5★
“We’re getting the 2.30 bus into Brighton, and we’ll get out by the big M&S and walk into Hove. Elizabeth has said, ‘Strictly no shopping, Joyce,’ so we’re certainly on business of some sort.

What sort of business though? Diamonds? Murder? Perhaps a bit of both? That would be nice.”

Joyce’s diary. Her first-person observations are a chatty way to bring us up to speed with the activities of the Thursday Murder Club of whom readers have became so fond. The four elderly residents of the Coopers Chase Retirement Village are back!

This story opens with our favourite psychiatrist, Ibrahim, being knocked down by a cyclist who grabs his phone and makes off with it. For good measure, a couple of other hoodlums run past, laughing, pausing to kick him while he’s down. At nearly 80, Ibrahim suffers not only considerable injuries, but his confidence is badly shaken.

“Who bought stolen phones? Ibrahim had a Tetris app on his phone. There were 200 levels, and he was on level 127 after playing for a considerable amount of time. All of that progress was lost.”

Ron, on the other hand, is an old (similar age) union boss who’s used to diving in wherever he’s needed. If he’d been walking with Ibrahim, he’d have straightened out the hooligans on the spot, and they would have stayed straightened out.

Joyce, the diarist, is a former nurse, who seems a gentle, naïve soul, but there’s almost no blood and gore that she hasn’t seen before. That’s just as well, because our main character, Elizabeth Best, is a retired (I use the term loosely) spy who seems to be as active as ever. What is she capable of?

“Also, it is very easy to kill someone in a lift when the doors open. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and a ping to announce you’re about to appear. Not that she’s worried about being killed, it doesn’t feel to her like that’s what is happening here, but it’s always important to remember best practice. Elizabeth has never killed anyone in a lift.”

When Elizabeth’s ex-husband, who is still an MI5 operative, approaches her about money-laundering and a diamond theft, the Club becomes embroiled in a complex and deadly, but highly entertaining, adventure. Douglas has remarried but proclaims his undying love for Elizabeth. He’s a hard man to resist, but she knows better.

“That twinkle in his eye was undimmed. The twinkle that gave an entirely undeserved suggestion of wisdom and charm. The twinkle that could make you walk down the aisle with a man almost ten years your junior, and regret it within months. The twinkle you soon realize is actually the beam of a lighthouse, warning you off the rocks.”

He has a delightful young assistant called Poppy, and they are trying to fend off Martin Lomax, a middleman who’s laundering money for – well – almost anyone. After MI5 searched Lomax’s house, Lomax claimed his diamonds were missing, so he's threatening Douglas. Douglas appeals to Elizabeth to investigate and find the diamonds.

Lomax has his own problems. He lives on a glorious estate, where he invites the public to visit his gardens (NOT the house!) and where he has all manner of gold, gems, artwork, you-name-it, held as deposits for various drug dealers as they negotiate their swaps. He is careful to a fault, but the public needs to be wary of where they walk.

“There are grenades somewhere. For the life of him he can’t remember where they are buried, but he knows they are in a safe location, and he has written it down somewhere. Under the Venetian gazebo? On reflection, he can’t even remember whose grenades they were, or why he had agreed to bury them, but that comes with age.”

The likeable police officers from the first book, become caught up in this as well, even as they are searching for Ibrahim’s attackers and trying to bring down a local dealer. On the whole, this is an entertaining mystery for which you may need to suspend a bit of disbelief, but then I don’t really know what a “retired” MI5 operative and her “colleagues” are capable of.

I don't think any threads were left untied, and I'm pleased to say our four heroes are more or less intact to fight another day! They are clever, funny, and loyal.

I love both of these books and look forward to more. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the review copy from which I’ve quoted.

This was such a fun laugh out loud read! Surprisingly funny which I wasn’t expecting. This second book picks up right after the ending of the previous book, lots of events happen to keep our Thursday murder club members busy. Main characters are all so loveable, I do like the concept of these over 70s pensioners solving crime. The only criticism is, I do find there’s far too many side characters which I did find myself needing to really think/remember who they were. Highly recommend for a fun crime fiction.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoyed the first Richard Osman novel, you will like this even more! The same cast of engaging (mostly old and quirky) characters, humour and banter, a better resolved and more interesting plot (in my opinion!!) and a light yet serious look at rather important issues to do with age and also with money laundering,.. It's all to do with diamonds... and gangs, and their "banker", and the secret services... good and evil in the right doses.
A most enjoyable novel to spend a cozy evening at home or, if one is lucky, lying on the beach or on the sunny veranda of a hotel high up in the mountains.
With many thanks to Penguin via NetGalley for an advance copy and a totally honest review.

