Member Reviews
Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
I was thrilled to be approved for a copy of this book. I loved the first in the series and was very much looking forward to this one. I absolutely loved it. Osman writes with such style and engages the reader from the outset. The characters are wonderfully crafted and the story is nothing short of genius. There are unexpected twists and so much fun too. There are some very sad but highly insightful moments. For me it was a perfect book. I'd recommend to to anyone looking for a really decent read. Five stars.
I LOVED THIS!!!!
Firstly I am a major Richard Osman fan (he has been my not so secret crush for ages!!) So when I heard about his first book I was so excited and got hold of it as soon as I could. I really wanted it to blow my mind as I love Richard so much, but I only found it good. I say good; a 4 star review is still great in my book but I wanted more.
Well...... The Man Who Died Twice delivers!!!
As soon as I read the first page and I was reunited with the familiar names from Coopers Chase Retirement Village I was hooked. I literally raced through this book in a few days, which with two kids under 6 in the school holidays is a big achievement!!!
Ok the story of pensioners catching mafia men/MI5 spies/cocaine dealers may be a little farfetched, but it is so humorously put together that you would believe anything is possible!
This is a perfect summer read. If my retirement is half as exciting as that of this group, then I can’t wait!
Thanks to NetGalley & the publishers for the advanced reading copy.
Wow I loved this book and enjoyed it so much more then the thursday murder club
many thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for this honest review
Meeting up with the Thursday Murder Club again was like seeing friends, having a cuppa (or a glass of something nice from the Waitrose wine aisle) and having a good old catch up. What a delightful bunch they are and I was so happy to join them on their latest escapade. There was laughter, tears and suspense along the way and reading #TheManWhoDiedTwice really was like an adventure from the comfort of my sofa on a wet and rainy August day.
It is hard to decide on a favourite from all the characters. How can you choose between the brilliant Joyce and Elizabeth, Ron and Ibrahim, Chris and Donna? I do want to give a shout out to Bogdan though, who is emerging as quite the star of the piece. Is it possible to have a crush on a fictional heavy? (Of course it is!)
I actually think I enjoyed this second book more than the first. Please let there be a third, and a fourth, and maybe a fifth?
Thank you so much to the author, his publishers and to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this fabulous and comforting story. I loved it.
I loved the first book in this series (The Thursday Murder Club). When I was offered an early read of this book by the publisher, I think I may have screamed with excitement!
In a peaceful retirement village, four friends meet up once a week to solve cold crimes. In this story, their leader, 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, but as the bodies begin to pile up, Elizabeth enlists her friends (Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim) to help find the killer - before the killer finds them!
Like the first book in the series, The Man Who Died Twice is a jaw-droppingly surreal, achingly funny, jolly good murder mystery. Imagine a mash-up of Miss Marple and James Bond, with a gleeful dash of Tarrantino. There are priceless diamonds, house-proud mobsters, sarky drug dealers and two not-remotely hapless police officers - who have long ago learnt to just go with the flow whenever the Thursday Murder Club are involved.
Strangely, it is the surreal parts that seem the most realistic. My favourite character (apart from Elizabeth; I can SO imagine Helen Mirren playing her) is Bogdan. I love the way he just goes along with whatever the Thursday Murder Club suggest, as though it is all perfectly normal. And his crush on (uh uh, no spoilers!) is adorable.
One of my favourite reads this year. Would suit fans of character-driven cosy crime and authors such as Elly Griffiths (The Postscript Murders).
Thank you to Richard Osman and Viking (Penguin Books) for my copy of this book, which I received via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.
Four and a half well-earned stars.
Welcome back to the exclusive retirement village in Kent, home to the Thursday Murder Club where our four intrepid retirees are champing at the bit to solve another mystery.
Elizabeth (ex-MI5) receives a mysterious letter from a dead man which draws her back into the shadowy world of espionage, £20 million of stolen diamonds, the mafia, a black market 'fixer', drug dealers, and a rather distressing number of grisly murders for such a beautiful part of the English countryside.
The trick to a good detective story (in my opinion) is to keep the reader guessing the identity of the murderer for as long as possible, but not make the clues so convoluted and obscure that the reader can't recognise them in retrospect. Richard Osman does such a great job of this and I liked this probably even more than the first book. Roll on the next ...
