The Man Who Died Twice: (The Thursday Murder Club 2)

Product Information

Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He's made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life. Elizabeth: once upon a time a spy, having vivid past, involving into international operations and she didn’t share most of it with her friends now taking care of her husband Stephen who is suffering from dementia. Also, it is very easy to kill someone in a lift when the doors open. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and a ping to announce you’re about to appear. Not that she’s worried about being killed, it doesn’t feel to her like that’s what is happening here, but it’s always important to remember best practice. Elizabeth has never killed anyone in a lift.” Ron, on the other hand, is an old (similar age) union boss who’s used to diving in wherever he’s needed. If he’d been walking with Ibrahim, he’d have straightened out the hooligans on the spot, and they would have stayed straightened out.

It’s taken a mere two books for Richard Osman to vault into the upper leagues of crime writers… The Man Who Died Twice. . . dives right into joyous fun. Osman’s writing reminds me of Anthony Berkeley’s in its mixing of sparkling humor and resonant emotion. . . No wonder readers, myself included, have surrendered to [the Thursday Murder Club members’] abundant charms.” It’s an unalloyed pleasure to spend time with Osman’s sparkling, well-observed characters who are also wittily perceptive about our foibles and the quirks of modern life.” He has a delightful young assistant called Poppy, and they are trying to fend off Martin Lomax, a middleman who’s laundering money for – well – almost anyone. After MI5 searched Lomax’s house, Lomax claimed his diamonds were missing, so he's threatening Douglas. Douglas appeals to Elizabeth to investigate and find the diamonds. This book has better murder mystery plotting than the first book but is still overly convoluted as well as being at times trite, but do I care? No! By now surely people are reading this series for this almost pseudo idyllic reality where the eclectic and very lovable cast are bounced off each other to make me, the reader smile? These are feel-good books despite the planned violence and crimes, and in turn that's what makes this book, and I presume series so good, I truly care about the cast and where their journeys will take them. A solid Four Star, 8 out of 12.Overall I would recommend this if you enjoy light mysteries with humour, don’t take themselves too seriously and don’t mind some tangents. If you liked book 1 then I think you'll likely enjoy this too! :) There was a lot of meandering and tangents that I kept on losing focus. Beyond the 30% mark or so, the investigation and reveals were light and didn’t hook me in. I've always enjoyed the dual points of view in this series, which alternate between third person omniscient and first person in the form of Joyce's journal. I find Joyce's voice to be particularly delightful and her colorful commentary of the events a real hoot and highlight.

Not a bad book, certainly. As my mother notes, "I felt it jumped around a lot," and jump around it certainly does. Largely limited third person, it jumps around in all the major players' heads--and I do mean all: Elizabeth, former M15 agent, DCI Chris Hudson; Ibrahim the psychiatrist; Connie Johnson, drug dealer; Martin Lomax, broker; PC Donna; Douglas Middlemiss, M15 agent; Ron, professional gadfly; Bogdan Jankowski, Polish builder and man of many abilities; Patrice, teacher and girlfriend; Stephen, Elizabeth's husband; and probably a few others I'm skipping. In between we have Joyce's first person diary entries. It's all terribly amusing and Oscar Wilde-ish, lots of banter and disarming openness that conceals all sorts of shenanigans. Specifically, we have to look at the chances of your life expectancy exceeding the life expectancy of a medium dog.' I guess you can probably spot the theme here. Even though this is a super fun mystery, at it's heart this is a story of people making their way in the world and the special bonds they've formed with one another.

Toys

EXCERPT: The nights are beginning to draw in a little, and the sun is sinking behind the trees on top of the hill as Elizabeth reaches Ruskin Court and rings the bell for number 14. Here goes nothing. There is a brief wait and she is buzzed up. Exceeds expectations.’ That’s a phrase that I am now confident applies to Richard Osman’s work on his Thursday Murder Club series. Exceedingly fun; gently creative, whilst coloring (mostly) within the lines of how these sorts of things are expected to be done. A panoply of interesting characters, with so few disappointments, and those few so minor, that one happily ignores the small flaws here and there. The best works all have a maker’s mark that perfection would never allow, don’t they? If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us Nielsen Book Research’s Philip Stone said that Osman was a “publishing phenomenon”. “In recent memory we’ve seen hugely successful titles inspire long-term trends within crime fiction – Stieg Larsson’s success leading to a boost for Nordic noir, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train stimulating the market for psychological thrillers,” said Stone. “It will be interesting to see whether Osman’s success leads to a glut of cosy crime caper publishing.”

It was fun to reunite with the members of “The Thursday Murder Club” from book one of the series, (as well as many of the other supporting characters) and I strongly recommend that you get acquainted with them by reading or listening to the first in the series-to better appreciate the growth of the relationships in this installment.

Hobbies

Riveting. . . The twisty plot, knotty issues of relationships with life partners, and steadfast loyalty among the sleuths provide depth and poignancy. Those who prefer their mysteries with touches of spycraft, humor, and eccentricity will be well pleased.”

The plot is completely ridiculous, of course, and therein lies my biggest concern with the series. In this one in particular, there's a bit of violence and a number of dead bodies and I just felt like, well, I don't think real people would continue to go along. In particular, I'm not sure the characters he's created here would continue to go along. It's one thing to solve historical murders that have present implications. It's another entirely to get involved with James Bond-level heists and commensurate level killings. Resist the attempt to escalate, Osman. It does you no favors. When things turn deadly, Elizabeth calls the troops to action, and naturally, they are eager to help… especially if they can find those diamonds as a bonus to solving a murder! This was such a fun read! I started Richard Osman’s The Man Who Died Twice right after finishing with The Thursday Murder Club which I truly enjoyed. The second book in the series does not disappoint. Ibrahim, my heart just broke for him in this book. He's so intelligent and so fragile, and what happened to him was so unfair. But he's got his friends and I have no doubt that Joyce will have him up and around in no time. The audio is perfect. Can we just give Lesley Manville all the awards for narrating that exist and be done with it? It’s one thing to be able to voice one or two characters effectively, but to do a large cast of both female and male characters, all with different ages, speech patterns and dialects and to make each one distinctly their own is a true gift, and she’s got it in spades. I would love this book even without audio, but having listened to her narrate both books so far, I can’t imagine it without her now.

I listened to the audiobook expertly narrated by Lesley Manville. Her genre voicing and voice inflections deliver the right amount of drama and humor to the listener. It's such a great performance, I plan to listen to the audiobook when the next book in this series is published! The new characters are delightful. I liked the extended cast in this one more. Even the ‘baddies’ are fun. Honestly there isn’t a single unlikable character in the bunch (OK, one little punk, but he’s forgettable). Some of the interplay between the opposing sides in this book was laugh out loud funny. Connie? She’s a hoot. The mystery itself is compelling and an improvement over the first book. Though it took its time getting started, leisurely leading us to the murderous moment, once we get there it's off to the races. From that point on, I found it completely unputdownable. I am not going to waste any more time talking about this book, other than to say 'Read it!' This is the book we all need. Joyce, the diarist, is a former nurse, who seems a gentle, naïve soul, but there’s almost no blood and gore that she hasn’t seen before. That’s just as well, because our main character, Elizabeth Best, is a retired (I use the term loosely) spy who seems to be as active as ever. What is she capable of?