The Man Who Died Twice / Richard Osman

 

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every bit as much fun as the first book. Where can I apply for membership to the Thursday Murder Club? I desperately want to have a glass of wine with Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim. I'll cross my fingers that Chris and Donna show up too. Even Bogdan, although he reminds me of the mobster Toxic in The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning.

Osman is awfully good at all the twisty doublethink of espionage literature. He reminds me of Le Carre and Herron for plotting, but he somehow makes his novels lighter. (Probably because there isn't really any political agenda in them, his villains are motivated by simple greed.) That and his background in comedy. He has the good sense not to over do it, providing just enough humour.

I love the amount of vigor and agency he grants to his older characters. Yes, they fall asleep in the car after a big day and they keep a sharp eye out for the nearest toilet, but they still retain their brains and their kindness. They are lively and interested in events around them and spend remarkably little time marinating in the past. They have good relationships with children, grandchildren, police officers, and their neighbours. Dementia isn't swept under the rug--Elizabeth's husband Stephen suffers from it and we watch her fight to keep him at her side. If anyone can do it, Elizabeth can. I have every faith in her.

I hear there are to be two more books in the series. This makes me very, very happy.


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