Member Reviews
Cleverly crafted and deliciously funny, this book is pure joy. From the twisty plot to the quirky characters, it is perfect escapism. I loved it.
Once again we see the members of the Thursday murder club investigate the deaths of 2 MI5 agents. We learn more about Elizabeth’s past and Ibrahim’s fears. Joyce, as usual is a delight and Ron is just Ron!
A great murder mystery and another gem from Richard Osman!
I wasn't overly keen on Richard Osman's first novel but I heard that this was better so decided to give his writing another try. I won't be reading more as this really didn't work as a book for me. The pace is good for the first half with plenty happening and a reminder of many characters who were in his first novel, The Thursday Murder Club. I found the second half quite hard going with a lot of dull dialogue of inane conversations and thoughts that didn't move the plot on,.
The plot is outrageously silly and unbelievable with two main criminals involved whose crimes and fates become interlinked due to the intervention of Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim who make up The Thursday Murder Club in their old people's home. The writing is clichéd with lame attempts to be humorous.. Lines like "Nah, he couldn't catch Covid, that one" felt like the author was just trying to be current and edgy and fell flat with me.
The plot was confusing at times. There were sentences together with no break which were about two entirely sets of characters in different locations. I'm not sure if this was intentional or just sloppy writing. The last section was chaotic with everyone - victim and criminals - brought together in ways that just got more and more silly and frenetic. I felt cheated of a good conclusion as I seemed to have entered into the realms of the Keystone Cops.
With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I won't be reading more in this series though. There will almost certainly be more as the ending left a clear opening for further books in the series and I appreciate that the author's writing is very popular with many,
Not often will you read a book where the active participants are MI5, MI6, SBS, CID and OAP’s but when the Thursday Murder Club are on the trail of a yob that mugged one of their own, an ex husband of Elizabeth and the little matter of £20 million pounds worth of diamonds that happen to belong to the American mafia - well you get the gist.
When being fortunate enough to get an advance reading copy of this book (my thanks to Publisher and NetGalley) I went and got the first book and so glad I did. It bought the characters into play, fleshed out individuals, relationships new and old, established The Thursday Murder Club and even had me looking for property in Coopers Chase! It deserved the accolades.
Now armed with with the background of who’s who it was easy to step straight into this novel which has, once again, an imaginative storyline, empathy, comedy and such endearing main characters, well apart from the baddies of course. I shall look forward to meeting them all again in book 3.
I enjoyed the second part of the Thursday Murder Club series so much more than the first! I felt a lot more connected to the characters and enjoyed getting to know more about Elizabeth’s life before the TMC! It’s still quite a slow paced book for a thriller, but very dramatic, very twisty and I properly laughed out loud at some parts!
I adore the Thursday Murder Club members and would recommend this book to everyone who has read the first, though it would probably still be an enjoyable read (maybe quite confusing keeping up with characters) if you haven’t.
The Man Who Died Twice is one of my most anticipated releases of this year and I was so happy when I was approved for an arc. Oh my God, the book fully lived up to my expectations! I am not sure yet, but for now it seems like I enjoyed the second part more than the first one (and I definitely want to reread the first one now).
I probably do not need to mention how much I like Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron. They are probably one of my favourite book characters! They seem so cute and funny, but at the same time they are extremely serious, fearless and dangerous for criminals. No murder will be left unsolved!
Can't wait to read the third book!! I already miss the characters a lot.
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me wirh an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
As expected the second book in the Thursday murder club series lived up to my expectations. It was a great read. I love the different characters and plot lines. I didn't guess who committed the murder till just before it was revealed. Look forward to the next book! Thanks to netgalley for the free read..
I haven’t read the first book in this series – The Thursday Murder Club and did wonder what all the excitement was about. Well now I know and I am looking forward to reading the first book and the third book, which is in the pipeline. This is such a clever book. The humour is subtle and sometimes not so subtle. I drove my husband mad reading out some of the laugh out loud lines. This is what makes it so shocking when the plot turns violent. And despite the fun there is plenty of blood spilled in this tense and well planned story line.
I could not write a review without mentioning the characters. They are beautiful. Most of them light and amusing but with such an undercurrent of reality. Joyce. How could you not love Joyce, but, despite her seemingly silly,frivolous, flirty exterior lies an extremely strong and intelligent woman. What a shame her daughter does not appreciate that, but how many daughters appreciate their mothers’ strengths and vice versa? Elizabeth, the mainstay of the group. So deeply in love with her wonderful husband Stephen. How cleverly Osman describes Stephen’s battle with Alzheimer’s and Elizabeth’s understanding and patience with him. The confident and still good looking Douglas who sadly realises that he is a figure and a charmer from a bygone age. Sad, lonely Donna. Osman even manages to touch on the difficulties of buying the right colour foundation or finding a hairdresser to deal with afro hair when you are one of the few black people in a small town.
This is so much more than a book about murder and villains. It is a book about wonderful, colourful characters, great humour and lovely, touching relationships.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.
Elizabeth who used to work as a M15 operative get a letter, and straight away she’s intrigued by it - it’s from someone she used to know. That person has robbed $20 million worth of diamonds, he wants her to help him stay safe from a man whose violent and is keen to get them back.
She decides that this is perfect for The Thursday Murder Club to help with and so she updates Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron who are all excited to help as things are quiet now at their retirement community.
