Book #3: The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club series begins with the murder of an antiques dealer, but then flashes back to the previous day to recount the events that led up to the incident. It's a trope that I'm not overly fond of, but it turned out to be a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent novel.
Early in the book, it becomes apparent to the friends from the Thursday Murder Club that the victim was in possession of a box containing drugs, which it appears he attempted to steal from its rightful owner. So, the characters end up in murkier territory than previous titles, with a long list of suspects and also an increasingly long list of victims.
There is also a tragic subplot involving Elizabeth's husband Stephen, who has dementia, with runs parallel to the main story, and I thought Richard Osman handled it very well, and I found the storyline to be touching at times, as well as sad.
A third subplot involves some kind of insurance scam that the characters are investigating, which at first I was nonplussed by, and wondered why it was included. However, late in the book, Richard Osman manages to dovetail it almost seamlessly into the main plot that made following it feel worthwhile.
I'm told that Richard Osman's next book will be about new characters, but I hope Richard Osman writes a fifth Thursday Murder Club novel soon.
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