The Bullet That Missed: (The Thursday Murder Club 3)

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Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club are concerned. A decade-old cold case leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.

This line is not in the book but it could’ve been: “How about a cuppa as you wrench my fingernails out with pliers, there’s a good chap”. As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home.Richard Osman’s quaint and quirky quartet of seniors have become so real and endearing that they are practically national treasures whilst their antics, adventures and joie de vivre promote positivity in ageing. Agatha Christie did it but it was always the one eccentric character amongst a cast of nefarious straight stereotypes. But every one of Osman’s huge cast of characters are dotty cuppa-lovers, including the ex-head of the Leningrad KGB no less, a mafia boss, a hardened convicted but inexplicably soul-searching murderess, a multi-billionaire and world’s greatest money launderer/nincompoop, and a supposedly ruthless ex-MI5 agent who shows no signs of jadedness or cynicism lest it distract from her crosswords. Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club are concerned. A decade-old cold case—their favorite kind—leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers. Consequently there’s no tension and it requires from the reader a willingness to overlook these inconsistencies for the sake of the laughs. And the laughs were there. Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club is concerned. A decade-old cold case leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.

Opening the new Osman is like sitting down to dinner with treasured friends you know are going to kill you - deliciously!' PETER JAMES

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A local news legend is on the hunt for an exciting new headline and our Thursday Murder Club favourites are soon on the trail of two murders that occurred ten years apart. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is presented with a deadly mission: kill or be killed and while she grapples with this latest dilemma, her conscience and a gun - the gang and their new friends unravel a new mystery. There are lots of new characters who are as entertaining and believable as the familiar supporting cast whose circumstances and relationships continue to evolve in touching, amusing and beguiling ways. Richard Osman (Author, Narrator), Fiona Shaw (Narrator), Steph McGovern (Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher) & In the third Thursday Murder Club book a decade old murder cold case with no body has caught the attention of our favorite retirees. If that’s not enough excitement, Elizabeth is being tasked with murdering a man or else Joyce’s life will be on the line. The crew will lead us to a slew of interesting locations and individuals as they attempt to solve the case.

The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our I think motive is the problem. With Get Smart the motive was to spoof. With Colombo it was also just one eccentric detective and the motive was whodunit. With Only Murders In The Building the script rightly contained it to the building. Le Carre did the “there’s a good chap” bit but his motive was to emphasise by juxtaposition the murky evils being papered over by cynical world-weary propriety. A new mystery is afoot in the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series from million-copy bestselling author Richard Osman. We know by now that outwitting international drug-dealers would be child’s play to the Club’s omnicompetent leader, retired spy Elizabeth, but she has more pressing concerns. In previous books, her husband Stephen had been able to play some part in the adventures despite being in the early stages of dementia, but he has now reached the stage of being only intermittently able to ­recognise her. This storyline marks the series’s transition from quietly poignant to deeply moving, with Osman giving us some of his best writing yet as Elizabeth’s ­situation prompts the other Club members to reflect on their own griefs and lost loves, with one ­character disclosing some sad secrets. Naturally, however, Osman doesn’t miss an opportunity for comedy, and with Elizabeth ­occupied elsewhere, the mild-mannered Joyce – surely Osman’s finest creation – makes an effort to channel Elizabeth’s acerbity and imperturbability as she and her pals hunt Kuldesh’s killer.

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Those of us who write comic crime are often asked to explain the appeal. We can’t. It all boils down to your attitude to entertainment. If you are happy to let other pens dwell on guilt and misery, you can relax and enjoy this novel, which is superbly entertaining. And of course it’s never just about the laughs. The comedy in The Man Who Died Twice allows for all its characters to be alert to sobering realities: of time running out; of losing loved ones to death or dementia; of feeling physically unsafe in the modern world; of grown-up children finding you stupid and tiresome. It’s this self-awareness that grounds Osman’s characters, and makes us look forward to seeing them again. I would only add on a personal note that it’s a particular challenge to read this book while attempting a sugar-free diet. I managed to steel myself to all the Twixes, but the throwaway reference to chocolate fingers on p284 nearly broke me.