The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

The Bullet that Missed
by Richard Osman
⭐⭐⭐

The Bullet that Missed is the third installment in the Thursday Murder Club series! As usual, the gang works together to solve a famous murder case. This time, the murder belongs to news anchor Bethany Waites, whose car was pushed off the edge of a cliff… without her body. While the crew works hard to find Bethany’s killer, Elizabeth’s murky past starts to catch up with her. 

The Man Who Died Twice was such a great sequel, so I was really excited to read this book! Unfortunately, it wasn’t as strong, in my opinion. Of all three books, this one felt very rushed, like Richard Osman was getting close to his deadline. The humor wasn’t as frequent or strong, Elizabeth wasn’t really at the top of her game, and there, quite frankly, just wasn’t enough Joyce. Also, the mystery of this book wasn’t spectacular and the villain of the story was predictable to me. 

With that said, however, I loved the new characters that were introduced to us in this book! Each one is totally unique and adds a new perspective to our group of elderly crime fighters. And honestly, despite my criticisms, I still enjoyed revisiting these characters and liked the story decently enough. 

I saw that book four is already in the works, which is great, but also worrisome. It’s when publishers put pressure on authors to write an annual bestseller that we enter the territory of lower quality storylines and rushed endings. I really hope the next book is stronger than this one. Still, though, it was an enjoyable story!

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

The Man Who Died Twice
by Richard Osman
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Ah, Thursday Murder Club #2. I was really excited to read this one. It is very rare for me to like a sequel more than the the first in a series, but in the case of The Man Who Died Twice, this is exactly what happened. I love stories starring strong and funny women who are completely unapologetic about who they are, which is why this series will always hold a special place in my heart. 

Just like in the first book, Elizabeth is the main player here, with the parade of her fellow elderly friends at her tail. Throughout this mystery, we meet a few new characters, all of which are fun and interesting additions. The previously existing characters also go through some deeper evolution and the character development added a lot of depth to the characters, which was one of the major lacking points of the first book in my opinion. Joyce's little intermissions were also just as wonderful as before and the growth of her and Elizabeth's friendship in this story made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I'm not going to go too deeply into detail about the story because the mystery was genuinely amazing and it kept me guessing until the very end. I also found this sequel much funnier than the first installation. I definitely feel like Richard Osman found his groove with The Man Who Died Twice. It was really fantastic and I enjoyed the way the story unfolded! I can't wait for #3 in this series!!