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Another quirky read from Richard Osman. It was nice to meet up with the familiar characters and learn a little more about them and their lives. How he deals with his elderly characters is thought provoking, touching on subjects such as forgetfulness, anxiety, dementia. The plot involving diamonds and murder, with spies and rogues and which sounds almost incredible is highly entertaining.with twists and turns, never going the way you might think. It is a humourous book but with a poignancy in places that we can all relate to. Overall, an excellent read from Osman.
I enjoyed Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club, the prequel to this, but actually much preferred this book. It is the same delightful bunch of characters with some new additions. This was a much better storyline with moments of laughter and some moments of sadness.
We get to delve more into some of the characters backgrounds. It was well written and a real page turner. I thoroughly recommend it.
So pleased to get a review copy of this. I loved the Thursday Murder Club and this is just as enjoyable and so well written. Richard Osman builds on the great characters of his first novel and goes deeper into their lives and the reality of growing older in society, with gangsters, spies and sleuthing thrown in.
I very much enjoyed Richard Osman’s debut novel, the prequel to this, so was expecting to like this one too. It is even better. Many of his talents I admired before are on display again - elegant writing, witty observations and exchanges - and this time the plot, though multi-layered, is more tightly controlled (one of my criticisms of the first book). We meet pretty much the same cast of principal characters and learn more of their back stories, and there are fewer peripheral characters/suspects to distract from the main action. A really enjoyable read, exciting yet poignant if you can imagine such a combination.
Richard Osman fulfils the promise of his quintessentially English offbeat and comic crime debut, Thursday Murder Club (TMC), with this cracking sequel. This time the intrepid elderly sleuths from the Kent retirement community of Coopers Chase, ex-spook Elizabeth, former nurse and journal writer, Joyce, logistics and details man, psychiatrist Ibrahim, and Ron, with his past life as a vociferous and committed union man, face the New York Mafia, chase £20 million pounds of stolen diamonds, as the dead bodies just keep on coming. Having established his characters, Osman raises the stakes and the danger levels for his members of the TMC, and, needless to say, they rise to the challenge beautifully. When one of their own, Ibrahim, is seriously injured during a violent mugging for his phone, there is no way the TMC, or local Fairhaven cops, DCI Chris Hudson and Donna De Freitas, are not going to seek vengeance.
When Elizabeth gets a message from a ghost from her past, the TMC finds themselves roped in to help protect her faithless but charming ex-husband and spook, Douglas, after he steals diamonds from middleman and money launderer to the international criminal community, Martin Lomax. The diamonds belong to the New York Mafia, they, and Lomax, whose reputation and life is at stake, are going to do whatever they need to do to ensure they get the diamonds back. Chris and Donna are carrying out surveillance on local drug and crime queen pin, Connie Johnson, but she is running rings around them, leading to them being helped by more 'experienced' London detectives. MI5 spooks, Sue Reardon and Lance James, have the job of protecting Douglas as they and the TMC try to locate the missing diamonds.
Its an utter joy to be re-acquainted with the slew of characters I encountered previously, the TMC obviously, but including the likes of Chris who is now in a relationship with Donna's mum, Patrice, and the Polish Bogdan, an ever reliable man who will do anything to help the TMC and who is developing feelings for Donna. Once again, the so often underestimated Joyce writes her journal and we have the wonderful pleasure of encountering the plucky young grandson of Ron, Kendrick, who comes to stay, bonding with Ibrahim and proving to be a surprising help in their investigations. This proves to be an highly entertaining, fun, and engaging sequel, so definitely and deliciously moreish that I have no doubt that this will do as well, if not better than the first book for Osman. Cannot wait for the next in the series. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
I really enjoyed The Man Who Died Twice. There were parts that made me laugh and parts that made me tear up a bit, there were parts that made me think and a lot of it that just had me really gripped.
As with the Thursday Murder Club, the real joy here is the well rounded and interesting characters. Each feels really “real” and again I was struck by how unusual the setting was and how refreshing it was to read fiction with older characters.
This time round I felt the central mystery actually held up better and I didn’t see the ending coming, which was pleasing.
This is a great book, I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the third! Thanks so much for my review copy in return for this honest review.
This is a great follow on from the Thursday Murder Club. I love the characters and it makes me smile reading about the trouble they get into. There was a great mystery for them to get stuck into during this book, which had a great twist! I really would recommend this book, along with the first, they really are lovely reads.
I’m a big fan of Richard Osman, I love his dry wit on Pointless and it pains me to criticise his book even a little. I read his first book which was different from the usual crime novels, funny, full of whimsy, daft characters and a daft plot, but once I was into it, I enjoyed it - sort of.