It was an easy read but I did get very confused re all the characters.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own

It's another Thursday at Coopers Chase, and another problem to solve – well, several problems in fact. Ibrahim, the former psychiatrist is lying in a hospital bed, a recent mugging making him fearful not just for his life but for everything else. PC Donna De Freitas and DCI Chris Hudson are having difficulty with a local drug dealer, and, most worryingly, Elizabeth’s ex-husband has taken shelter in the community. The reason he needs shelter is that he has “accidentally” come into possession of twenty million pounds worth of diamonds that belong to a deeply unpleasant individual. And that individual will stop at nothing to get them back…

When the body count starts growing, it seems a particularly ruthless individual has decided that nothing will stop them getting what they want. Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of ruthless individuals circling Coopers Chase…

So, this is the second book from Richard Osman featuring the members of The Thursday Murder Club after, um, The Thursday Murder Club. You might have heard of it, as it broke almost every single bookselling record last year and was almost universally praised. I say almost, because there were some nay-sayers in my little community, the community devoted to the classic detective mystery that were irked by the comparison to Agatha Christie, primarily due to the lack of clues in the book. Me, I’m more willing to forgive that sin if I enjoy a book and that was the case – I liked the characters, the mystery had some heart to it, especially the ending. All in all, I found it a satisfying read.

This one… I found less so. I’m always reluctant to give a less than glowing review to a new release, but let’s face it, I’m never going to dent Mr Osman’s sales and it’s already got over 80% 5 star reviews on Amazon, and one of the (currently) three 3 star reviews complains about the formatting of the ARC e-copy which I doubt will be a problem in the published version.

But I didn’t enjoy this anywhere near as much as the first title. The relationships between the four leads is still as strong as before, and that between Elizabeth and her dementia-suffering husband is particularly touching. The moments where the down-to-earth Joyce one-ups the ex-spy Elizabeth are also fun. But Elizabeth is part of the problem too.

If you recall – let’s face it, you’ve all read it – Elizabeth had a mysterious past in the first book. Well, here the curtain is completely pulled away. I was expecting a drip-feed of reveals of her goings-on as the series progressed, not a scene where she drops into conversation with Joyce that she’s killed a lot of people as part of her work. With those secrets revealed, the book becomes as much a spy thriller as a mystery novel.

The police characters, PC Donna and DCI Chris, seem to have suffered too. Chris has a nice personal arc – nothing controversial, just nice and cosy – but they also casually collaborate in framing a villain by someone planting cocaine on them and also cover up shenanigans that resulted in a couple of deaths. It just seems fairly jarring behaviour – and the fact that a PC and a DCI are so chummy comes across as even odder than the first time round.

The villains are another problem, as one seems to have waltzed in from a Roger Moore Bond film and a second from… well, the same sort of thing but about drugs and stuff, rather than arms dealing. They just don’t seem real or threatening and the confrontations between the members of the club and the villains in question just make the villains come across as incompetent, which they clearly aren’t supposed to be.

The plot does a good job of tying the loose ends together, but a lot of those loose ends don’t relate directly to the primary murder. On top of that, there’s a fake solution that’s actually more interesting that the real one…

There are some good bits here and you could tell that Osman had fun writing it. As I said, I loved the relationship between Elizabeth and Stephen, and Joyce’s diary entries are fun, apart from the laboured Instagram joke – and I could have done with a bit more with Ibrahim and his struggles, as that thread tied the story into reality. I’m sure it will do well, but to be honest, this wasn’t the best book called The Man Who Died Twice that I’ve read this year…

The Man Who Died Twice is out now in hardback and ebook. Many thanks for the review e-copy

A rollicking good read. Far better than the first book; the writing flows, the chapters are longer and there is just far more flesh on the bones of the story.

Osman has created an absolutely winning series. He can’t go wrong with such fantastic characters and setting. (Joyce is definitely my favourite.) There’s humour, pathos, empathy and a little wisdom thrown in too.

A sense of morality pervades where the traditional baddies and goodies have killed about an equal number of people. Bodies litter the chapters and as they’re all mostly various dodgy shades of grey, there’s not really anything to grieve about. Bogdan is an intriguing character. I hope there’s more of his backstory revealed in subsequent books.

Give in, read the first Thursday Murder Club then read this one. Yes, there’s a lot of talk about them, which can be off-putting (it took me years to watch Marty McFly and Doc because I was so sick of hearing about Back to the Future at the time) but they are very entertaining reads. I somehow feel this is only going to grow and grow like the Harry Potter series did, albeit not to the same extent because they obviously don’t appeal to all ages, but I can’t see the bestselling status waning anytime soon.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

I loved Richard Osman’s first foray into cozy-mystery fiction with The Thursday Murder Club and loved this second one just as much.

