The Last Devil To Die: The Thursday Murder Club 4

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There are some interesting new characters introduced - Mervyn, who is looking for love in all the wrong places; Jill Regan from the NCA; and assorted criminals, some obviously so, others not so obvious. Of all the criminals it was Garth who intrigued me the most, a great big Canadian bear of a man who loved very deeply.

His next book will feature a father-in-law/daughter-in-law detective duo, and I must admit-that sounds like FUN- I am looking forward to meeting them!

And yet, reading about these four friends who take life by the horns when it would've been much easier to just coast and fade out is so inspiring and invigorating. As Richard Osman puts it wisely via Joyce, "The urgency of old age. There's nothing that makes you feel more alive than the certainty of death."

It's Boxing Day lunch at Cooper's Chase, a retirement village in South East England, where resident septuagenarians Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce learn about the murder of antiques dealer, Kuldesh Sharma, who also happens to be a friend of Stephen, Elizabeth's husband. Richard Osman's fourth book, The Last Devil to Die, will be released on September 14 in the UK, continuing the beloved series about four crime-solving pensioners. It's a series that even caught the attention of the one and only Steven Spielberg. Donna De Freitas– A police officer who is (benevolently) used by the members of the Thursday Murder Club Richard Osman has been an extremely productive and creative author for the past few years, so much so that there now seems to be a plethora of writers who try and duplicate his formula. Once again, Osman proves he is at the top of his game as he treats us to his usual assortment of seniors who assist the police in solving crimes. Elizabeth is the leader, Joyce her friend and diarist, Ron the former union leader and Ibrahim who is a psychogist. Here we have one of their friends, an antique dealer, who is murdered after he is given an old box filled with heroin. The dealer is dead, and the box with the heroin is missing. They care less about the heroin, but need to discover who killed their friend. We also are treated to a side issue of Romance Fraud on the internet as a new resident at their apartments has fallen for an internet romance and shipped a large amount of funds to Lithuania to help his "true love" pay her bills. Add to this, Elizabeth's husband Stephen is suffering from dementia and we have many segments of the book dealing with the condition, aging, death, etc. Finally we also have University professors, Afghan drug smugglers, a cocaine dealer who Ibrahim counsels at her prison cell, and a rival antique dealer and her male Canadian partner. I am telling you, the plot is interesting, we get to also meet Bob the Computer Guy who also has just moved into the complex, and we are treated to Joyce with her diary entries which also help tie things together, and who has surprisingly taken the lead when Elizabeth is indisposed.

The fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club series will hopefully prove to anyone who has had their doubts that these are not cosy mysteries. Like the members of the club itself it feels like these books are sometimes dismissed as gentle or cosy. But, the emotionally loaded fourth instalment shows that there is so much more to these books. I won’t rehash the plot since it’s been thoroughly reviewed by others at this point, other than to say it involves a stolen box with a valuable stash inside, the darker side of the antiques trade and forgery, a side story about romance fraud and, of course, murder! This was an entertaining mystery, with more chaos and mayhem (hehe) than you'd expect old people to get themselves into. We see Joyce really come into her own here, stepping in for Elizabeth who is otherwise indisposed. I feel like all the side characters were particularly charming, and I even started to like Connie if you can believe it. We also have a little side mystery going on to catch an online scammer, just to add a bit of extra zing to the whole thing. Osman added: “I’m so thrilled to be writing more Thursday Murder Club books at Viking, the gang couldn’t wish for a happier home. And I’ve been secretly excited for a while now about my new series, which I think readers will love. More details soon, I promise, but for now here’s a toast to more Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron, and to some brand-new friends too.”

While previous books in the Thursday Murder Club series have been full of action and crowded with characters, it becomes noticeably apparent early on that this book feels different with its quieter, softer tone, fewer characters, and an unexpected emotional punch. With that said, it's a topic that's handled in a most thoughtful and compassionate way by the author. Bourton said: “Since the launch of his debut in 2020, Richard Osman has been entertaining millions of readers around the world who have taken his characters into their hearts. While the gang’s sleuthing will continue in future instalments of The Thursday Murder Club, we are extremely excited that with this new deal Richard will also be introducing us to a new series. The entire Viking team believe in Richard’s longevity as an exceptional storyteller, and this four-book deal marks Penguin’s long-term partnership with him: a career we are endlessly ambitious about.”This series keeps getting BETTER and BETTER, and this time Richard Osman has combined a cozy mystery with some thoughtfully written sub plots which include the themes of “romance fraud” and “end of life decisions”.