ‘problem’ of care in popular narratives, the cozy mystery and Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club

Abstract

Age studies scholarship has increasingly interrogated the intersection of care for older adults and neoliberal market ideologies. This study explores how popular culture, specifically the cozy mystery genre, negotiates the language and optics of care for older adults in terms of costs and accessibility. Taken as a whole, the stories with ageing detectives offer invigorating alternatives to the traditional decline narratives by sustaining the protagonists as older detectives who still keep their autonomy, independence, and more important productivity by solving cases. While such representations offer exhilarating alternatives to ageist stereotypes, they also risk making older protagonists' value contingent on productivity and activity, while obscuring their potential care needs and the issue of access to care services from the reader. Through a close reading of Richard Osman's debut novel The Thursday Murder Club, this article explores the idealized depiction of later life care within the luxurious retirement village Coopers Chase. The analysis reveals that while the genre guarantees a sugar-coated and comfortable reading experience, it also allows for a reflection on how social changes impact the community, particularly regarding later life care. Ultimately, the article argues that the idealized depiction of the protagonists' later life care facilities exposes a key reality of care under the neoliberal ethos: enjoying quality of life and care in older age becomes a luxury, taken for granted only by those with the means to pay for it.