The Thursday Murder Club has done it again, and this latest installment is the best one yet. While the previous book had a crackerjack of a start, I found the ending less successful, this time around, the pacing is perfect, the stakes are even higher, and the plot is as clear as Elisabeth's conscience.
The club takes on the case of Bethany Waites, a television presenter who disappeared after her car went over a cliff. Joyce, one of the club members, is especially eager to get involved as she hopes to meet Bethany's charming co-anchor. But as they delve deeper into the case, they soon realize that they have a much bigger, and far more dangerous, problem on their hands. The consequences of their actions in the previous book have come back to haunt them, and they must pay the price. When an old KGB friend of Elisabeth's, Victor, becomes a target, Elizabeth must make a difficult choice - kill her old friend or risk losing Joyce.
What I love most about this series is the way the characters are allowed to grow and evolve, something that is often lacking in stories featuring septuagenarians. They become more ruthless, adventurous, and vulnerable as the series progresses, and everything that happens impacts them deeply. The way the author weaves in the everyday struggles of aging, such as Stephen's Alzheimer's, is done with such authenticity and humanity that it adds an extra layer of depth to the story. It is a rare treat to see an author like Richard Osman grow and improve with each book, and this latest installment is undoubtedly his best yet.
