I really loved The Thursday Murder Club when I read it last year and so I was looking forward to hanging out with Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim again in the second book in the series. What I wasn't expecting was that I would like this even more than the previous one!

The Man Who Died Twice has everything I loved from the first book, and more! Our favourite gang of septuagenarian detectives is back with all the wit, humour and utter chaos only they can bring, and copious cups of tea. This time, they are faced with a serious mystery involving stolen diamonds, MI5 and even the mob.

I really liked seeing all my favourites from the previous book return in this one, and I loved having the chance to get to know a few of the secondary characters better. The character development definitely improved from the first book, without losing any of the simplicity and charm that made these characters so loveable in the first place. There's witty banter aplenty, but also the space for serious conversations and touching reflections on life, love, friendship, illness and getting older. Joyce's diary entries remained the highlight for me, making me literally laugh out loud more than once.

The mystery itself was twisty enough to keep me guessing right up to the end and, while a few situations leading up to its resolution were definitely very convenient, I didn't really mind too much because of how much fun I was having with it. This is a book that really doesn't take itself too seriously, with some situations bordering on the absurd, but this is precisely where its charm lies. In some passages, it reminded of Jonas Jonasson's style of comedy, so perhaps avoid if that isn't really your cup of tea.

For me, this was escapism at its best and precisely the light-hearted, heart-warming, wholesome read I needed in a stressful period. Definitely looking forward to the next instalment!

This was an excellent follow up to the first Thursday Murder Club book. The way this followed on was done so well and i loved how the characters. I love how this twist and turned and how the story built up over the book. The spy aspect was really interesting and i liked how it was done. The development from the first book was evident in the characters and you got to learn so much about them. I can't wait until the next book in the series and there is another installment following these iconic characters.

Another joyous and surprisingly moving read from Richard Osman. I loved spending more time with these characters and am looking forward to book 3. Always such fun to get back to - and I enjoyed getting to know some of the secondary to from the Thursday Murder Club a little better. Obviously the plot's great too, and never wanes, but it's Ibrahim, Elizabeth, Joyce and Ron that will keep me coming back to this series. Thanks to the publisher for the chance to read an advance copy.

Brilliant! I was pleasantly surprised by the "Thursday Murder Club", and looking forward to another gentle read in a similar sort of vein. The same kind of Ealing Comedies feel of "Arsenic and Old Lace" or "The Lavender Hill Mob". Well Richard Osman did not disappoint, if anything "The Man Who Died Twice" has easily surpassed his original offering, both in terms of humour and character development. It's just like those old comedies, each action/re-action is totally plausible and believable, yet the some of all those individual actions, while logical, borders on the absurd. Everyone displays the right level of humanity. Bring it on Richard. I'm ready for Book 3

I really loved this book.

I love that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. You have to suspend belief as you read it, but the whole thing is so charming and witty you don’t actually mind. The four main characters (The Thursday Murder Club members) are just great. You can picture them all vividly and the way they speak to each other is so entertainingly realistic.

Richard Osman writes exceptionally well and this makes the book a delight. It’s like meeting old friends again and I can’t wait for the third instalment!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

I read the two Thursday Murder Club books back to back, and loved them both, but this one was ever so slightly better than the first.
The story follows the gang as they inadvertently get involved in a high stakes plot which harks back to Elizabeth’s previous career. The first book felt a little convoluted in parts, but this is more straightforward, with obvious ‘bad guys’.
I’d say reading the first book is pretty imperative, as Osman doesn’t revisit previous events very much (very appreciative of that!). This book has some brilliant character developments, with Joyce’s diary entries becoming laugh out loud funny, so I think it’s worth the effort of catching up before starting book 2.
I loved the camaraderie of the group and their friends - the characters feel real, due to Osman’s brilliant writing. It feels like they’ll stay with me for a long time to come.
Can’t wait for book 3 and will be wholeheartedly recommending these books to everyone I come across!

Although a follow on to The Thursday Murder Club The Man Who Died Twice is a stand alone crime novel with a difference.

Again set in the state of the art Retirement Village Complex which is Coopers Chase, the wonderful feisty O.A.Ps who form the Thursday Murder Club grow in stature in this second novel. as do the two local police officers who have, without their full cognizance, been taken under the wing of their elders. The cast is broadened by the intervention of MI5 operatives and Elizabeth's ex husband. Murders, intrigue and intimidation follow as we dive from one suspect to another. As soon as we think we have a handle on solving the crimes, the rug is pulled from under our feet once again. Elizabeth is still manipulative but now we see an unexpected softer side to her in her love of Stephen who she is losing to dementia. The narrative is held together once again by Joyce's diary. Invisible Joyce, naive Joyce, canny Joyce and ultimately Joyce the lynchpin who brings all the strands together, her thoughts being discussed in her diary without the pull of editorial constraints and helping the action to move seamlessly forward. What a delight she is. Congratulations too to Richard Osman for his stunning ending which is presented almost as an afterthought. As the Murder Club members have grown in stature, so has the writer.

