The Man Who Died Twice
By Richard Osman
- Genre
- Mystery, Crime & Thriller
- Publisher
- Viking (Penguin Books UK)
- Publication year
- 2021
- ISBN
- 9780241425428
The Thursday Murder Club, four sharp retirees in an English retirement village, is drawn back into danger when a figure from Elizabeth's past reappears, chased by missing diamonds and dangerous people. Richard Osman's second mystery mixes puzzle-plotting with comedy and warmth. It was a #1...
The residents of Coopers Chase - Elizabeth the ex-spy, Joyce the twinkling diarist, Ron the old union firebrand, Ibrahim the psychiatrist - return for a second outing that surrenders nothing of the first book's charm while raising the stakes. When a ghost from Elizabeth's espionage days surfaces with a fortune in stolen diamonds and lethal company, the Thursday Murder Club sets about solving and scheming with their usual mix of cunning and biscuits. Richard Osman's gift is tonal: he keeps the plot twisty and the danger real while never surrendering the comic warmth and genuine feeling - about ageing, friendship and mortality - that made the series a phenomenon. The mysteries are cleverly built and fairly played, but readers stay for the company. For anyone wanting crime fiction that is witty, cozy and unexpectedly touching, this is comfort reading of a very high order, and proof that the record-breaking debut was no fluke.