The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman

A murder mystery set in a retirement home.

This book was perfectly fine, but I didn't think it was especially special. But it has sold millions of copies, and keeps getting (carefully worded) acolades like "fastest-selling hardback by a British author since records began."

And I just can't figure out how to relate to a world like this. Does this book have some deeper merit for millions of people that just isn't obvious to me? Or is success at this scale a matter of luck and self-fulfilling prophecies? (Are there other options? I'm not sure if there's other options). I like to imagine that this would also be frustrating if you did succeed, and felt like it was just randomness and path-dependency that got you there, but maybe it doesn't.