The famous Thursday Murder Club is back! Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are back and so is Chris, Donna and Bogdan, however this time the murders will involve the MI5 and the mafia, the group will be hunting for diamonds.

It all starts when Elizabeth's ex colleague and ex husband is hiding at Coopers' Chase, he is in danger and he asked for Elizabeth help. At the same time, Ibrahim is attacked and mugged whilst out doing some commissions and his friends are determined to put the culprit behind prison.

I loved The Thursday Murder Club, and I loved this new book in the series even more. The writing is great and the characters are so well developed, you will laugh and the plot will entice you till the very end.

Thank you to Penguin/Viking for providing me with a widget of the ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having read but not loved the first book in the Thursday Murder Club series, I was hoping that I'd enjoy the sequel more. In some ways I did, but sadly not quite enough.

The Man Who Died Twice follows two main merging plotlines: one in which Elizabeth, Joyce and the rest of the gang track down some stolen diamonds and solve a double-murder and another following Donna and Chris' attempts to arrest a prolific drug dealer (and take down a local mugger at the same time).

It was an enjoyable read, but sadly suffered from the same problems as its predecessor which prevented me from liking it more. The plot was pretty good, sometimes rambling but never enough to make me want to stop reading. However for a book which relies on unusual protagonists as its USP, the characters were where this read lacked the most. One of the book's greatest strengths - its hilarious writing - is also its downfall for me; namely that the characters lack deeper, distinguished personalities, sacrificed at the altar of witty dialogue. This leads to some truly great lines in the book* but sadly means that there's no distinctive characterisation - the character perspectives in the book mostly feel very similar, and that one overarching personality is slightly too twee for my liking. Notably I did enjoy this book more than the first one, so let's hope this upwards trajectory continues!

All in all I found The Man Who Died Twice to be enjoyable, but not particularly memorable; a decent holiday read, nothing more, nothing less.

*"Chris has lost a bit of weight, he has had a nice haircut, and is now wearing a pair of age-appropriate trainers - everything Donna had ever told him to do. She had used all the tricks in the book to encourage him, to convince him, to cajole him into looking after himself. But it turned out that, all along, the only real motivation he needed to change was to start having sex with her mum. You have to be so careful what you wish for."

Oh what fun! Easily all the stars for this one as I couldn’t get enough of my crime solving senior citizens. I loved The Thursday Murder Club last year and the follow up is just as clever, witty and twisty. I was hooked from the very beginning and sad when it was time to say goodbye again. But it looks like a third book is in the works so happy days.

We return to Coopers Chase and are reunited with the gang... Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim. After all the excitement of the previous book they are on the look out for their next case and find it when a former colleague of Elizabeth’s turns up. Not going to say too much about the plot by this book hasn’t it all... a mugging, drug dealers, bodies piling up, MI5, diamonds and so much more.

A fun, cozy murder mystery where once again the bodies start to pile up around them. It is funny and we learn a lot more about not only our 4 main characters but the local police that they work with... Chris and Donna. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Penguin, Viking and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. Out in September 16th.

As much as I enjoyed the first book, this book is even better. The characters we've come to know and love are able to expand as the introductions have already been done. Their personalities and histories enrich the story in every way possible and I would love to meet this group in real life. The plot was twisty and intricate and left me guessing most of the time. I eagerly await the next book in the series and hope we one day get a TV or film adaptation.

The gang are back again in another brilliant novel. Funny, touching, clever and with the twists and turns we've come to love, I enjoyed the sequel even more than the original. Love, mystery and diamonds - what a treat.

What a thoroughly delightful book!
I was riveted all the way through. Filled with humour and
Twists and turns. And no ‘f’ words. I couldn’t put it down.
I will have to buy the first book now, can’t wait to read it :)

Another triumph by Richard Osman.

The book slips straight into an easy to read story with endearing characters that we’ve met in the previous novel.

It is cleverly written with a few twists and turns along the way, the mystery mounting throughout.

Richard Osman’s writing style is a delight to read!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

A big thank-you to Richard Osman, Penguin General, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
The second mystery solved by a group of senior citizens is as intriguing as the first one. The four friends manage to find, with a little support from the police, the culprit behind a double murder. I do enjoy the interactions and the way the magnificent four perceive the world. Some moments had me chuckle for which I am grateful to Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim.
Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review. Full review to come.


22/8/21
For now, my immediate thoughts:
Sometimes you read a book at exactly the time you need it most and it turns a great book into a favourite one. This is one of those times. Richard Osman's mind is wonderful and I cannot wait for another story following this wonderful lot.

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26/8/21

The first book was brilliant. I loved everything about it. Because of how highly I thought about the first book, I was both incredibly excited and incredibly nervous to read this sequel. I had very high hopes for it. And it's safe to say I wasn't disappointed in the least. In fact, it exceeded my expectations in ways I didn't expect it to.

Going in, I knew to expect a mystery that would keep me enticed with every single twist and turn and that the cast of characters would keep me smiling and laughing. What I didn't quite expect was the level of depth in the main cast, and even the supporting cast too. The plot in this book did a great deal to expand Elizabeth's character and further explore the fine details of Joyce's (and their friendship, which I rather love). I didn't expect to see quite as much exploration into Ibrahim's character, or to see more sides to Ron and I loved every scene that these two characters were in. Especially when it was together.

The plot moved a little slower than I'd hoped it to, but I didn't find that it lessened my enjoyment of the book in the least. In fact, I rather liked that it was slower. It worked beautifully with the plot and the development of the characters and slowly gained the pace I'd hoped for originally.

