It's the second book in The Thursday Murder Club series and a delight to be back at the Coopers Chase Retirement Home. Retirees Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron crept into the heart in the first book and they are back solving mysteries with cops Chris and Donna. This time ex-spy Elizabeth gets a letter from an old colleague who needs her help after being accused of stealing diamonds worth millions. There are two stories running through the book and plenty of murder and mayhem while we hear a bit more about Elizabeth's mysterious past. The characters are warm, funny and engaging and Osman delivers a lovely story. Hopefully we get a third book.

If you liked "The Thursday Murder Club", you will like this book even more. The writing style has matured and so have the characters. It's a light-hearted humorous murder mystery with a twisty plot and a good sense of setting.

The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club #2) by Richard Osman


It was so nice to return to Coopers Chase and the four Thursday Murder Club members; Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim. These four mystery sleuths may be living in a retirement village but they are no match for the MI5, MI6 and the Mafia

I think I enjoyed this book even more then the first one but maybe that was because I knew all the characters so well.

Don’t let the elderly investigators fool you. This story is not slow it is fast paced, interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Now I can’t wait for book 3 to come out.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Penguin Random House for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Having thoroughly enjoyed the Thursday Murder Club there was absolutely no way a return to Coopers Chase Retirement Village was ever going to be a let down because the characters are just so larger than life funny and immensely quirky.
Richard Osman's humour embellishes the plot in such a farcical way that once again this book is easily a happy binge read that once started you just cannot stop. His humour is even evident in the Acknowledgements which I enjoyed reading. Usually so boring I skip this part but Osman makes even the most mundane a joy to read.
Back to the actual storyline, it is another portrayal of the older generation living life to the full, jumping head first into the next adventure and triumphing in a bumbling, hilarious, implausible way as Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, ably assisted by Bogdan, DCI Chris Hudson and DC Donna de Freitas outwit criminals and restore justice to Fairhaven. There are of course deaths along the way, and in The Man Who Died Twice guns held at people's heads, drug deals, dead letter drops and diamonds.
Elizabeth is as sharp and conniving as ever, Ibrahim his wise self, Ron down to earth and Joyce, my favourite, as keen on shopping and falling in love as ever but never as daft as she tries to convince you she is. I love Elizabeth's husband Stephen too and how the dementia he lives with doesn't solely define this character but who Osman allows a cool as a cucumber part to play in the unusual club where age doesn't matter and annoying and frequent trips to the loo don't hamper investigations.
Osman doesn't do mawkish, thank goodness, which means even when the characters might not have a dice rolling constantly in their favour, he treats any challenges in a respectful way heavily marinated in humour.
I want there to be more and more of these books, so let's suspend time, keep the Fab Four as healthy as possible and have a lifetime fast track pass into their particular brand of madcap mayhem.
Brilliant!

I really liked The Thursday Murder Club but I LOVED The Man Who Died Twice. While I took a some time to get into the first book in the series, probably as there are quite a few characters and points of view, and I thought the end tried to do a little too much at once, I think Oseman has the formula just right now - which hopefully means many more excellent installments to come.

While no book is for absolutely everyone, I wouldn't hesitate to give this as a present to anyone in my life. It really has a bit of everything - it is in part an old fashioned whodunnit, but it has shades of a modern crime drama; it is really funny in places but also has passages that are so heartfelt and earnest that you feel on the verge of tears; it has its darker sides but ultimately these books are about love and friendship.

I think my favourite thing about these books is how the older people drive the book and can be the main characters even though they're not as young or maybe as fast as they used to be. This is played for laughs (like how they all fall asleep on car journeys) but their age is also their strength as they can call on so much life experience to solve a problem, but also to weather personal and private storms. I want more books where older people have full and happy lives, not where they are just cast aside to be ignored or pitied. There is sadness and regret in this book but there is life and love and happiness too, and I adore all of the characters so much.

Now I just need book three as soon as possible...