A blast from the past, together with a bunch of dead bodies that keep piling up around the pensioners means that Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron, with a little help from their friends at the local police, get back to what they do best: solving murders (and exacting a little bit of revenge on the way).

With plenty of humour, wit, and life-wisdom, we follow as this motley crew makes friends and a whole lot of enemies to figure out exactly whodunit.

Reading this book was just so much fun. It’s a cozy mystery that’s clever, witty, funny and full of fabulous characters. And it’s a potent reminder that age really is just a number. So don’t go underestimating your friendly septa- and octogenarians. They might yet have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Pure reading-entertainment. I’m looking forward to the third book in this series already!

When I started this book, I hadn't realised that it was the second in a series. This would usually put me off as I really enjoy reading a series in the correct order. However, I decided to stick with it and see how it fared as a stand alone book. I like Richard Osman from seeing him on TV, but this is the first book of his that I have read.

I loved the premise of this series, with a group of 70 somethings trying to solve crimes. The characters had depth and I enjoyed learning more about them; they were so likeable. It's not the best thriller I've ever read, but as far as mysteries go, it was a good one and there were plenty of twists and turns along the way.

It does work as a stand alone story, but it is clear that the characters have history that has been explored previously and there are a few mentions of the first book. I will, however, certainly go back and read the first book in this series.

This book made me smile so many times whilst reading it and I am looking forward to the third installment of the Thursday Murder Club.

I would recommend this book and give it 4 stars. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

I loved The Thursday Murder Club but I loved this sequel even more.
Richard Osman has triumphed once again with a fun ride that provides fantastic all round entertainment, with thrills and spills along the way.
Like a ride in country lanes, quintessentially English, with a lot to see, breathtaking, and never sure what's round the next corner, our old favourites are back (maybe less of the'old') are back with a bang. What humour, and a real pleasure to read.
Osman's books are fast becoming a habit impossible to throw off, such is the addiction. I tried very hard to dislike his first book, but within pages I was a fan, and this one is even better !
Good Grief, is there no end to the man's talent ?? Please Richard, if you're reading this, will you consider forming your own party and putting yourself forward for the PM's job ?
Another page-turner, like all of life's pleasures, one really has to pace oneself, or it will all be over in a flash, leaving a warm, mellow afterglow in it's wake.
Ideal read beside the fire place as the nights draw in, and the perfect Christmas gift to banish those January blues; when the winter seems never-ending, this is the perfect pick-me-up !
Absolutely fantastic, five stars all the way, BRAVO Mr Osman !

My thanks to Penguin UK and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.
The Man Who Died Twice is the second book in the Thursday Murder Club (the Agatha Christie/Marple allusion just struck me when writing my review) series by Richard Osman. Set in a retirement village, Coopers Chase, the Thursday Murder Club comprises four friends, Elizabeth, former MI5 operative with a very sharp mind and mysterious past, Ibrahim, a psychiatrist with acute observation skills, Joyce, a former nurse who also writes a journal and can also solve puzzles, and Ron a former trade union leader. They are also friends with and work alongside PC Donna de Freitas and DCI Chris Hudson. We also have Bogdan Janowski who is a good friend to them all.

In this one, Elizabeth receives a mysterious letter/invitation from someone she knew in the past, one that both puzzles and intrigues her. Soon, she finds that this is an old colleague who is in quite some trouble. He is accused of having stolen diamonds worth £ 20 million from Martin Lomax who acts as a sort of insurance man/middle man for the mafia and has billions of pounds worth of treasures in his custody. Now both Lomax and the mafia are after him.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim is the victim of a mugging which not only hurts him physically but leaves him deeply scarred. Chris and Donna don’t have enough to get the person responsible and encourage the club to handle things their way.

Chris and Donna also have a case of their own, a drug dealer and possible murderer Connie Johnston whom there are trying to get enough evidence on to arrest, but who seems to be getting the better of them so far.

Alongside, we also follow the characters’ personal stories, and the issues each of them is dealing with.

Although I had hoped to read the first book before I got to this one, it didn’t end up happening, but this didn’t turn out to be too much of an issue for I could not only follow the story but absolutely loved this one. This was an engaging, warm, humorous, and yet realistic read which had at its centre a very satisfying mystery as well.

I loved the humour throughout the book. One source is of course Joyce’s account (the only one in first person), but the humour comes not only from that but also from the eccentricities of some of the characters (like Lomax for instance who deals in billions, murders at the drop of a hat but wonders how he will spend the £70 pounds which he might make from selling brownies—I won’t tell you where the brownies come in, though), some of the situations and also the matter of fact way in which some things are spoken of between the characters.

