A LibraryReads selection for September 2022, THE BULLET THAT MISSED by Richard Osman is the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series (Steven Spielberg already has movie rights for the first title). In the latest, Osman seems to expect readers to vividly remember all of the characters; however, less recap from the author means it takes a while to recall the distinct personalities and that makes for a slower start. Once again, Osman offers a couple of mysteries and several twists going at once, plus some definite references to the age and capabilities of his sleuths (former MI6 agent Elizabeth, rather eccentric Joyce, psychiatrist Ibrahim, and plodding Ron, plus local police and gentle giant Bogdan). This time they are working with a former KGB colonel and are trying to evade a killer while also working to solve the cold case death of a young woman broadcaster. THE BULLET THAT MISSED offers an amusing and suspenseful tale; it received a starred review from Kirkus ("Your next must-read mystery series.").

I have been a fan of this series since the first book, and I continue to be blown away by Osman's writing. Like the others in this series, The Bullet That Missed is such a fun read, and I was happy to be back with these characters. I love Elizabeth's cool handling of situations and her husband's nonchalance with what is going on. I love the capers that these characters get into and the interplay between. Definitely a great read, and I can't wait for the next installment in the Thursday Murder Club series!

Another home run. I absolutely love this series. Fantastic plot. The gang is out to solve a cold case but Elizabeth has some old problems coming back to haunt her. Loved the ending!

The bullet may have missed, but Richard Osman never does! This is the third installment for the Thursday Murder Club, with an extensive list of characters, several of whom die in the course of the story. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim are investigating a 10 year old cold case when suddenly things become personal. Elizabeth is kidnapped, and told she must kill a former KGB spy, or else her abductor will kill Elizabeth's best friend Joyce. Eventually the two cases coalesce, and plot twists abound.
A delightful read!

First and foremost, I loved this book, it's the best one in the series thus far. I really appreciate the author not repeating character backgrounds/elements from the previous novels and focusing on the story/plot. The books is full of twists and turns, but still of full of humour. If you're a fan of the previous novels in the Thurday Murder Club series, you will not be disappointed.

Great read. Suspense and love and murder happen regardless of elder age.

This series is unique in its plotline and its characters. I love that the story is set in an active living retirement community - where each person has their unique background and personality and passion. The Thursday Murder Club intertwines with the local police, the local gangs, and international strategists!

Ageism? check
Senility? check
Love and sex? check
Ex-MI6 spy? check
Russian mafioso to pull for? check
Assassin with compassion? check
Real life, real death? check

I particularly enjoyed seeing this book's focus on Ibrahim's character and his engaging attention to detail and codes. His friendship with and place within the Club make the tale so rich. And the "bullets" that appear in the novel are varied and consequential, physical and metaphorical: Each important to solving the plot.

Publication Sept 20, 2022. Start with the first in the series and enjoy your way through. Hopefully Book 4 will be available soon! (Thanks to Penguin/Viking and Netgalley for the chance to read an advance copy!)

Things seem like they are settling down. Ibrahim has begun venturing into public again. Joyce has chosen a new cold case for the group to study. Elizabeth is reluctantly coming to terms with Stephen's dementia Bogdan and Donna are trying out the dating scene. Donna has gotten used to her mother and her partner Chris dating. But, of course, things can't stay this placid for long.

Ron begins dating someone they meet as part of the investigation into the cold case. Donna and Chris receive medals ( we won't tell anyone they had the help of the Thursday Murder Club to close the case). And Elizabeth and Stephen are kidnapped and threatened with death if Elizabeth won't assassinate someone. Really? Who chooses retired operatives living in a senior center to carry out their dirty work? And the cold case seems to still have some open leads to pursue.

Hold on tight as Osman takes us through chess games, kidnappings, antique shops, swimming pools suspended between skyscrapers (seriously), prisons, television studios, doctored tea, and several train stations. Your head will be spinning as the characters discuss cryptocurrency, VAT scams, investigative reporting, and relations between MI6 and the KGB. This is the club working several cases at once and still making their younger counterparts look as if they are moving in slow motion.

