Shocking news reaches them—an old friend has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing. I cannot think of another series with a more moving exploration of love after a lifetime together, and The Last Devil To Die reduced me to tears at more than one point. Viking snapped up two further Thursday Murder Club novels and two in a new series to launch in 2024. It's Christmas in Coopers Chase and a package (not the festive kind) that was smuggled across the English coast on Boxing Day has gone missing and chaos has been unleashed.

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman: 9780593299425

The entire Viking team believe in Richard’s longevity as an exceptional storyteller, and this four-book deal marks Penguin’s long-term partnership with him: a career we are endlessly ambitious about. Richard Osman’s engaging series about a group of crime-solving retirees has delighted readers since the first book. Each of his novels, The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice, and The Bullet That Missed were number one, million-copy international bestsellers as well as New York Times bestsellers….The mysteries are complex, the characters vivid, and the whole thing is laced with warm humor and—remarkably, considering the body count—good feeling. The characters are delightful and the switch between third person narration and Joyce’s diary continues to work beautifully. This the 4th book in this fun series and ai have grown quite attached to this gang of elderly sleuths. Real threats and real consequences, and a real understanding that while the motivations of thieves and murderers may be complex, the real villain of the piece is unstoppable illness and hard choices for those who may be left behind.

Thursday Murder Club Series by Richard Osman - Goodreads Thursday Murder Club Series by Richard Osman - Goodreads

And I thought, that's quite a fun detective, a reluctant traveller, having to go around the world and saying 'oh god, really? Our favourite octogenarians are back to solve yet another mystery with The Thursday Murder Club and this time they're set to face their most deadly opponents yet! This book managed to do something that only 1 or 2 others have ever managed before in my lifetime of reading (50+ yrs) - it made me cry - and more than once. And I’ve been secretly excited for a while now about my new series, which I think readers will love. Skulduggery and laughs abound as our favorite gaggle of amateur-detective retirees tackle drug runners, dodgy antique dealers, art forgers and Battenberg cake recipes.

I’m sad I have to wait before I can read along with Joyce again, or swoon over Bogdan’s capabilities. It contains all the usual drama, humour and intrigue you expect from this series but with added heartbreak and emotion. More details soon, I promise, but for now here’s a toast to more Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron, and to some brand-new friends too. From 1989 until 1992, he studied Sociology and Politics at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a contemporary of Pointless co-presenter Alexander Armstrong, who read English Literature.