I also took to all of the characters in the book almost instantly and really enjoyed following their adventures. I loved the bond they all share, the support they give each other (even the younger ones like Donna) and the fun they have together—very warm and uplifting. Also the fact that each of them contribute to solving the case in some way or other—Elizabeth is intelligent and can work out most things, but it isn’t without Joyce that she gets all the answers (it is they who work on the matter of the diamonds for the most part). Ibrahim has almost Holmes like observation skills which help identify his attacker instantly; I loved his crossword puzzles and found myself trying to work out the clues as well; Ron helps more in Ibrahim’s case in this one, while Bogdan helps them across the board with more things than one. I also loved Ron’s little grandson Kendrick (there for a visit) who is not only friendly with them all but also spots a crucial clue that none of the others do.

At the same time, amidst all the fun, the book is also very realistic. We get that feeling of melancholy that comes with the time of life the characters are at—the loss that they experience and the fears that they live with every day. There is also vulnerability—like in Ibrahim’s case, while Elizabeth must cope with her husband Stephen’s Alzheimer’s which means he isn’t always at the same point in time they are (though he still enjoys his chess games with the very patient Bogdan). But at the same time, I loved they don’t let any of this or the changes that come with age deter them in the least, and pursue their adventures with zest.

The mystery itself was also quite an exciting (and dangerous) one with twists and turns very step of the way. Even at the end when the denouement scene of sorts was being set up, I was really excited to see how it would play out (even though I don’t usually enjoy very dramatic scenes, but this one promised to be fun), but when it did, there were twists and surprises there as well which made it very different from what I thought would happen.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this one, and am looking forward to the next one (luckily, I still have the first to read as well).

5 stars.

I don't usually like sequels but this book started out very promising. The tone and pace was perfect in the 1st half. Things moved a steady pace given the first book had set up the characters. After all, this book is about solving a crime/mystery. Douglas, the ex-husband is a welcomed addition and helps to reveal a little more about Elizabeth and her knack for solving crimes. Add in some mafia and local crime lords, the crime/mystery starts to be framed. However, in the first book where Joyce's diary entries seemed necessary. They do not feel as smooth a transition in this second book. At times the pace falls and the intrigue in the mystery slows down. It picks back up again in the final chapters to reveal the real criminal and whether Douglas is indeed alive. The dry humour adds to Richard's signature books. Even though I didn't enjoy this as much as the first, I will continue to see how the 4 pensioners get on in the next.

The Man Who Died Twice follows directly on from the events of The Thursday Murder Club, and we join Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron as they get caught up in yet another caper! This time, the trouble comes in the form of Elizabeth's ex-husband and some missing diamonds - 2 million pounds worth of diamonds to be exact!

I very rarely enjoy the subsequent books in a series more than the first, but in this case I actually preferred it. Even though I loved The Thursday Murder Club when I read it last year, this book is by far my favourite. I think this is mainly because the same characters have returned, and the setting has already been established meaning that the whole focus of the story could be on the mystery which I found really entertaining.

Not every crime novel has to be dark and intense with brooding detectives who are battling their inner demons. There is a place for humour and genuinely likeable characters, and this book had both in abundance. It was a crime novel, there was a mystery to solve, a group of amateur sleuths attempting to solve a murder... but it also made me laugh out loud and had truly emotional moments - this might be unusual for a crime novel but it certainly isn't a negative point. The Man Who Died Twice has gone straight to the top of my favourite reads this year. I usually like quite dark thrillers but there is definitely a place for this type of 'cozy crime' mystery on my shelves. Fingers crossed for a third book featuring Elizabeth and the gang coming soon!

I haven’t read The Thursday Murder Club but I definitely will be after reading this one. I absolutely love the characters and I liked the fact that they all brought something different to the table. There were a lot of laugh out loud moments and twists that kept me guessing. I can’t wait to find out what happens next

Clever, kind and a joy to read. Another page-turning instalment in the Thursday Murder Club series Can be enjoyed as a standalone but I'd definitely read the books in order if you can, partly because the first book was amazing too, but also because it laid out the foundations of the characters, so you will pick up on lots of extra little touches about the characters and their relationships.

The second book in the Thursday Murder Club series is a wonderful follow up and even better than the first.

Elizabeth’s past comes back to haunt her when her ex-husband reappears into her life. Ibrahim is mugged and the septuagenarians try to seek justice for their friend. On top of that, Joyce has fun setting up an Instagram account and Chris’s romance with Donna’s mum continues to blossom (much to Donna’s embarrassment). Murders happen, there are missing diamonds and the aging detectives are racing against the clock to solve the case when gangsters get involved.