No, this wasnt for me I'm afraid.
I really wanted to love this. I've been looking for a copy of the first book for a while now, but not managed to pick one up yet. When the opportunity came for me to read this one, I couldn't resist. After listening to author interviews, the idea of reading about a bunch of older people solving mysteries and murders in their spare time sounded amusing and inspiring. Unfortunately, I couldn't help think the tone drifted into patronising and the plot was more than a little daft. I wasn't overly keen on the characters, of which there were a lot, too many I think. They were all very similar and quite bland - the bad guys and the good guys were almost interchangeable, even Elizabeth. All a little eccentric and bumbling.
As always, this isn't the book/writer's fault, it just isn't the story I was expecting or hoped for. It's an easy, light read with a few amusing little asides that might make a reader smile. Perhaps on a different day I'd have enjoyed it more, but not today. Sorry.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for the review copy.

Really entertaining! The characters are starting to feel like friends, and Joyce always makes me smile. Whilst the plot seems somewhat unlikely at times it is great fun just to be carried along. The style is assured, written with a light touch.. I am really looking forward to the next one in the series.

I was so happy to meet the Awesome Foursome - Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim - again at Cooper Chase where they were examining cold cases at their Thursday Murder Club meetings.

But then, Ibrahim gets mugged one day, Elizabeth gets a letter from a long-forgotten man, Joyce wants a dog, and Ron is being Ron, as usual.

What follows is a completely unbelievable tale of diamonds and drugs. It is so unbelievable that it could only have happened at Cooper Chase. To be frank, I wasn't too invested in the foursome's capers at all. I just wanted to meet them and spend time with them again.

Elizabeth is the same irrepressible, extremely shrewd woman who is economical with her words and actions. Joyce is the life and joy of the group (and the book). Ron is Ron, sturdy, dependable. I don't know what we would do without him. Ibrahim is the most vulnerable and his arc was the one I loved most. The fears and the uncertainties in his mind are something we all encounter.

Chris and Donna are dashing as usual.

I say I wasn't too invested in the story. That is not to mean that it wasn't good. It was well-written and had a good ending with all the threads tied neatly in place, just as Elizabeth would have wanted them.

4.5 stars.

I loved the first book and had high hopes for book 2! I was not disappointed! I loved this one as much as the first and I MUST get a copy of the third in the series (I’m not sure I can wait). You need this book in your life NOW!

Thoroughly enjoyable second outing for a the highly entertaining Thursday Murder Club and another great and well written take by author and tv presenter Richard Osman. As with the first novel I was initially curious to see how this would pan out and if it would be as well written and flowing as the first and to my delight it indeed was.

The characters remain from book one and we are introduced also to other interesting characters such as Douglas, ex husband and M15 operative colleague of Elizabeth and a story which includes murder,diamonds, the mafia, MI5 and several pensioners who have unique gifts when it comes to crime stopping.

Thoroughly entertaining and good plot twists. The characters are even more likeable than before and I can’t wait to read book 3 that is teased as due out at the end of the novel.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

At least one smile per page

Finally the Thursday Murder Club from Coopers Chase retirement village is back! Its quirky likeable members whom we met in book one - of a hopefully long series to come - get involved in a new caper. Even though the convoluted plot transmogrifies from ludicrous to farcical, at least one smile per page is guaranteed! Thank you Netgalley and publisher Penguin for letting me read an early copy in return of my honest opinion.

This is just the kind of book I enjoy on a long weekend. I powered through it. I thought it was as good as the first - he hasn’t fallen into the terrifying second album trap.
I enjoyed getting to know more about the other three characters in the book rather than just Joyce. Although I do think Joyce’s charming naivety was hammed up a little for this second instalment. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it and am eagerly awaiting the third.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Publishing and Richard Osman for an ARC in return for an honest review.

‘The man who died twice’ is even better than the first book! I don’t think I’ve ever been so heavily invested in the characters of a book before. Joyce is my favourite character and I feel she got a really good part in this sequel. It’s left me desperate to join the Thursday Night Murder Club.

The plot is brilliant and the humour is fantastic. I would give it 10 stars if I could.

The Man Who Died Twice is the second book by Richard Osman in his The Thursday Murder Club series and see’s the reader rejoining the retirees of Coopers Chase on another of their mysterious adventures. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim return with another caper to solve. I requested this book via NetGalley as I was enjoying the first half of the previous novel. I probably should have waited until finishing that particular offering though, as my enjoyment severely dipped during the latter half.

