The second novel in the record-breaking number one bestselling Thursday Murder Club series from the biggest debut novelist in recent history
The second novel in the number one Sunday Times bestselling Thursday Murder Club series featuring the old (but far from past-it) team as they pursue a brand new mystery.
It's the following Thursday, and Elizabeth has just had a visit from a man she thought was dead. It's (one of) her ex-husbands, and he's being hunted. His story involves some diamonds, some spies, and a very angry mobster.
Elizabeth puts it down to his normal grandstanding, but then the bodies start piling up. So she enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for the killer. If they find the diamonds - well, that's just a bonus...
But this time the murderer isn't some small-time criminal, and it soon becomes terrifying clear that they wouldn't bat an eyelid at killing four septuagenarians. Can our team find the killer before the killer finds them?
A delightful and engrossing read
It was delightful to re-visit the world of Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron at the Coopers Chase retirement community, characters readers grew to know and love from Richard Osman's 2020 smash hit The Thursday Murder Club.
In this outing, the team of sept- and octogenarian crime fighters become embroiled with British Security Service MI5 after Elizabeth's former husband, who's still with the secret service, makes contact with her. A cache of valuable diamonds have gone missing from the nearby home of a shady middleman. Ibrahim is mugged while on a visit to town, the culprit escaping the scene. The team's friendly police contacts, DCI Chris Hudson and PC Donna De Freitas, are meanwhile on obbo, attempting to catch a nefarious female crime boss in the act. After three violent deaths, the three separate storylines gradually converge as the Thursday Murder Club use their combined skills, charm and wide range of contacts to shed light on who are the good guys, who are the bad, and who are a bit of both...
Building upon the solid foundation of The Thursday Murder Club, the characterisations of the central quartet are quirky and sympathetic. The supporting cast, both returning characters and new, are also well-developed and intriguing. The plot of The Man Who Died Twice is more complex and beguiling than that of its predecessor, and Richard Osman strikes a perfect balance between pathos, humour and intrigue.
While I believe reading The Man Who Died Twice as a standalone would prove an entertaining and rewarding experience, I would strongly recommend reading in series order, for the sake of character development in particular.
I'd highly recommend The Man Who Died Twice to any reader who enjoys character-driven mysteries with a nice dollop of humour. It's a delightful and engrossing read.
Sarah, 27/09/2021