I truly cannot wait to see what Osman does next with these characters and their little corner of the world, and I cannot wait to see these characters again soon. This book has become a definite comfort read for me and I cannot wait for it to be published so I can reread it!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found the writing to be delightful. The characters are authentic and full of old fashioned humour. Eagerly anticipating the next one of the series.

A new meeting with the band of intrepid DIY sleuths residing in Coopers Chase retirement village. This time they are hot on the pursuit of a£20 million cache of stolen diamonds linked to the New York. mafia. Humour abounds in their exploits and the dead bodies pile up. Elizabeth the ex MI5 sleuth is at the centre of their exploits having received a message from an ex husband and former spook who has misappropriated some diamonds and is being hunted down. The Thursday Murder Club enlist the local police,, London detectives MI5 agents and not forgetting One of their grandsons.
A joy to be with this group again with their quirky characteristics . Bring on the next adventure.

I, contraversially, didn't love Osman's first book, but there is clearly a lot to admire here. He is funny, charming and kind, and his writing sparkles with warm wit.

I absolutely loved The Thursday Murder Club so I was extremely thrilled to be given the opportunity to read The Man Who Died Twice in advance of it's publication in September. It was a joy to return to Coopers Chase and the gang - Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron and Ibrahim. We picked up just where we left off, it is the following Thursday and the club are back on the case!
I just love the style that these books are written in. The language is so quintessentially English, the jokes so silly (Joyce: "I haven't got the hoover for a big dog") and the friendships just so honest. The plot was even better in this book than the first and I was left guessing until quite late on. The book moves on at a pace and although the thrills and spills are just as wonderful in this second book, I felt there was even more warmth in The Man Who Died Twice. The meeting (therapy session) between Ibrahim and Donna was really moving, for example. As is the budding relationship between Chris and Donna's mother!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am already excited for the third instalment. Thank you so much to Viking books for the opportunity to read and review - it's another easy 5* from me.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great storyline with excellent characters. I would highly recommend this book as it was a great read.

I think this book is better than Thursday Murder Club. The humour and pure escapism is the best yet.

As with its predecessor, The Thursday Murder club, The man who died twice is an uplifting and delightfully clever read.
Its funny, how can it not be with characters in their seventies and eighties who have lived a life, learned a lot and are basically waiting for the end. As Joyce says at the beginning “ Why go on a diet at 82? What’s a sausage Roll gonna do to you? Kill you? We’ll join the queue” That pretty much sums up the four main protagonists (Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron) in this book, they do whatever they want and what they want is to solve a murder or two. How they get there is both funnily entertaining to read and yet cleverly executed. I learnt from his first book not to trust Osman when a “suspect” was in the picture, cause nothing about this book or plot is obvious and that had me turning page after page until I had finally reached the end. And what an ending it was, I was not disappointed instead I was utterly enthralled. The story flows, the characters entertain and the mystery will grip you to the last pages. This is definitely a book to read, and it predecessor too if you haven’t already, I’ll definitely be reading this one again next time I need a good pick me up 😁
Posted to in a nook with a book FB page and goodreads

Well, he has done it again, in even more style.
A welcome return to our four elderly crime solving residents. This time, past relationships are highlighted and we get more back stories.
A mugging, a few murders, diamonds and some dodgy dealings feature in this second book of the trilogy.
The humour remains, the plot is full and rich, and the time just flew by.

I was absolutely thrilled to be given the chance to review this book, so thank you Penguin Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity.

Where do I start!! This book has everything, the brilliant Murder Club foursome, with added appearances by Chris, Donna, Bogdan, and even Stephen who had some great lines.

Just superb, writing even better than the first book, great one-liners and I will never look at Instagram the same way...... I actually laughed out loud at that bit!

Nicely tidied up at the end, with some people getting what they deserved (sorry can't give too much away!!)

Brilliant, amazing, you have to read it!!

Am looking forward to the 3rd book, no pressure Mr Osman!!

I loved the first and I loved the second. Another funny, poignant, clever novel from Richard Osman that is sure to find its way into many, many Christmas stockings. Once again we meet our intrepid investigators, as they find themselves deeply, accidentally and very happily embroiled in an MI5 case that has gone rather spectacularly wrong. There are more revelations about the marvellous Elizabeth, lovely Joyce finds her stride, Ron is, well, Ron and Ibrahim takes a knock he fears there is no coming back from. Osman cleverly balances action with insight, high drama with every day realities for older people and presents a story everybody can enjoy,

Here we are, reunited with The Thursday Murder Club in this sequel. I flew through this, I engaged with this book a lot quicker than TTMC # 1.

I kept saying to myself I’d stop reading for the night when I got to the end of a chapter but because they are so short & lively I kept going!

We have diamonds, mafia, murders, drug dealers and the garden of the year. There was a lot more danger for our crew this time around but also a lot more fun for them.

I love Joyce and Bogdan & the introduction of Ron’s grandson - Kendrick. What a cute, sweet kid! We have more interactions from Donna and Chris with the crew. And also from Donna’s mother - Patrice.

Joyce is giving Elizabeth a run for her money this time around as they hunt for clues. We also learn more about Elizabeth’s background in this book and how she met Stephen 💕

I want to move to Cooper’s Chase with the llamas 😂 and visit the gang for tea.

There will be a third book in the series. Hopefully more are to come. I’m invested in these characters.

If you haven’t read Book # 1 by now, I highly recommend you get to it quick. You will fall in love with the characters.