This was such a good read! These older characters are great fun and prove that you should never underestimate someone just because of their age.

If you enjoyed the first book, you are just going to love this!

I was provided with an ARC of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my unpaid, unbiased review.

5*

#TheManWhoDiedTwice #Netgalley

Having read and loved The Thursday Murder Book, I was exicted to be approved for an eARC of the sequel The Man Who Died Twice. If you haven’t read the first book, let me give you a quick summary: four septuagenarians with different occupations, characteristics and far different pasts come together to solve the cold cases. They have brilliant skills complete each other to bring out another piece of the puzzle.

The Thursday Murder Club was great fun but Richard Osman has honed his craft since then and this is so much better. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, Chris, Donna and Bogdan join forces again to solve several murders and a theft. The mafia, MI5, drug lords and international criminal organisations are involved but The Thursday Murder Club gets the better of them all.

There are few authors who can make me laugh and cry on the same page, write a crime story that has so many twists and turns that my head is dizzy, create and develop such a wide range of fascinating characters, and have me desperate for the third book in the series.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

#TheManWhoDiedTwice #NetGalley

Another great murder mystery

I received an advanced copy of this book in the return for a honest review.
After the brilliant debut of The Thursday Murder Club last year which was one of my favourite books of the year of release, Richard Osman returns with a new murder mystery.
This book sees the return of Elizabeth and the gang from the retirement village who are on the look out for a new murder to investigate. However things take a turn for the worse when one of the gang (Ibrahim) is mugged and is injured. Then an old colleague of Elizabeth (which turns out to be her ex husband!) arrives at the retirement village who may have a new cases for Elizabeth and the rest of the club which involves £20m worth in stolen diamonds. However with the mafia out looking for the lost diamonds and killing anyone who gets in the way will Elizabeth and the gang to able to solve this mystery before its too late.
Yet again Richard Osman brings the charm and wit from the first book back to this one. All the characters are likeable with a few laugh out moments throughout the book which makes this a enjoyable read.
There is a lot of twist and turns throughout which will keep you guessing right to the end when the mystery is solved in fun style.
Although I found this instalment slightly less as good as the first instalment I still had a good time with this book and I will be looking forward to the next instalment in the series.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin publishers for the advanced copy of the book in return for this honest review.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
Going back to Coopers Chase felt like snuggling up the couch with some hot coco! It’s a warm blanket, funny, ridiculous and full of action. I liked this so much better than the first book, which I also enjoyed. The story is a little easier to follow and the characters develop so nicely. Richard Osman has a way of writing that keeps me hooked. Especially when I see a chapter through Joyce’s perspective is coming up next I will read it straight away. I’m thoroughly invested in these characters and I can’t wait for the third book to come!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Light reads
Multiple POVs
Continuous action
Character development

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺.

𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.

𝘈𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱, 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘑𝘰𝘺𝘤𝘦, 𝘐𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘴?

A really good cosy mystery. Not as predictable as I was expecting and really quite funny. I lost count of the times that Joyce made me laugh. The plot flowed flowed so easily and the characters are so endearing that you can't help but love them. I loved the banter between the characters and the love that they obviously have for one another. I'll look forward to the next adventure with the Thursday Murder Club.

Reading just those first opening paragraphs of "The Man Who Died Twice" I was instantly transported to the cosy, yet somewhat deadly, word of the Thursday Murder Club and its jolly members. I experienced a thrill equal only to that of coming home after a long time away and catching up with dear old friends whose lives, let me assure you, did not stand still in my absence. Far from it!
In the second instalment of Richard Osmond's mysteries, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, Ron and Bodgan are up to their eyeballs in murder, theft, mugging, spies and all sorts of crime and punishment. The fearsome septuagenarians are drawn - rather willingly - into the world of espionage, mafia, diamonds and double-crossing, not to mention the inexcusable mugging of one their own which they vow to avenge, come hell or high water.
The man in the title of this book is Douglas, Elizabeth's ex-husband and her fellow ex-MI5 operative who arrives in the retirement village with his pockets full of stolen diamonds and the merciless mobster, Lomax, hot on his heels (followed closely by the Mafia). If that wasn't enough for the Club to reckon with, Ibrahim is attacked in the street by a teenage troublemaker, Ryan Baird (who has no idea what deep water he has just waded into). The two plotlines take off from here, wheeze, twist and meander, until they are brought together in a spectacular finale.
Vibrant, funny, wonderfully human, "The Man Who Died Twice" is a worthy successor to "The Thursday Murder Club". More please!