The first two have been bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic, and Steven Spielberg has bought the movie rights if you haven't read the earlier books, The Thursday Murder Club (2020) and The Man Who Died Twice (2021), it would be a good idea to go back and start at the beginning. This is the third book in real-life British TV celebrity Osman's delightful series of mysteries set at Coopers Chase, a bucolic English retirement community. And mystery fans should absolutely do so, because this latest entry in the Thursday Murder Club series may be the best one yet.The Thursday Murder Club gets into another spot of bother, this time involving some British television celebrities, a Russian former spy, and an international money launderer-among others. However, with only two previous books in the series, it’s easy to get caught up. If there’s a flaw in The Bullet That Missed, it’s that readers need to be familiar with the previous books to fully appreciate some of the characters’ motivations and deepening relationships. Osman’s wry humor continues to shine, especially in the sections of the story told through Joyce’s lively diary entries. This intricately plotted novel weaves its multiple mysteries together with aplomb, all while bringing back familiar faces from previous installments such as Police Captain Donna De Freitas her partner, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Hudson and Bogdan, who’s still fiercely loyal to Elizabeth and the group.

To protect herself and the people she loves, Elizabeth reconnects with an ex-KGB colonel (and former lover) to lay a trap for the man threatening her. If she doesn’t comply, her and her friends’ lives will be forfeit. In a parallel plot, Elizabeth’s past catches up with her when a mysterious man tasks her with carrying out an assassination. They’re working to uncover who’s behind the fraud and Bethany’s murder, not to mention the more recent deaths of two suspects in Bethany’s disappearance. She told colleagues that she was close to unraveling it all, but before she could file her story, Bethany’s car was pushed off a cliff, and her body was never recovered.Īs The Bullet That Missed begins, Osman’s septuagenarian sleuths have picked up the mantle. Ten years ago, Bethany was investigating a multimillion-dollar fraud operation. The group’s four members-Elizabeth, a retired MI5 agent with connections across the globe Joyce, a former nurse with a knack for solving puzzles Ibrahim, a well-mannered psychiatrist and Ron, a retired union leader who never backs down from a fight-are trying to crack the cold case murder of TV presenter Bethany Waites. Life in the idyllic Coopers Chase Retirement Village is far from quiet, especially for the Thursday Murder Club. The sleuthing pensioners of the Thursday Murder Club are back and better than ever in Richard Osman’s The Bullet That Missed.

The bullet that missed