The Man Who Died Twice

July 5, 2021
In Thriller Award–finalist Osman’s riveting sequel to 2020’s The Thursday Murder Club, Elizabeth Best, one of four members of a crime-solving club at Coopers Chase, a retirement residence in Kent, England, receives an SOS written by a feckless secret agent from her past who’s supposed to be dead. The man is at the center of a long-ago clandestine operation and the theft of a large cache of diamonds that interest MI5, the Mafia, and other parties. Soon murders occur, and Elizabeth and club pals Joyce Meadowcroft, Ron Ritchie, and Ibrahim Arif and their associates must finger the perpetrator, decipher cryptic messages, and embark on a convoluted hunt for the diamonds amid considerable danger. Complicating the case are the attack on a club member and the activities of a notorious drug trafficker wanted by the police. The twisty plot, knotty issues of relationships with life partners, and steadfast loyalty among the sleuths provide depth and poignancy. Those who prefer their mysteries with touches of spycraft, humor, and eccentricity will be well pleased. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency.

September 1, 2021

In this sequel to The Thursday Murder Club, Elizabeth Best and her septuagenarian friends Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim are once again on the trail of a killer. Elizabeth's ex-husband Douglas has contacted her after many years, asking her to hide him in her retirement village. Some bad people are after him, and there is a question about some diamonds that he may or may not have stolen. Elizabeth is afraid of being thrust back into the cloak-and-dagger life she left behind. When someone is killed during an attempt on Douglas's life, Elizabeth is contacted by MI5 agents who want to figure out who located his safe house. While the hunt is on for the missing diamonds, more deaths occur, and Elizabeth must use her espionage skills to outwit a killer. The friends also deal with a violent act done to one of their own when Ibrahim is brutally mugged. VERDICT This entertaining follow-up to Osman's first mystery reveals more about the main characters' lives, especially Elizabeth's. Excerpts from Joyce's diary provide many humorous moments, as well as another perspective of the events of the novel. Recommended for fans of British cozies, especially Simon Brett's "Fethering" series and Ann Purser's "Lois Meade" series.--Jean King, West Hempstead P.L., NY

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2021
The follow-up to Osman's best-selling The Thursday Murder Club (2020) reintroduces Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim, all residents of an English retirement community who have eschewed bridge and crafts for crime-solving. Elizabeth, a former MI5 agent, is surprised when an old partner (and former husband) gets in touch, but she's soon got the gang involved in a case that involves millions in diamonds and a mobster who takes no prisoners. There are murders, too, a goodly number of them, and a clever revenge subplot against a young lout who has dared to harm one of the club. Osman, a familiar TV face in the UK, captures the spirit of older folks who don't want to be pigeonholed by their age and who capture the charming insouciance of those who've seen a lot, including death. The use of the present tense moves the dialogue at a sprightly clip, while the plot itself often gallops. But it is the four very different, sometimes annoying, but utterly endearing members of the club who will leave readers eager for Osman to call the next meeting to order.

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Starred review from July 15, 2021
Osman follows The Thursday Murder Club (2020), his supremely entertaining debut, with an even better second installment. Coopers Chase, an upscale retirement village in the British countryside, is home to the Thursday Murder Club, which consists of shrewd, deadly former spy Elizabeth Best, retired nurse Joyce Meadowcroft, psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif, political activist Ron Ritchie, and three honorary members, fixer Bogdan Jankowski, DCI Chris Hudson, and Police Constable Donna De Freitas. A letter from a dead man plunges Elizabeth and her friends into a dangerous case involving local crooks, the Mafia, and MI6. The letter is signed by Marcus Carmichael, whose corpse Elizabeth had seen pulled from the Thames years earlier, but it turns out to have been written by Elizabeth's ex-husband, Douglas Middlemiss, who knew that name would get her attention. Douglas isn't dead, but he's still in a spot of trouble involving stolen diamonds and an angry go-between who holds valuable items for a variety of crooks. When a group of teenagers steal Ibrahim's phone and then kick him in the head after he falls down, the group plots revenge, little knowing that the two problems may soon become one. When Douglas and his handler, Poppy, are shot dead, the group must race MI6 and several vicious crooks to neutralize a number of killers and find the diamonds. Elizabeth, who knows so much about Douglas, is assigned to decode the clues he left behind, but each of her seemingly innocuous friends has skills that enhance the group's ability to survive and place blame where it belongs while covering up a myriad of minor offenses. A clever, funny mystery peopled with captivating characters that enhance the story at every quirky turn.

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