This is another wonderfully entertaining outing with Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Joyce and Ron, better known as 'The Thursday Murder Club'. I think I enjoyed this new book even more than the first. It filled my heart with joy and laughter but there is also some very serious tension and my eyes may have watered a little at the end. I cannot wait for the next adventure!

TL;DR Recommendation:

The perfect book to escape shitty reality. The dose of humour we all need right now. Read it.

I bought the Thursday Murder Club from Goldsboro Books purely because it had foxes on the edges. Literally judged a book by its cover and then it lived on my shelf.

I regret not reading it sooner.

HOWEVER, it meant that I was closer to the sequel coming out so the sadness was shoved to the side pretty damn quickly.

In a nutshell: if you loved Thursday Murder Club, then you absolutely need to get The Man Who Died Twice. It’s more of the same and let’s face it – we all need a stupid, chaotic and downright daft story these days. Here’s what you’re in for:

✨ Return of the senior citizen crime-busting gang
✨ Missing diamonds
✨ THE MOB
✨ Chaos

Elizabeth’s ex-colleague turns up. Who also happens to be her ex-husband. Who was also supposed to be dead, so that throws a bit of a spanner into the works. Turns out the wee lad is in a big ol’ pile of shit because of some sparkly stones and is in desperate need of her help.

Whilst that’s going on, there’s also a double murder to solve as well as a mugging, a dabble on Instagram and a drug overlord. Basically, these old-timers have their hands full which is handy ’cause they ain’t got much else to keep them busy these days.

This will be a short review for the main fact I refuse to give away any more of the plot.

Whilst this is very much a wonderful sequel to the first book, it’s another page-turner that you won’t be able to put down.

HOWEVERRRRR – This book probably won’t be for everyone – its humour is drier than the Sahara and some plot lines are so out there that you’re just like what the fuck was that. But you know what? I really don’t care. We live in a world that’s not a lot of fun right now and I need a bit of chaos via a book to brighten it up.

My favourite septuagenarian quartet is back in this fabulous follow up to Osman’s bestselling The Thursday Murder Club. He proves once again that this not just some ‘sleb’ vanity project with a plot involving spooks, the mafia and £20 million worth of diamonds.

More than that, though, he manages to look at the vulnerability of older people without dehumanising them. We all age but we don’t become an amorphous mass, we are still individuals with our own skills and histories, our ongoing need to be loved and ‘seen’.

Despite a Tarantino-level death toll, this remains a cosy-mystery - which is a mystery in itself. There is also an opportunity to develop the characters more now that they are established.

This series is inevitably going to continue so one thing that I would suggest is a greater differentiation between character voices. They may come from very different backgrounds but their response to things and the author’s own sense of humour tend to run through all of them quite strongly, whether it’s the fab 4, Bogdan, Connie or the police duo.

All forgivable because so enjoyable. More, please.

Hugely enjoyable read. You really get to feel part of Coopers Chase Retirement village and Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron & Ibrahim. Great storyline that keeps you twisting and turning & guessing right to the end. I found this second book more satisfying than the first. Well written. Makes you smile at the characters foibles. Highly recommended. This is sure to be on lots of Christmas lists.

Wow, even better than his first book!

It was lovely to meet the characters of Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim again, and to get to know them better on their latest escapade.

The clever plot and its twists kept me involved and wanting to read on.

I couldn’t put this book down and look forward to a third instalment following the adventures of the residents of Coopers Chase.
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I need to take back my word on The Thursday Murder Club because the sequel is just wow!!! Here comes the Thursday Murder Club to solve another murder mystery.

Four pensioners with different attitudes, lifestyles and completely different past, live in the same retirement village. Elizabeth used to work in M15 and is one of the intelligent and the do-all woman of the gang. Joyce used to be a nurse, a kind and caring, puzzle lover who writes a journal (and becomes the narrator of the story intermittently). Ron used to be a union leader and is the male version of Elizabeth, jumping to do a task without hesitation. Ibrahim was a psychiatrist who is an introvert and reads a person with a single glance. The four get together on Thursdays to discuss unsolved mysteries.

In this sequel, there’s more to the plot than these four and their lives. There is Chris and Donna, police officers who adore these four, there is mafia and there is M15 itself.

It revolves around ex-husband of Elizabeth and diamonds worth of 20 million pounds missing from a mafia boss. There is mafia from New York involved along with local drug dealers.

This was funny, interesting and fast. Unlike the Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice is less crowded; there are less characters and each character can be distinguished from one another, less descriptive since the places and characters were established in the first novel and was full of plot twists.

I would say that if you enjoyed the Thursday Murder Club, then you definitely should read this. If you didn’t, but love Murder mysteries, again you should read this. Right now, my only regret is not reading the first novel without less hype because I’m going to read it again and enjoy the favourite four who brings back memories of Famous Five and their adventures.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin General UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t read the first in this series and wonder if this affected my enjoyment of this the second in The Thursday Murder Club series. Whilst I enjoyed the book and thought it was a good light read I didn’t think it was brilliant. The writing is, not unexpectedly, very good and the characters are well drawn, but I found the plot a bit slow for my liking. The anticipated lighthearted humour is there and I raised the occasional smile.

