The Man Who Died Twice

Title: The Man Who died Twice the Thursday Murder #2

Author: Richard Osman

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, General Fiction

Year of release: 2021

Release date: 14^th September 2021

Rating

Reading book #1 The Thursday Murder Club first is recommended.

Synopsis

It’s the following Thursday, and Elizabeth has just had a visit from a man she thought was dead. It’s (one of) her ex-husbands, and he’s being hunted. His story involves some diamonds, some spies, and a very angry mobster. Elizabeth puts it down to his normal grandstanding, but then the bodies start piling up. So, she enlists Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron in the hunt for the killer. If they find the diamonds – well, that’s just a bonus…But this time the murderer isn’t some small-time criminal, and it soon becomes terrifyingly clear that they wouldn’t bat an eyelid at killing four septuagenarians. Can our team find the killer before the killer finds them?

 

Review 

It’s the following Thursday and Coopers Chase Retirement Village’s very own Murder Club members  Elizabeth Best, Joyce Meadowcroft, Ibrahim Arif, and Ron Ritchie are once again holding court in the jigsaw room discussing crime and other bits and bobs.

Elizabeth approaches her friends after receiving a surprise visit from a man who Elizabeth believed was dead and who just happens to be her ex-husband or at least one of them. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, it wasn’t just a social visit, as it turns out diamonds have been stolen and threats have been made. Elizabeth must now step in and on some toes to take charge if no one is to end up becoming permanent residents in the graveyard situated above Coopers Chase Retirement Village.

 

The Thursday Murder Club joins in on the search for the killer and if they happen across some diamonds there’s no harm in making plans. Can our favorite foursome solve the case before it’s too late?

I’ve been waiting for this book since March 2021 as I had formed an instant connection to the foursome and I had high hopes for the sequel. Once again Author Richard Osman has succeeded in bringing humour to life on the page, if you like me loved the debut The Thursday Murder Club  and are having doubts about the second, rest assured The Man Who Died Twice is worth the hype and defiantly worth the wait! In this reviewer’s opinion, it’s better than the first in terms of the mystery and because of this, I give the book a 5-star rating!

 

Richard Osman has managed to give this reader a little more detail into the characters whilst keeping them true to their mannerisms covered in the debut. Because of this, I was able to find the characters even more enjoyable this time around, I hope this level of detail remains as the series progresses.

Right from the opening sentence, I knew that this book wouldn’t last long, for a book with octogenarians as main characters the plot is in continuous motion from start to finish.  

I was somewhat worried the story would be missing something as the debut novel was such a highlight and a book I still think about and highly recommend to other readers all these months later, I already know the same will be said for this book.

Osman has touched on issues such as Anxiety, Dementia, Depression, PTSD with care and consideration.  

Sometimes seen as a curse with a series second offering when it comes to characters is that they can feel somewhat one dimensional in terms of development, especially if little details are glossed over or covering to much detail from the first book, or the Author can seem more focussed on the plot, not the case here.

The Man Who Died Twice has an original plot, and an ending I didn’t see coming for the most part. The details I was able to guess didn’t take away from my enjoyment in any way thanks to the skilled writing used to throw me off the scent.  

“I promise if we’d found the diamonds it would have been in, In like Flynn. It would have been all diamonds.” Joyce.

-The Man Who Died Twice- Richard Osman

As always with this series the book runs out before the reader is ready in my opinion, the ending has me eager to see where the series goes next, I can’t wait to see Joy and the gang again, something tells me murder won’t be far behind them.

I highly recommend this series to mature readers if you’re looking for a cosy Mystery series look no further then the Thursday Murder Club meets every Thursday in the Jigsaw Room!