A guest at the wedding of Joyce's daughter approaches The Thursday Murder Club for help as his life has been threatened. When he then disappears, they think the worst and spring into action to protect his business partner.
It is lovely to return to The Thursday Murder Club in The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed them until I started reading. With this being the fifth book in the series, it felt very much like meeting up with old friends I hadn't seen in a while.
Everyone is celebrating at the wedding of Paul and Joanna, Joyce's daughter. When a friend of the groom approaches Elizabeth for help, her interest is piqued. Nick Silver, along with his business partner Holly Lewis, runs a highly secure cold-storage facility. That morning, Nick discovered a bomb under his car, and he's sure it must be linked to his business dealings. Elizabeth agrees to meet him the next day, but when they turn up, he is missing.
While all the usual characters feature, this is really Elizabeth's story. Consumed by grief since the death of her beloved husband, she has struggled to find her spark. Her close friends have rallied around but know that it is simply a matter of time and patience. Bombs, hidden compounds and codes are just what she needs to arouse her curiosity and employ all her skills and contacts. I particularly enjoyed meeting Jasper, one of those contacts. He's an interesting character who could offer much in future stories and allow Joyce to continue mothering him.
Joyce is supporting Elizabeth in trying to track down Nick Silver. Ron and Ibrahim have their own separate storylines, which eventually merge with the main one. Each of the main characters is feeling a little lost and questioning their value. These separate threads reinvigorate them, allowing them to feel a sense of purpose.
Danger is never far away. The mixture of menace and humour is finely balanced, just as you would expect in a cosy crime novel. The twists are cunning and delicious, and the ending will leave you feeling that karma has worked its magic and everything is as it should be.
Richard Osman is an author, producer and television
presenter. The Thursday Murder Club novels are a record-breaking,
multi-million-copy, bestselling series around the world. The movie adaptation
for The Thursday Murder Club, produced by Amblin Entertainment, is available to
watch on Netflix. His new series, We Solve Murders, featuring a brand-new
detective trio, is also an international bestseller. Richard promises there are
more books to come in both series. He lives in London with his wife, Ingrid, and
their cats, Liesl and Lottie.
No comments:
Post a Comment