Briefly, when Elizabeth receives a letter from her ex husband, Marcus Carmichael, and former colleague at MI5, she calls on her friends in the Thursday Murder Club to help. Marcus has stolen 20 million pounds worth of diamonds from some very unsavoury people and they want them back. However, having hidden them, he is determined to keep them and live out the rest of his life in luxury. But someone has decided differently and as the bodies start to pile up our formidable team of OAP’s, Ibrahim, Joyce, Ron and Elizabeth investigate. But can they find the diamonds before anyone else dies?

What I did adore about the book is the characters, particularly the four main protagonists. Their interaction is lovely. They clearly care a lot about each other, as evidenced when Ibrahim is mugged, and the gentle humour is heartwarming. Joyce is an absolute gem of a woman at times acting a bit ditsy but never missing a thing and the mistress of dry humour. And there is also a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. This book is really a bit of escapism and it appealed enough that I will go back and read the first in series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thanks to Richard Osman, Penguin General, and NetGalley for an ecopy arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading the second outing of The Thursday Murder Club. This time, there is a blast from thr past as Elizabeth's ex husband Douglas appears in Coopers Chase, using it as a safe house. He still works for MI5 and is involved in a raid during which some diamonds were stolen. Now Douglas is a marked man and along with his handler, the young Poppy, he is hiding in Coopers Chase. But soon, an attack on him leads to a change in the hiding place, where he and Poppy are found dead by Elizabeth and Joyce. But are they dead? Or are they faking it for the diamonds? And where are the diamonds? These questions propel the story forward.

Although most of the action takes us away from Coopers Chase, the friendship between the four friends and their younget counterparts remains as steady as ever. The mystery was good and i loved the subplots and the way the beautiful friendships were portrayed. A book that kept me reading, this one's definitely recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy.

A brilliant follow up to The Thursday Murder Club. I enjoyed every bit of it. I felt I got to know the 4 members of the club far better. As usual my attempt at solving the 'whodunnit' was hopelessly wrong. Maybe at my age I should stop trying to guess. The book keeps to a strict time sequence with chapters headed by different club members.
This second book in the series takes a couple of steps beyond what I expected as it embraces drugs, mafia and diamonds. Still it does work well. I'm not sure where a third book would take the readers.
Definitely not to be missed

An excellent follow-up to the first novel, I loved re-entering this world and getting to spend more time with these characters. The humour and characters were on point and delightful. This is a wonderful cosy crime on the surface, but further down it deals with some darker themes and darker plot lines that I felt gave it more substance. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Man Who Died Twice is the second book in the Sunday Murder Club series and I was worried it would not live up to the brilliance of the first. How wrong I was!

The gang are back and just as witty and funny as last time. Osman does a fantastic job at continuing to develop the characters of our old friends, plus introducing plenty of new ones.

The plot is enthralling and the writing so clever. This is a real page-turner and I couldn't stop reading.

This series has brought me so much joy so far and I cannot wait until the next book is released.

I consider myself lucky to have been given a review copy of Richard Osman’s sequel to “The Thursday Murder Club”. I knew this would be as good if not better and I was not disappointed. I saved reading it until I was on holiday as I look forward to my reading matter as well as the destination when I travel.
Well, it was brilliant, every bit as good as the first book. I couldn’t put it down and put off excursions into the depths of Devon so I would have a little more time to read.
It has everything, the same wonderful characters, a cleverly constructed plot which includes missing diamonds, the mafia and a number of spies from Elizabeth’s past including an ex husband. Of course the mystery was complicated and the bodies soon began to mount up!
Not only was this book a clever thriller, it also examined more serious subjects such as dementia, grief and the fact that even elderly people can have love interest and lead exciting lives. The nature of friendship is also explored, particularly between Joyce and Elizabeth and Joyce and Ibrahim. Elizabeth is extremely clever and dogged but Joyce is very wise and has an uncanny ability to read people. I really enjoyed learning more about their back stories.
Chris and Donna, the local detectives also play a major role in the plot and there is even a hint of romance for Donna in the next book.
There was also a lot of humour within the pages so what’s not to like?
This was an excellent read which I highly recommend. I’m sure it will do just as well as Richard Osman’s first novel- that has barely been out of the bestseller lists. I’m now eagerly awaiting the next one which I’m sure must be well under way by now as I’m desperate to catch up with Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron.
Thanks to NetGalley and Viking for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great sequel to the Thursday Murder Club which I also enjoyed.
If anything it's even better as the characters of Elizabeth and Joyce are developed. Another clever and complicated plot unfolds, very well written and with some LOL funny bits too.
I look forward to the next instalment and further developments, especially of Bogdan.