I found The Thursday Murder Club became rather incredulous as it went on and sadly, that’s not a feeling that dissipated during The Man who Died Twice. The star of the show is Elizabeth; a character that I found difficult to get along with within the first book, due to her know-it-all nature and how everything seems to fall in her lap. Sadly, the same is true in this book also. It is she that has the answer to everything and the plot is central to her life and experiences. It left all the other characters seeming to take a back seat while she dominated the story. Her life as a former MI5 agent came to the forefront of the novel which sees her reunited with a former husband – who happens to have stolen Twenty Million Pounds worth of diamonds from the Mafia. Just as in the previous book, I found that the plot of the story bent too easily to her whim and she had the answers for everything.

While in the previous book, I enjoyed the diary extracts from Joyce as they seemed to serve a fulfilling purpose to the book. Sadly, in The Man Who Died Twice, they serve as a savage recap that doesn’t add anything new to the overall progress of the novel. Sometimes reiterating events that happened in the chapter previously; I found these somewhat jarring and as though I was being treated as I was too slow to understand what I had just read.

There was also something amiss about the humour in this book too; the quirky quips, rather than entertaining and witty felt more sarcastic and undermining. I often found myself cringing as I read them and uncomfortable for the characters that had thought them – this seems to be a new element to the series and, should the books continue, I hope that they are toned down in the future as they seemed baseless and derogatory to the writing.

This brings me to add that the writing felt rushed and at times lazy. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural in places. One of the reasons I enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club was that each of the characters held something of their own; each of the four main characters in the club had their own individuality and voice. Somehow, that has been vastly reduced in The Man who Died Twice and the voices seem to have blended. I struggled to see where Joyce ended and Elizabeth started and the same went for the male characters in the novel. With the exception that Joyce has turned into a perpetually horny teenager at the age of eighty; I don’t think there was a male character in the book that she didn’t take a shine to – this made me cringe almost as much as the bizarre quips.

The plot of The Man who Died Twice is interesting enough, the loss of Twenty Million pounds worth of Diamonds and the connection to the residents of Coopers Chase was enough to keep the pages turning, to begin with. Sadly, as the book progressed and the characters took over as a driving force of the novel, I only continued reading out of a sense of duty. The stereotypes in the characters, the convenience of everything falling into place and the poorly written sub-plots involving characters that were shoe-horned in the previous book had me wanting to finish the book as soon as possible.

I think there’s certainly a feeling of incompatibility for me when it comes to Richard Osmans writing style – he comes up with some interesting plot concepts and the threads are always nicely wrapped up – but relies on tired character tropes, cliches, and a sense of humour that doesn’t match my own to prop it up. I only moderately enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club by the end of it and The Man who Died Twice really didn’t hit the mark. So, while I am grateful for the eARC of this book, I won’t be rushing out to pick up the next one.

This book.. oh! Its terribly wonderful.

From start to finish this book is brilliant.
I loved the first one but this one is so much better.

What I absolutely love about this book is its so character driven and each main character is just as important as the other. No one ever seems to lack importance.. even when they don't feel up to leaving the house.

Who said crime novels can't be funny?

Richard Osman has a brilliant way of incorporating humour into less than humourous situations.. while also highlighting some very powerful points around 'getting old' sympathetically covering topics like dementia and vulnerability.

Is the plot believable? Not entirely, but it doesn't need to be.. the the happiness and comfort you get from turning the pages of this book outweighs the need for believability!! That and its so witty! #greatjoy69 genius, "Needless to say, I haven’t changed it." Who said we have to grow up?!

This is such a clever and intelligently written book, which I thought I had wrapped up by 70% in.. I didn't, I fell hook, line, and sinker! Only thinking what I was lead to believe! Well done Mr Osman.

Whether you were sold on the first one or not, even if you're picking up an Osman for the first time, this is the must read cosy crime novel of 2021.

