My book review of 'The Last Devil to Die' by Richard Osman

by Richard Osman
The Last Devil to Die
by Richard Osman

This is book four of the Thursday Murder Club mysteries and with each title topping the bestseller charts, perhaps you've dipped into one of them already - and formed an opinion on whether you want to read any more.

I enjoy the gentle humour and camaraderie of this small community of resourceful individuals - it's what I need these days as a bit of light relief!

In this book, we're continuing the adventures of four residents of Cooper Chase Retirement Village - Elizabeth (a former spy) and Joyce (a former nurse), Ron (who was a trades union official) and Ibrahim (a psychiatrist) - and their growing band of friends and associates.

This time we meet them when an old friend, an antique shop owner, is killed and a cache of drugs in his possession has gone missing.

The gang are confident in their ability to solve mysterious events and there's increasing competition as police officers Donna and Chris want to solve at least one crime before their elderly friends.  

They're all confronted by art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers but back at the Retirement Village there's also a very tragic turn of events. 

I did really enjoy this book - though found Elizabeth's story in this mystery very sad, and am not sure about how it sits in the tone and content of the rest of the book, though it was sensitively handled.

The crime(s) weren't as convoluted as in earlier books, so I felt I had some awareness of what was going on! But I loved the characters and the humour and was rather sorry to have read it so quickly.

Richard Osman is taking a break from the Thursday Murder Club. He promises to return, but his next book is about a different crime-solving duo.

Date of this review: September 2023
Book publication date: 14th September 2023