The Bullet that Missed

Ron, Ibrahim, Elizabeth and Joyce are the septuagenarian founder members of the Thursday Murder Club which meets every week in the Jigsaw Room at Coopers Chase. The story is punctuated by Joyce's diary entries – so lovingly crafted by the author that you suspect that the character of Joyce is firmly based on his own mum, whose move to such a retirement village inspired these mysteries.

Ron is a retired trade union official – no nonsense and West Ham; handsome Ibrahim a retired psychiatrist and Elizabeth an ex-spy who still likes to keep her hand in. These are very rich characters with an equally rich cast of friends and acquaintances who get roped in to help with their adventures. I urge you to start with the first book, if you haven't already, because as well as being rollicking good mysteries these books leave you with such a feel-good factor having spent time with these charming but incredibly reckless and rule-bending old folk.

So down to business. At a meeting of the Thursday Murder Club, Joyce raises the possibility of investigating the strange disappearance of local journalist, Bethany Waites, ten years ago. She had been uncovering a massive VAT scam for South East Tonight and was last seen on CCTV as her car plunged over a cliff and into the sea. She was never seen again and no body was ever found.

Joyce has an ulterior motive for suggesting this case. She has a fancy for the South East Tonight anchorman and local celebrity, Mike Waghorn, himself no spring chicken. She hopes to involve him in their investigation as to what happened to his close friend and colleague, Bethany, and of course she succeeds.

At the same time Elizabeth has been receiving disturbing, annoying and threatening messages from someone who has inside knowledge of a previous case and wants to manipulate her. Some hope – have they not read the previous books?

These two threads are woven carefully and ingeniously together. Life and death scenarios are played out but always with a lightness of touch. Even the most hardened criminal can be charmed by Ron, Ibrahim, Elizabeth and Joyce and brought on-side. Everyone has their role to play in the final unmasking (goodies and baddies) and the whole finale works out beautifully. When the brains behind the Beverly Waites disappearance and the VAT scam was finally revealed I was genuinely surprised.  

These are very funny books, but never far away is the poignancy that comes with knowing that old age brings sacrifice and discomfort, and that death and disability is only just around the corner for these four friends and their nearest and dearest. I just hope that they have a few more years left in them to delight us.

Richard Osman’s books are a joy. I understand that not everyone likes them but they must have hearts of stone! In his acknowledgements, Osman says what a blast he has had spending time with the gang at Coopers Chase once more and he hopes his readers did too. Well, I certainly did and really didn't want the blast to end.