The Man who died twice was more of the same, but even sillier which was too much for me. Ibrahim, Bogdan and Ron were great characters but I found silliness of the ladies in the retirement home just too silly and insulting to women in their seventies (me being one of them).
The book is clever, and witty, with a bit of darkness thrown in, but not for me, sorry Richard. I’m sure I’ll be in the minority and that the book will be another huge hit.
Back to Cooper’s Chase and reunited with our favourite Thursday Murder Club Crew! The highly anticipated follow up to the first book is all you could want and more.
It’s rare for a second book to really live up to the first, but this one most definitely did! We have the grounding now, the backstories and the foundations of the amazing characters we met in the first book and into the second, we see more of the characters we have come to know and love.
The adorable, sweet and loving Joyce (who starts her venture on Instagram in this book. Seriously, check her out on Instagram. She’s there!), tough old Ron who has the biggest heart, and one we get to see more off in this book. Ibrahim, who has plenty to deal with and the greatest of friends around him and of course, Elizabeth, who is always a force to be reckoned with. Donna and Chris also return, enveloped securely into the Thursday murder club and I need to mention Bogdan, who is just pure ace, enough said at that. (Did I mention, Bogdan!)
I seriously enjoyed this book and everything in it. It’s been one of my most enjoyed books of the year so far I think and I could honestly read books in this series forever. (Special request to the author here, please never stop writing them).
If you pick up this book, you are guaranteed a great story, exciting plot, heartwarming reading and a really entertaining way to spend your afternoon/ insert time of day you like to read here.
There were so many fantastic moments, and the writing is just beautiful and it’s so cleverly written and well executed. I was sad to finish it and I will eagerly await the next instalment for my Thursday murder club fix (and Bogdan).
Thank you to the author and publishers via NetGalley for this book, in return for my honest thoughts and review.
I didn’t enjoy the first book finding it quite cliched so didn’t hold out much hope for this one. However, I found this quite light hearted and fairly enjoyable. I confess to skipping some of the rambling by Joyce but the plot galloped along and I am sure will be popular.
Richard Osman has once again written a fantastic novel for all ages to enjoy. Our favourite characters return to solve another mystery and it does not disappoint!
After reading the first book to The Thursday Murder Club series, I was pleased to find out there was another instalment on the way, and after reading it, I certainly wasn’t disappointed!
I like that this book begins the following Thursday from where the first book left off and another mystery for our favourite 70+ pensioners to solve: Although having read the previous, I believe this could be enjoyed as a stand-alone read, although I recommend reading the first also because you get to know the characters and their little quirks and ways.
This book has a comedic feel to it with its amusing elderly characters, alongside the crime-mystery that it entails. I felt like at times I had an idea where the plot was going but then would be surprised with a twist that would throw me off. It’s very enjoyable and even though it’s completely unrealistic in the plot of a group of 70+ Year olds not only solving crimes, but actively investigating and interviewing suspects, as you read on and get to know the characters you begin to be able to picture them doing it. I think it would make a fab little tv series, I’d certainly watch it if it ever was taken on by a studio.
I cannot recommend this book/series enough: with its charming elderly characters facing the “baddies” and solving mystery crime cases, the authors comedic style of writing bring me humour and light into the pages, whilst still holding its seriousness.
Now, my last thought is…
What mysteries are the Thursday Murder Club going to discover the next Thursday..? 🤔
**I received an advanced copy of this ebook to read and review. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me this opportunity **
I was not a fan of the first in the series, and had thought not to read the second, but so many people seemed to like it that i thought i should give it a second chance. . But again I did not think it was funny, the characters are cliched and the plot just plain ridiculous.. yes I know it is fiction, but all the same it just beggared belief. I also thought that it was over long. There are parts that are confusing, whether this was dude to it being a proof copy, and chapters had got mixed up.. or the author was trying to be clever..? Anyway, i suppose if you want a very light hearted crime novel, then this is for.. it was not for me. However thank you for the free digital copy.
This is the second instalment in the Thursday Murder Club series (I really enjoyed the first!) about a group of septuagenarian sleuths who live in Coopers Chase retirement village.
I was really looking forward to reading this and it didn’t disappoint. You delve more into the four main characters and discover new ones!
It is pure enjoyable, cosy crime, escapism and it works really well.