I was prediposed to like this book having enjoyed the first one so much and I wasn't wrong.
Another delightful book about four ageing friends who I feel like I really know well now. Highly unbelievable in parts but oh so entertaining.
A book that puts a smile on your face.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Another book read through NetGalley. One of the members of the Thursday Murder Club has received a letter from a old colleague, a colleague she thought was dead. The drama and the murders start from here. I requested this book before I had read the first one, no sure I would have done so if I had already read the first one. This book definitely starts off better than the first one and I think that’s because all the characters are there from the Thursday Murder Club and having placed who they are and what they do, the amount of characters isn’t so confusing this time around. The stand out character in this book for me was Elizabeth, the mastermind behind it all, the character that was part of MI5, when she was younger. However for me Elizabeth was more annoying in this book, she came across as quite forthright and hard, a sort of ‘do as I say not as I do’ kind of character and this definitely shines through more in this book.
Where as Joyce has that comedic side to her and the way her narrative is written has an almost innocent/childlike sense to it, yet she is anything but. However as a character she comes of the pages with the feeling of a grandmother feeling and I wish there was more from her. This book was slightly better than the first, it was certainly more gritty, with more detail in places, however again I think it was trying to be to much, trying to find a balance between comedy and crime and I don’t necessarily know if the two go, or if it’s the way it is written. I don’t understand how this became the ‘fasting selling book since records began’ because I think there are plenty other books out there that deserve that title; which then made me think weather fans of Richard Osman are buying this book (he has his fingers in a lot of pies!) and purchasing it because they are a fan but sticking on a shelf and not reading it! Again I think it’s a bit of a marmite book again and will divide readers. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t awful, it was just very bland. Parts has potential, parts were gritty with a sense of a real crime novel, yet again there were huge parts that were unbelievable, like people in a care home, outwitting the police and sometimes MI5 to solve murders. The author leaves it right to the very end to reveal who’s done what and it all feels a bit rushed and the every very last part seemed unnecessary, when reading it it was confusing, I don’t think it was needed or added anything to the story, just left me thinking WTF. As before there is a lot of characters, it’s easier to get a hold of who is who because if you’ve read the first one that introduces you to them. Again there is a lot of unnecessary waffle and page filling that adds nothing to the book. I don’t think the author is finished with the Thursday Murder Club, even though I’ve not necessarily enjoyed it, I do think each of the characters in the club has more potential behind them for more stories, the club being a very versatile group of people and I think Joyce is somewhat underestimated in both books and I think there’s more to her. I also think this to be true of the character Bogdan, we’ve seen what he’s capable of in the first book and he’s sort of there in the background but I feel there’s more to him. You could read this book as a stand alone book, I found this easier to read but I’m not sure if that’s because I had read the first one and was familiar with the characters. Would I read another one if the author was to write another one…….probably not because in reading these two I’ve not read books that I’m pretty sure I would have enjoyed more than this and if I was after a crime novel I wouldn’t go for something by this author as I wouldn’t class it as crime but I truly believe that the authors downfall is that he trying for his books to be a bit of everything and that just isn’t for me unfortunately and because of that I wouldn’t receive it to friends and family.

I actually preferred this to the first book. Similarly to The Thursday Murder Club, it’s very much a character-driven novel rather than plot-driven. There’s a lot going on in the story, but I just enjoyed revisiting the Thursday Murder Club - it was like going for tea with old friends. I enjoyed the fact that we got to learn more about Donna and Chris, and there were some really lovely, poignant moments in the book. Of course a lot of the story is far-fetched and sometimes a bit ridiculous, but the charm and cosy-ness of it meant that I really didn’t mind. I didn’t find myself racing through it, but I found myself looking forward to diving back in whenever I picked it up again.

This book didnt disappoint. It picks up where the first one left off and is a gentle, quirky funny murder mystery. Qui

Even better than the first!

I loved getting back into the retirement village with Joyce, Ron, Elizabeth and Ibrahim. They’re such well-defined characters… and they’re hilarious! I started highlighting sections that I thought were particularly funny and then found I was highlighting too much, so gave that up and just enjoyed the ride.

Diamonds, drugs, revenge, ex-lovers, the Mafia - this book has it all and somehow manages to be cozy enough to enjoy over a cuppa.

Highly recommended and I would certainly start with the first book to get a sense of who’s who.