The Bullet That Missed

We’re back at Cooper’s Chase again for a slug of red and a slab of lemon drizzle with the Thursday Murder Club. Who needs DIs and PIs to crack crime when you’ve got cardie-clad Joyce, sharp-suited Ibrahim, rough-and-ready Ron and the enigma that is Elizabeth poring over cold cases in the Jigsaw Room?
This time round it’s the murder of investigative journalist and news presenter Bethany Waites. To solve the mystery the gang go behind-the-scenes of regional TV, encounter an ex KGB agent and a very tall, bearded Viking (sound familiar?) and get embroiled in the intricacies of money-laundering and cyber currency.
There are lots of new characters who are as entertaining and believable as the familiar supporting cast whose show more circumstances and relationships continue to evolve in touching, amusing and engaging ways.
The Bullet that Missed is another masterstroke with a clever plot and lots of laughs along the way.
Richard Osman’s quaint and quirky quartet of seniors have become so real and endearing that they are practically national treasures as well awesome advocates for the ageing process.
Satisfying and heart-warming, this book kept me smiling and guessing. Hasta la vista lovelies! show less

The Thursday Murder Club returns in this third crime-solving adventure, as ex-spy Elizabeth, sweet and always surprising Joyce, rabble-rousing Ron and clever and curious Ibrahim become involved in an unsolved murder from years ago. As the quartet work to solve the murder of Bethany Waites, a journalist whose car was pushed off a cliff just as she was investigating a local crime ring involved in a massive tax fraud, Elizabeth finds herself embroiled in more trouble from her past. Can she find a way to avoid assassinating her old friend Victor, ex-KGB agent and current-day money launderer, or will she have to revert to her old ways, in order to protect newer friends? The gang work together, bringing in friends old and new, as they show more confront every challenge and solve (almost) every mystery...

Unlike the first two novels about these characters—the eponymous The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice—which I read in stops and starts, despite greatly enjoying both, I had no trouble reading The Bullet That Missed straight through, in a few days. It was immensely engaging, both as a mystery/adventure story, and as a further exploration of the lives of these characters, whom I have come to really love. I was thrilled to see that the relationship between Bogdan and Donna, hinted at toward the end of the last book, was further developed here; and I was touched by the evolution of the relationship between Elizabeth and Joyce, with the former so fiercely determined to protect the latter, and the latter calmly accepting that they had become "best friends." I wasn't sure what to think of the resolution: will Elizabeth and Victor discover that Bethany Waites is still alive? Is the reader supposed to want them to make that discovery, or supposed to hope that they don't? Will the other members of the Thursday Murder Club discover the secret shared between Ron and Pauline, at the end of the book? Despite these and other questions all being up in the air, I finished the book feeling satisfied with the ending. Which isn't to say, of course, that I'm not looking forward to the next installment. show less

A hoot, a romp, a dizzy ride through the world of VAT fraud, money-laundering and cryptocurrency with the Thursday Murder Club (which seems to be expanding). And it isn't really necessary to understand much about how those things work to enjoy the trip. (But I feel Joyce would warn you against getting involved, even with the most expert help available.) Delightful, even when it's sad. And loose ends left to be dealt with next time, one would hope.

This is the third entry in the “Thursday Murder Club” series, cozy mysteries set in a luxury retirement community that are quick-paced and witty with any number of laugh-out-loud moments.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron reside in Coopers Chase Retirement Village, and meet every Thursday for a “Murder Club” to look at old police files of cold cases and try to solve the them.

In this book, they are tackling the 10-year-old case of Bethany Waites, an investigative journalist who was on the brink of exposing a massive VAT fraud when her car went off Shakespeare Cliff along the Strait of Dover (the narrow water passage separating England from France) at 3 a.m. Her body was never found, although her blood and her clothes were in the show more recovered car.

Elizabeth is a bit distracted, however, as she has been receiving anonymous threats by text on her phone. She is also increasingly worried about her husband Stephen, whose dementia is getting worse. She laments: “. . . the more he slips from her grasp, the tighter she wants to hold him. If she is looking at him, surely he can’t disappear?”

The Thursday Club has assistance from the “regulars” in the series, including Bogdan Jankowski, who plays chess with Stephen and helps the group with situations that require youth and muscle, and DCI Chris Hudson and PC Donna De Freitas from the local police.

