THE BULLET THAT MISSED: REVIEW

 

(The New Thursday Murder Club Mystery)

RICHARD OSMAN

“Someone had to have had a motive for killing Bethany Waites, but what is it? Can the Thursday Murder Club solve the cold case or will it lead them down a dangerous path that could result in their own lives being at risk?” (Review by Barry Meehan)

Let me say right up front, that Richard Osman is one of my favourite contemporary authors. You might not know the name, but an internet search will reveal a mischievous face at the top of a very tall body (6’7” or 2 metres, if you prefer metric). 

It will also reveal where you might have seen him on British TV lately – QI, Pointless, Would I Lie to You? or 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, to name but a few. He has a natural, irrepressible sense of humour, which certainly comes to the fore in his Thursday Murder Club Mystery series of novels.

The Bullet That Missed is the third in the series, and if you haven’t read The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice (#1 and #2 in the series), I suggest you devour them first before getting stuck into The Bullet that Missed, as your reading enjoyment will be enhanced by the history of the Club and its wonderful characters. It isn’t 100% necessary, however, and I’m sure that if you only read this one, you will still enjoy it immensely.

Picture the scene – four senior citizens who live in a picturesque English village – Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron. They have combined their mental faculties to solve the unsolved – cases that have baffled all previous investigators over the years. Their latest case is a murder from several years previously. Or shall we rather say a disappearance, as there is no trace of the body of the woman in question. All the signs point to murder, but then it could also have been a suicide. Whatever the case, the question is why did it happen in the first place?

Someone had to have had a motive for killing Bethany Waites, but what is it? Can the Thursday Murder Club solve the cold case or will it lead them down a dangerous path that could result in their own lives being at risk?

Osman’s characters are truly well-drawn and quite delightful, kooky at times (especially Joyce, who inhabits her own world) but eminently believable. They’re warm and friendly, slightly devious at times, but the sort of people one would love to have as grandparents. We also meet up with a few new characters in this novel, such as local TV presenter, Mike Waghorn, make-up specialist Pauline, Andrew Everton – the Chief Constable of Kent and self-published crime novelist, crime supremos Jack Mason, Ron Ritchie and Connie Johnson, as well as the mysterious Viking, and Victor Illyich, former KGB Head, to name but a few.

There is definitely a murderer (or two or three) out there, trying to use the Thursday Murder Club members to full advantage. But can our Club members solve the case before someone else is taken out?

This clever and highly amusing novel will make an ideal Christmas present for any adult family member. Just don’t start reading it yourself before wrapping it – you might not be able to put it down! – Barry Meehan

 

The Bullet That Missed is published by Viking – An Imprint of Penguin Books: ISBN  978-0-241-51253-2