I was so happy to revisit my friends at the Cooper Chase Retirement Home to see what they have been up to and they have been up to a lot! They are investigating a ten -year- old disappearance and probable murder of a beloved TV news personality who was investigating a money laundering scheme. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim partner with her former TV co-star, his make-up artist, a Viking and other colorful characters to try and solve the crime and, of course they do.

Love is in the air with Ron, Donna, Chris, Bogdan and Joyce is hopeful. Joyce is still on social media and now trying crypto currency. She has a new cardigan so anything can happen

This series gets better with each entry in The Thursday Murder Club. Love the humor and the interaction between the characters, and there is a great twist at the end. I can’t wait to see what new cases The Thursday Murder Club will solve in the next entry in this wonderful series.

The Bullet That Missed will be published on September, 20th. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an impartial review of it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery though for me it's more about the characters than solving the crime. There was a slight twist but it wasn't entirely a surprise. The characters continue to be witty and charming and it was a delightful book.

The Bullet That Missed
by Richard Osman
Pub Date: September 20, 2022
Viking
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book! I have now added the first book in the series for our line-up for our book club at the library. Each book in the Thursday Murder Club series gets better and better. The mysteries are more intricately plotted and there are more interesting characters introduced.

The Club is back together, they all live in Cooper’s Chase, an upscale retirement complex: What a joy to see Joyce and her folksy journal entries. Elizabeth with her special skills and secrets -- and her dear husband Stephen. Ron with a budding romance. Ibrahim working on the codes and anagrams. Chris and Donna are thriving with the police force and there may even be an additional career option for Donna. At the heart of this third book is the murder of a television producer/morning host. Who pushed Bethany Waites and her car off a cliff? And who is sending Elizabeth anonymous texts. I loved this book! I have purchased and preordered all of them for the library. I highly recommend.
5 stars

Thank you so much for the ebook ARC but as soon as I started it, I remembered how much I loved the audiobooks of the first two in the series. I'm going to wait until my library has the audio. Many staff and patrons are thrilled that a 3rd book is coming out~

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman is the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series. These stories get richer as the reader learns more about the members of the club and as the club expands to welcome new members. The story moves along at a rapid clip and is highly entertaining. Recommended for all mystery fans and readers who are looking for older protagonists.

Richard Osman scores again with the continued detecting adventures of a group of friends at a "quiet" retirement village in England. The crew of seniors, including a former MI6 spy, psychiatrist, labor union boss, and their associates dedicated to solving cold cases, is not to be underestimated, though the the unsuspecting may make that mistake. Delightfully charming and humorous with a touch of cold blooded plotting, this third book of the series is again a winner not to be missed.

The third installment of the Thursday Murder Club continues to bring the quirky, offbeat humor we've come to expect with this murder mystery series. This book brings back the delightful characters from the first two books along with some interesting new ones, who work well together solving the cold case of who killed the young reporter. The best and most cohesive of the series so far; a great read for anyone looking for a somewhat light-hearted, but clever and amusing murder mystery.

The Tuesday Murder Club is at it again. The four British retirees—Ron, the union leader; Ibrahim, the psychiatrist; Joyce, the nurse; and Elizabeth, the spy, have an unusual “hobby”: they challenge themselves to solve criminal cases that have baffled the police for years. The case they’ve zeroed in on this time is the mysterious disappearance of local television news reporter Bethany Waites, a cold case that has gone unsolved for almost 10 years.
They begin their unorthodox investigation with Mike Wighorn, television personality and Bethany’s boss. Mike says that on the night of her disappearance, Bethany told him she had the “news scoop of a lifetime,” that she was on her way to a top-secret interview and would be back in touch as soon as she could. The next thing he knew, the police discovered Bethany’s wrecked car and concluded she was in a fatal accident, but there’s no evidence of a body anywhere. Could Bethany still be alive?
Each of the four members of the Murder Club have a unique talent they bring to an investigation. But there’s no question that, if officers were ever elected, Elizabeth would win the presidency. Her many years spent operating in the murky world of spies and criminals have given her a vast network of sources to call on when necessary. She’s also a crack shot and wouldn’t flinch if she had to pull the trigger of a gun to protect her friends.
As the investigation continues, the group’s search leads them to an inmate at a woman’s prison (who blames Ron for putting her there), a mysterious man only known as The Viking, and Viktor Illyich, one of Elizabeth’s former contacts and possible ex-lovers, to name a few.
“The Bullet That Missed” is the third in this series by British television host Richard Osman. Its fast-moving plot may at times leave a reader breathless. But hang on; it’s worth the ride!

