Books: The Impossible Fortune (The Thursday Murder Club #5) By Richard Osman (2025)

“It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favorite criminal. But when Elizabeth meets a wedding guest who’s in trouble, kidnap and death are hot on their heels once more. A villain wants access to an uncrackable code, and will stop at nothing to get it. Plunged back into action once more, can the gang solve the puzzle and a murder in time?” 

It seems while writer Richard Osman was off starting a new series, some significant time has passed in Cooper’s Chase as well. Elisabeth is in deep mourning due to the passing of her husband, while Ron has seen his two children’s lives, along with his grandson, getting worse.  

But then there is Joyce and seeing to her daughter Joanna’s marriage to Paul. It is during the reception that Elisabeth meets a man named Nick Silver who believes someone wants him, and a woman named Holly Lewis, dead. The two are business partners who years earlier were paid to do a job (they being in the business of “cold storage” – essentially hiding things people don’t want other people to know) in Bitcoin. As risk takers –they acquired it from a drug dealer- they took a wait and see attitude with whether it would lose money or profit from it down the line. Eventually, as we all know by now, Bitcoin has become very valuable. Now they have a quarter of a billion pounds and want to cash it in. But trust among thieves is never a best bet. And this Impossible Fortune leads to much mayhem. 

The fifth Thursday Murder Club is crackling good and it’s clear that Osman is opening the series a bit more, making it less cozy whodunit in a small village in the English countryside and adding more layers (again, I think the characters of this series will eventually crossover into the We Solve Crime folks). There is added layer of poignancy here, with Elisabeth deep in grief over the loss of Stephen – so much to the point she has lost some interest with her club. The mother/daughter relationship shines brightly here, because while Joanna has had a recurring role in the previous four books, here she gets to shine and is more center to plot (meanwhile, Donna, Chris, and Bogdan take a back-step here). And like all familial relationships, Joyce and Joanna have their difficulties. It’s fairly realistic, I think. Another sub-plot involves why Ron’s son Jason has been taking care of his nephew and what has happened to his daughter Suzi (something that has been on the back-burner for a while in this series). 

The return of Connie –who remains not my favorite character- mentoring 18-year-old Tia in the ways of being a crime lord turns out to be surprising, as Ibrahim’s mentoring has seemly made Connie more human (but once a criminal, always a criminal?).  

The humor remains, though less laugh out loud than before. And Osman, wisely, has opened the premise of the series, which reassures a few more books, but the characters continue to develop nicely. 

Also, while I enjoyed Netflix’s adaptation of the first books a few weeks back, I was not happy with changes made, especially who the killer was. At this point, I’m unsure they’ll be following up with a sequel, partly because of the changes and ages of the cast have to be considered. It’s clear that Osman was writing this book during the movies production, because there is a funny in-joke involving Ron and Ibrahim talking about their favorite James Bond – with Ron choosing Pierce Brosnan.

It’s a fun ride.

Books: We Solve Murders By Richard Osman (2024)

“Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now. Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job. Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?” 

I admit, I didn’t know what to make of this new series from The Thursday Murder Club writer Richard Osman. I suspect, at first, this was going to be in the same vein as his Coopers Chase books, just with a slight variation of the main characters. But instead, I got something a bit different (yet the same), but I don’t think it’s what some might think is a British “cozy mystery.” 

It is, however, addictive as his main series, which makes this a fun read. It’s paced vastly different, somewhat like a James Patterson tale, with short chapters. But this book is infinitely better than anything Patterson can write (or farm out to other writers). It carries some of the DNA of the TMC, but these characters are younger (well accept Rosie, and of course, Steve), but they all live a wilder life. Amy, I guess, could be younger version of Elizabeth, but she seems to be not as clever. But she’s tough, and able bodied. 

As with the TMC, there is a bendy plot to figure out just what’s going on, but it’s laced with some great humor and a few laugh out loud moments (Rosie is a hoot) and a bit of sadness as Steve negotiates being a widower. I do hope Adam, Steve’s son and Amy’s husband, gets more to do in later tales, but he could become a character like Columbo’s wife – someone we never see in flesh and blood, and only on a phone or email. 