This book, I felt is better than the previous one as it’s got a lot of plot lines woven together.
Highly Recommend This Book.
What a brilliant, warm and funny read!
The second in the Thursday Murder Club series and I’m think it is is even better than the first book. We are back at Coopers chase with the fabulous elderly characters all with their own quirks and loveable attributes.
The book is so easy to read with its dry humour and compassion showing the issues the older generation can experience . The calibre of the writing gets better and better I didn’t want the book to end!
I cannot recommend this book highly enough !
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK.
Brilliant, very funny. I love the descriptions of the murder-solving abilities of the elderly, who seem to find renewed energy and interest, and enjoy being taken seriously. Every bit as good as the first book.
So happy to back with the lovely bunch at Coopers Chase!
This time, we get to find out more about Elizabeth's past which was teased all the way through the first book! When one of her ex-husbands (and co-workers!) uses a flat in the retirement village as a safe house, she is drawn into his dangerous saga, therefore so is the rest of the Thursday Murder Club!
With murders, diamonds, drugs and the mafia to deal with they are absolutely in their element!
I absolutely loved the first book and thought was even better. Funny, mysterious, moving in places and with a group of characters who will get into your heart, I challenge you to not fall in love with them. Joyce's diary entries are just hilarious!
Bring on book 3 😁
Gah I love Richard Osman, his wry sense of humour makes me smile, I avidly follow his musings on twitter and he always seems like an all around good chap, so I wish I’d enjoyed this more, but it sadly wasn’t really my thing.
It was witty in places and I loved the characters but the story reminded me of the Agatha Raisin stories- light but a bit daft and totally unbelievable.
There were some clever twists and even some poignant moments dealing with some difficult subjects like dementia, agoraphobia and ptsd but then something daft happened again and killed the moment.
I loved Joy, Ibrahim, Elizabeth and Ron but had a few problems keeping track of the spooks and the law enforcement characters, there seemed to be an awful lot of them.
Sweet ending made any smile.
Complete story.
Thanks #netgalley for my e-arc of #TheManWhoDiedTwice in exchange for my honest review.
I really struggled with this one. I just couldn’t get into it, which shows when you look at the time it took me to read; from 25th August to 12th September. Two weeks and four days.
I don’t tend to give up on a book, even if I’m not enjoying it. But I was so close to giving up on this one.
I kept expecting the name “Jessica Fletcher” to pop up. Because it felt, to me like I was watching an episode of “Murder She Wrote” which I used to watch when I was younger and that was fine back in the 80’s but can’t imagine watching it again now in 2021.
Just as I found this difficult to read.
Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t a bad book it had its moments of humour. But this was a novel br Richard Osman so I expected humour.
The end of the book was left open for a another book to follow on, which if you enjoyed this one you might want to follow the story along and see what’s going to happen. And although possibly on the minority I can say that I will not be looking at continuing along with this series.
Which I feel now explains my star rating of just the one star
The Man who Died Twice starts shortly after the point that The Thursday Murder Club finished. As I heard Richard Osman say in an interview, they haven’t got many years left so not a good idea to leave gaps of time between stories!
I loved The Thursday Murder Club but I felt that The Man who Died Twice was a slightly better and more enjoyable book. The principal characters are established so the author has time to work with them and develop their back stories. The plot felt more linear and it’s one of those books which almost makes you read just one more chapter, I certainly whizzed through it. The plot is clever, keeps you guessing, and pulls out a couple of lovely twists at the end. I’m looking forward to what happens to this fabulous group of OAPs next. Thank you to #netgalley and #vikingbooksuk for allowing me to review this ARC
Another excellent read from Richard Osman. Good to be reunited with the characters from the first book. The story keeps you in suspense and is woven around their everyday lives at Coopers Chase. Highly entertaining and well written. Was sorry when it finished; you feel you’re involved with real people living in a wonderful retirement village who care very much for those around them.
Having read and loved the original Thursday Murder Club book I jumped at the chance of reading an advance copy of this next book in the series. This time Elizabeth receives a letter from an old colleague which ends up with her and the rest of the gang being involved with stolen diamonds, general intrigue and, of course, murder.
I wish I had the same number of marbles as the gang, even Joyce, who isn't the brightest, has a knack of picking up on clues that others miss. There is an increasing involvement with the two police officers, Chris and Donna, and that other inscrutable member of the cast, Brogdan, who is so much more than he seems. Overall a great read, with that mixture of whodunit, murder and, dare I say, hope that I'll be as active as this crowd when I reach their age in a few years. Highly recommended.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.
I enjoyed the first book and this was even better. It had more emotion and I felt that the character development was stronger. I'm looking forward to book three!
Loved it - a worthy sequel to The Thursday Club
Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague and he has made a mistake, a big mistake. He has stolen some diamonds and now someone is after him and its getting dangerous.
Elizabeth and her partners in crime, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron start looking for the diamonds and along the way the bodies start appearing. Whoever, is looking for the diamonds won't stop at anything to get them back and certainly won't let four elderly sleuths get in their way.
So can they solve the crime or is this the end of the Thursday Club!!
Having had the first book recommended to me and loving it I could not wait to delve into the second book and I was not disappointed. I love a good cosy mystery and the characters that Richard has created are amazingly fun and loveable. My only complaint is now I have to wait for the third book!