The Man Who Died Twice: (The Thursday Murder Club 2)

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I am not going to waste any more time talking about this book, other than to say 'Read it!' This is the book we all need.

We meet Douglas, the old flame, along with his partner Poppy. Ibrahim has a scary run in outside of Cooper's Chase that makes him reevaluate everything. Donna and Chris are actively trying to nab a local drug lord. Compared to the first one, the pace was faster and there was more happening. The first 30% kept me interested as there were gradual reveals. It's clear that in just two books, this series has become a favorite of mine. I can't wait for the next installment!Thanks to my local library and the Libby app for both the Kindle copy and audiobook, which I enjoyed together. Joyce continued to share her HUMOROUS observations with us in her journal, and I really enjoyed seeing Elizabeth SHINE as she puts her MI5 skills to use to solve this case in real time, with new “partner in crime” Joyce! I had the pleasure of listening to the Audible narrated by the VERY talented and engaging Lesley Manville and I do hope she will be continuing her work with book three in the series, “The Bullet That Missed” which has an expected publication date of September 20, 2022.

I fell in love with the characters, the retirement community setting and the compelling mystery that played out.It’s the following Thursday in Cooper’s Chase and the Thursday Murder Cub has gathered over lunch to discuss a new cold case that they are considering and to catch up with one another on the things that have kept them busy since they closed their last case. A brutal mugging, an unexpected visitor from the past, stolen diamonds, mafia-types, a lady drug-dealer/crime boss, and a trigger-happy killer! The bodies keep dropping and the culprits keep disappearing without a trace... Fun and ingenious … Osman blends humor and pathos while weaving his tangled web of intrigue and deception. This is the perfect book with which to unwind.” The pre-booked (no pun intended) franchising of book serials produces too many weak series and/or series that get progressively worse each book, the flipside when a series is written well, it becomes bigger than the sum of its parts, welcome to the Thursday Murder Club mystery series :) Club member, Elizabeth's past comes to her retirement complex as drug dealing, mugging (singular), theft, murders (plural) and more shake up (or is that stimulate) the lives of the four elderly Club members, their local police allies and everyone's favourite builder Bogdan, when her former employers Military Intelligence (and her former husband!) come to town!

It’s taken a mere two books for Richard Osman to vault into the upper leagues of crime writers . . . The Man Who Died Twice . . . dives right into joyous fun." Many thanks to Penguin General UK via NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review. The plot and pace of this marvellously mad caper is much faster than the first one, there’s more danger and a higher body count. However, what shines through all the nefarious deeds, twists and turns is the love, friendship and respect for this group of smart pensioners. Just because they are in the upper age profile nobody messes with them and gets away with it, they take no prisoners, they are full of vim, vigour, brains and a barrel load of flair and ingenuity. Their all for one and one for all mentality shines through all they do which is heartwarming. Have I mentioned the laughs? There’s plenty of those especially in Joyce’s journal. She’s what my mum would have called ‘a card’ , ‘a darned good tonic’ and ‘a good egg’. It’s so entertaining Joyce has me laughing out loud! The whole escapade is written in such a lively entertaining and engaging way that it’s hard to put down once you start. I love Richard Osman’s wry and clever sense of humour which I’m glad to say crops up with frequency. It’s always a little intimidating reading a sequel to a popular book, because there’s always the danger it will lose some of its shine or run dry on some of the ideas that made its predecessor so successful. I needn’t have worried. Personally, I think this one is even BETTER, and here’s why: I love all these people and they are all so funny. Being in their heads is a pleasure and kept me laughing. There's Chris, dating Donna's mom...ew, although she really is delighted and actually set them up. Elizabeth's heartstrings are being pulled by her ex, naïve Joyce is a hoot, Ron lets his heart show as he strongarms his way through whatever needs to be done, and battered and devastated Ibrahim is the best friend a little kid can have.Joyce is considering getting a rescue dog, and Ron is offering advice. The dog’s name is Alan, (who calls a dog, Alan?) but she won’t be pressured into keeping that name despite being told that dogs do NOT adjust well to suddenly being called something new! In fact, I think all mystery lovers should do themselves a favor and give this series a try, because if you don’t, you are really missing out on something special!