It’s a good start to a new series. And while I’m looking forward to the fall release of Thursday Murder Club 5, I can say I’ll also be looking forward to seeing where Osman takes this dynamic trio on their next adventure.

Also, in his Afterword, he notes that this new series and TMC are set in the same universe (only about two hours from each other), so I could see an eventual crossover. That would be fun!!

Books: The Last Devil to Die (The Thursday Murder Club #4) by Richard Osman (2023)

“It's Boxing Day lunch at Cooper's Chase, where our resident septuagenarians Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce learn about the murder of antiques dealer, Kuldesh Sharma (who had a cameo in the previous book), who also happens to be a friend of Stephen, Elizabeth's husband. Of course, DCI Chris Hudson and Donna were determined to keep the members of the Thursday Murder Club out of their current murder investigation, but this proving hard to do. They’re quickly, however, get drawn into the dangerous world of drug dealers, art forgery and antiques. As the team investigates, Chris and Donna find themselves off the case, replaced by someone up the chain of command, which implies to them that there is more going on than anyone thought. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and her dementia suffering husband Stephen have come to a crossroad and nothing will be the same again.”

As The Thursday Murder Club further expands its caseloads beyond the confines of Copper’s Chase, including adding (and saying goodbye) to recurring characters, it comes to a natural breakpoint with The Last Devil To Die. A more emotional entry in the series, author Richard Osman still gives up a complex mystery, a dark look into some antique dealers business where forgery, deception, and murder seem to be the routine. We also get a B plot involving a lonely fellow resident, Mervyn, who has become the target of an online romance scam, and who refuses to believe his Tatiana is fictitious.

 

Despite some dark things (and a lot of death), Osman continues to give these wonderful characters a sense of humor. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, ones that are needed, mostly as the medical issues of Stephen and the couple’s solution to his dementia is a gut punch (and I wonder if there will be residual effects in later volumes). So goofy-fun Joyce steps up during a good portion of the operation, with Bogdan also playing a bigger, yet sympathetic role and Ibrahim also proves a vital part to play in the Murder Club's investigations.

 

While everything sort gets tied up neatly, there are a few dangling plot threads, but a fifth volume will be on the way –probably in late 2025- as Osman began a new series this year, We Solve Murders, with new characters and settings. Which means I’ll not read it until 2026. 

Books: The Bullet That Missed (The Thursday Murder Club #3) By Richard Osman (2022)

 

“The crime-fighting quartet of the Coopers Chase Retirement Village take on an ex-KGB colonel, several TV icons, a murderous money launderer, and more as they rush to catch the latest killer. Joyce suggests that the gang investigate the death of Bethany Waites, a local TV presenter whose car was pushed off a cliff several years prior. Bethany had been investigating a tax fraud operation worth over £10 million and had told colleagues she was close to revealing the mastermind behind it all. Now the Thursday Murder Club wants to know: Who killed Bethany? What happened to the £10 million? And why, since they started their investigation, have their two prime suspects in Bethany’s disappearance turned up dead?”

So far, the strongest of three, The Bullet that Missed moves at a swift pace, with exciting revelations as the tale builds. Then there is the mysterious man everyone is calling The Viking who wants Elizabeth to kill an old KGB agent, or he’ll kill Joyce. Then there is Ibraham trying to puzzle out what happened in the prison (a murder of another inmate) where Drug Queen Connie Johnson is awaiting trial for the actions in the last book.

The humor is still there, and Joyce remains funniest, somewhat daffy, eccentric character who is, of course, sometimes the cleverest of the lot. And she usually gets the best jokes, like this, “I have been Googling but there's not much there. I got so desperate I even used Bing but the results were the same if a bit slower”, and it made me laugh aloud. Still, Elizabeth remains the heart and soul of this series (and remains a hoot herself), a cunning woman who possess some brilliant talents and friends. Nothing seems to ruffle her feathers, with the exception of knowing that her husband Stephen’s time is growing shorter, as he begins to sense that there is finally something wrong with him.

Yes, it’s a cozy mystery the British have excelled with for more than a century, but it’s fun and very charming. And as I grow older, it’s also fun to read tales that feature positive age representations –this series celebrates the intelligence, ingenuity, resourcefulness and savvy that only comes with a life fully lived. Also, I learned a lot about cryptocurrency.

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…