Final Thursday Murder Club Review.
As November arrives, so does the final (for now as this is the most recent edition) Thursday Murder Club book review. I hope you have enjoyed the reviews across this year and if you haven’t read the series, it has maybe inspired you to have a look. So, book 5 in the hit series by Richard Osman. No spoilers here but I feel this book is a good plough forward from the events of “The Last Devil to Die”. A challenge for any author in a continuing series is how to move time and characters forward, but in a subtle way that doesn’t upend where the previous editions have left.
“The Impossible Fortune” opens with a wedding, and some light relief for the gang. However, in Thursday Murder style, a new mystery quickly presents itself to Elizabeth and the gang. Old characters make reappearances, which shows how Osman is aware of who readers want to see again, alongside the main quartet gang. The novel is sprinkled with Osman’s wit, humour and ability to throw a red herring into the mix. This is great as readers, because we have to watch certain clues more closely. I recently read an interview with Osman who admitted until he is halfway through writing the novel, he doesn’t know how it will end, which is interesting.
My favourite quote of the book is when Connie (the career criminal) says to Ron, “Who’s your favourite James Bond?’ ‘That’s a better question’, says Connie. ‘Pierce Brosnan. I’d climb that man like a tree’. ‘Agreed’, says Ron. ‘Except the bit about the tree’. (Osman 337). I thought this was genius of Osman as Pierce Brosnan plays Ron in the film, which came out in 2025 ahead of this novel, so Osman is very clever to add this detail. Also, it is one of many moments that made me laugh. Cosy crime at its best.
This novel brings us to a place where we now know most of the backstory of each of the four main characters- Joyce, Ron, Elizabeth and Ibrahim. Osman has teased out their lives across the series and I like how Joyce has been our constant narrator, who readers have grown to know well and enjoy her tangents amongst the plot happening in the bookshop. It feels very real and accessible to all readers.
The Thursday Murder Club has become a much loved series over six years and fans are delighted that there will be at least two more editions in this series. The sixth will be out in 2027, and the seventh in 2029. I could well revisit these in the future. Also, Osman is working on a duel separate sees called “We Solve Murders” which now has two books out. Again, these are on my to be read stack!
I hope you have enjoyed my first full series review and I might review another series in the future. I like to find different things to keep the blog fresh.
Work Cited- Osman, Richard. The Impossible Fortune. 1st Edition. Viking. 2025.