Reviewed by Susan Santangelo, author of “Mistletoe Can Be Murder,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is the third book in the “Thursday Murder Club” series. Once again Osman has introduced suspense, laughter and tons of fun with Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim. The Club is investigating the suicide of Bethany Waite. They believe that she was murdered. To find out more information on Bethany they interviewed Mike Waghorn a local TV personality that worked with Bethany. Mike ends up helping them with this case.

But not only is this happening to our group but Elizabeth is kidnapped and by a man they are calling “The Viking”. He would like Elizabeth to kill someone for him or he will kill Joyce. She has two weeks in which to complete her assignment.

There is definitely a lot going on through this story but it winds up flowing beautifully. I can’t get enough of this series and am already looking forward to the next one. What I love about this series is that you have a smile on your face as you are reading. If you haven’t read this series grab the first one and join the fun, and solve a great mystery.

Everything you would hope for out of a new Thursday Murder Club! The gang is back at it, solving a cold case that’s come back to life and this time with the help of some new friends. I love how all the characters continue to develop and the introduction of Alan is a true joy. This book also really gave Ibrahim a chance to shine in a professional capacity while Chris and Donna seemed to step back a little bit more. Highly recommend for a funny read that will still work your mind. Thanks to NetGalley for the preview copy!

I already know that I want to move to this retirement village and become friends with Elizabeth and her fellow sleuths. Have peeked a bit at the ARC, but decided not to read. I plan to purchase The Bullet That Missed and savor the written words on paper.

The Thursday Murder club strikes again. They are out to solve a cold case, the death of a young reporter whose body was never found. This addition to the series is just as good as, if not better than the last two. We meet some interesting and delightful new characters. The plot is twisty and clever. Have fun reading this one,

This was such a fun and fast read and I think it is my favorite so far. I just love the camaraderie and the friendships and yes, even romances in this series of books. Even though this book clocks in at 400 pages I could have easily read it in one day. When I did have to put it down, I was constantly thinking about it and itching to get back to it.

All of the gang is back and having an interesting time finding out who murdered Bethany Waites. Everyone had a role to play, even Stephen had a time to shine, and there are some interesting additions to the group that will hopefully stick around. Both Ron and Donna have new love interests and their perspectives on love and dating were very humorous and in Ron’s case endearing. Elizabeth and Joyce spend lots of time together getting themselves into trouble and foiling the villain’s plans. I did feel a bit sorry for Ibrahim in this one, as he seemed to be the odd man out, but he does have a very important part to play in this story.

Of all the new characters that join the group in this story, I think I liked Viktor Illyich the most. He is an old spy friend/advisory/lover of Elizabeth, and I just thought he was great and fit in with the group so well. I certainly hope he will stick around and be in future books.

The plot was very compelling and full of the twists and turns that I have come to expect in this series. I must say that I thought I had the whole thing figured out about half way through, but I was way off and didn’t even consider the person who ended up being the mastermind behind the whole mystery. It is also a fast moving story and I loved that the chapters were short. Each chapter was told from one character’s perspective which made the whole story easier to follow. There were some cliffhanger chapters that were then delayed one or two chapters as we saw other parts of the story, which was a bit frustrating, but well done on the whole.

If you enjoyed the first two books in this series, you will definitely want to pick this one up. It has a delightful set of characters that will keep you smiling at their antics as they try to solve both old and new murders and crimes.