Books: The Man Who Died Twice By Richard Osman (2021)

“Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim—the Thursday Murder Club—are still riding high off their recent real-life murder case and are looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet at Cooper’s Chase, their posh retirement village. But they are out of luck. An unexpected visitor—an old pal of Elizabeth’s (or perhaps more than just a pal?)—arrives, desperate for her help. He has been accused of stealing diamonds worth 20 million pounds from the wrong men and he’s seriously on the lam. Then, as night follows day, the first body is found. But not the last. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are up against a ruthless murderer who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can our four friends catch the killer before the killer catches them?  And if they find the diamonds, too? Well, wouldn’t that be a bonus?”

It’s very clear in the second Thursday Murder Club book how much author Richard Osman likes writing for Elizabeth and Joyce. And The Man Who Died Twice offers us some familiar territory, but adds so much more to the genre. And like really good mysteries, the murders and whodunit questions become secondary to the characters, all which remain charming and dangerous at the same time. Elizabeth’s dark background as a spy during the war gets expanded more here, and Osman makes it clear that her and her friends are more than capable of taking care of themselves.

So in many ways, this book is even better than the opener (which sometimes happens in series titles, because the world building needs to set; book two really gets the story going because there is no need to retread the basic set up). What makes this tale (and so far, the series) stand out is this is no cozy mystery the British have done so well for well over a century. The danger is serious, the criminals are horrible people. What makes it work additionally is that everyone is still rather British proper, especially the villainous Lomax who while threatening you with torture and death is also concerned that his well-kept gardens are enjoyed by many people – he’s very gentleman-like.

It’s a hoot of series and not to be missed. Book three and four will come along eventually…  

Books: Nicked By M.T. Anderson (2024)

“The year is 1087, and a pox is sweeping through the Italian city of Bari. When a lowly monk is visited by Saint Nicholas (yeah, that one) in his dreams, he interprets the vision as a call to serve the sick (“We must leave our nest”). With Europe overrun with domineering Norman knights, ne’er-do-well Italian princes and irritating Ottoman Turks scuttling unbridled over everything, his superiors, and the power brokers they serve, have different plans for the tender-hearted Brother Nicephorus.”

 As the Duke asks “How did your monk find the saint?”

“How…?”

 

“How was the Blessed Nicholas? In health? In comfort”

 

“Tell him, “ said the Archbishop.

 

The Abbot delivered his line: “He seemed – dissatisfied.”

 

“With?”

 

“His neighborhood.”

 

“And his request?”

 

The Abbot ventured, “To rescue him from where he lies entombed at Myra?” The Abbot waited to see if he answered correctly.

Enter Tyun, a charismatic treasure hunter renowned for “liberating” holy relics from their tombs. The seven-hundred-year-old bones of Saint Nicholas are rumored to weep a mysterious liquid that can heal the sick, Tyun says. For the humble price of a small fortune, he will steal the bones and deliver them to Bari, curing the plague and restoring glory to the fallen city. And Nicephorus, the “dreamer,” will be his guide. Based on real historical accounts, Nicked is a swashbuckling saga, a medieval novel noir, and a meditation on the miraculous. Nicephorus is swept away on strange tides, and alongside even stranger bedfellows, to commit sacrilegious theft. 

In the afterword, Anderson says relic hunting and thievery was a burgeoning industry in Europe during the Middle Ages and Anderson uses the real-life Nicephorus’ detailed account of the 1087 Barese expedition for the basis of his first novel for adults. While Anderson uses a good amount of lush language of Medieval storytelling here, he explained that in the Middle Ages, any good story also involved a fair amount of fantasy, myth, surrealism, and a bit of futurism that helped create a roughly contemporary fictional world. 

This is enlightening, magical tale that will make you want to turn the pages with wondrous speed. It’s an opulent and totally genre-bending tale.

Books: Doctor Who: In Wonderland by Paul Magrs (2024)

"The Doctor and his companions visit the dreaming spires of peaceful Oxford, hoping for a brief respite from their travels. But when Lewis Carroll appears at a garden party and their fellow guests transform into animals, they realize that everything is not as it seems. An unknown cosmic foe has trapped them in a twisted version of Alice’s Wonderland. Separated from the TARDIS and from each other, their only hope of escape lies in cryptic clues; teased by fan-favorite characters from Carroll’s classic tale." 

The next Puffin Book that has the Doctor crossing-over with public domain characters continues with In Wonderland. This is a Fifth Doctor adventure, set in the twentieth season of the Classic Series and begins shortly after the TV adventure Mawdryn Undead. It features companions Tegan, Nyssa, and recently joined Turlough (who is still working for the Black Guardian, who is using the young man in hopes of destroying the Doctor - long story). 

Paul Magrs once again brings his odd brand of humor and Lewis Carroll's peculiar style of fantasy for this short novel. There are a ton of Easter Eggs, but while other authors just seem to drop them in for the fans, Magrs are less evident, and thus more entertaining. Also, with the setting of this tale in the Fifth Doctor era, the whole idea is perfect for the very British Doctor and would’ve made a fun serial had there been more money, CGI, and setting a tale outside the norm of 1983 (the recent animated release of the 1966 classic serial The Celestial Toymaker on Bluray is a prime example of surrealism the show could never really afford to dabble in). 

Magrs also ties the tale nicely to the Black Guardian saga, and there is great sequence with an older Alice that seemed to me have a double meaning. Insomuch as the real Alice wanted to hide from the fame Lewis Carroll brought her and fans of Doctor Who that can no longer be objective about the 60 year old franchise.

The Puffin line up will continue next spring when the TARDIS crew encounters Frankenstein!