For the case of Bethany Waites, they also manage to rope in the participation of Mike Waghorn. He is a local TV news personality, and was Bethany’s colleague and friend.

More unconventional help adds to the group’s expertise, including Viktor Illyich, former head of the Leningrad KGB, who is, of course, a friend of Elizabeth’s. Even Connie Johnson, whom the group helped get installed in Darwell Prison in a previous book, contributes to solving the case. (In return, she wants the gang to get her a De’Longhi coffee machine for her rather comfy cell to replace her Nespresso, but to no avail.)

Evaluation: There is plenty of action, tension, humor, and pathos, each in just the right amount to keep you turning the pages and want more when you finish. These endearing characters are so well-drawn, you will come to think, as one character says at the end, “It’s the people, in the end, isn’t it? It’s always the people. You can move halfway around the world to find your perfect life, move to Australia if you like, but it always comes down to the people you meet.”

But the loss that comes with aging is always there in the background. As Elizabeth muses:

“It was best to grab everything while you could. Who knows when your final swim might come, your final walk, your final kiss?” show less

In the third installment of the Thursday Murder Club series, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim are back at it investigating the murder of Bethany Waites, a local journalist who disappeared 10 years ago. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is getting anonymous threats, Ron is getting involved with a makeup artist, Ibrahim is making visits to the prison to interrogate Connie Johnson, and Joyce is looking forward to meeting Mike Waghorn, local celebrity and Bethany's old boss. Can the club work together to solve the case again?

I think these books get better with each installment because they get more fun the more you get to know the characters. Osman's style can be a bit hard to get into in the first book; by book 3, I was ready for it and thoroughly show more enjoyed my time with the club again. 4 stars. show less

In The Bullet that Missed, our crime-solving octogenarians turn their talents to a cold case: the unsolved murder of journalist Bethany Waites. Ironically, the Thursday Murder Club formed to discuss unsolved cases, but the first two books found them untangling current crimes. In this installment they return to their roots, strengthened by real-life experience and a partnership with the local police force.

The mysteries are generally preposterous, as they invariably involve people from club member Elizabeth’s shady past, and this book was no exception. But the guest stars fit right in with the four principals, and even KGB agents and practiced criminals endear themselves to the reader. The crime itself took an interesting twist that I show more did not expect, and the lives of the main characters also progressed in satisfying ways.

Having read the first three Thursday Murder Club books in rapid succession, I can now quickly spot the formula at work, but I don’t really care. I just enjoy spending time with these people. show less

"The Bullet that Missed," Richard Osman's third entry in his Thursday Murder Club mystery series, is his most engaging to date. The protagonists are Elizabeth Best, a once-formidable spy with a colorful past; Ibrahim Arif, an insightful psychiatrist; Ron Ritchie, a fiery workers' rights advocate; and Joyce Meadowcroft, a tiny and cheerful former nurse and widow who is sharper than she appears, all live in the retirement village of Coopers Chase in Kent, England. They add spice to their lives by tackling unsolved homicides, and often outshine the police in the process.

Elizabeth and her friends look into a cold case involving Bethany Waites, a journalist who, ten years earlier, was presumed washed out to sea when her wrecked car was show more discovered at the bottom of a cliff. Before she disappeared, Waites had been preparing to expose a scam involving millions of dollars. Members of the Thursday Murder Club question Bethany's friends and co-workers, and they discover that Waits had been an ambitious and savvy woman who hoped that this sensational story would advance her career.

What makes this book a standout is its richness, variety, and laugh-out-loud dialogue. Osmon satirizes amateur writers of detective fiction who think that it is easy to write a popular thriller; greedy individuals who would rather steal money than earn it; would-be-assassins who, when confronted with their victims, decide that killing them may not be worth the effort; and television personalities who are desperate to remain at the top by earning high ratings and maintaining a strong social media presence. This complex whodunit will stump even the canniest armchair sleuths. Along with the merriment, there are poignant passages about the toll that old age and sickness can take on us and those we love. The author masterfully juggles a large and colorful cast of characters, such as Viktor, an amiable ex-KGB agent, and Connie Johnson, a hard-bitten and calculating prison inmate. Osman keeps the compelling plot moving at a fast clip, and wraps things up ingeniously. This riotous, poignant, and entertaining novel is a must-read for fans of off-beat crime fiction. show less