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The Man Who Died Twiceby Richard Osman Hardcover, 352 pg. Read: November 5-8, 2021 |
TL;DR Version of the Post
I’m going to try not to go on for a few thousand words here, but I can’t make any promises. Just in case, let me provide this version of the post first:
Why waste time wondering about this book? Go read it now.
“It is fine to say ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. It is admirable. But it no longer applies when you’re eighty. When you are eighty, whatever doesn’t kill you just ushers you through the next door, and the next door and the next, and all of these doors lock behind you. No bouncing back. The gravitational pull of youth disappears, and you just float up and up.”
What’s The Man Who Died Twice About?
Right on the heels of the events of The Thursday Murder Club, a figure out of Elizabeth’s past arrives at Cooper’s Chase in need of her help (which means they get the help of Ibrahim, Ron, and Joyce, too—they’re a package deal now). He’s been accused of stealing diamonds worth millions—this is bad enough in any circumstances, but when these diamonds belong to a New York mafia family, the accusation takes on a particular level of seriousness.
As the quartet starts to help him, one of their members is mugged and there’s not a lot the police can do about it, as much as they want to. You know that Elizabeth and the rest will not take that lying down for a moment, and you almost feel sorry for the mugger. It’d probably be better for him to turn himself into the police than face what Elizabeth will cook up.
At the same time, our police friends, DCI Chris Hudson and PC Donna De Freitas, are trying to take down the unlikeliest drug kingpin since Nancy Botwin. There are also some nice (and potentially strange) developments in their social lives.
I shouldn’t forget to add that Joyce takes up making friendship bracelets to sell for charity, gets an Instagram account, and decides to adopt a dog. You’ll be surprised which of those becomes important for the plot, but you’ll enjoy them all.
Crowdsourcing Vengence
The last book’s mysteries involved people near The Club, which got them involved—but it’s largely due to curiosity/boredom/proximity. In this book, the crimes are personal, members of The Thursday Murder Club are affected and involved—either directly or indirectly. They’re not acting for their amusement (well, maybe a little), they have a need to see justice done and someone punished.
In both cases, it feels like they’re practically crowdsourcing their revenge. They are able to quickly get anyone they ask to chip in. “Oh, this is for X?” or “This is because of Y?” “Sure, I’m in.” “Someone hurt So-and-so? What do you need.” It’s heartwarming to see the community come together like this, selflessly ready to help. It’s also a little disturbing how quickly willing everyone is to ignore the law (not just because two of the people who are involved are police officers).
A Shared Attitude
At (at least) one point both Ron and Elizabeth reflect on their life at the moment and say something about how lucky they are. It’s certainly possible that Joyce and Ibrahim said the same thing at one point in the book (if I had an e-copy, I’d have done a search or two so I’d know)—but even if they don’t, they come close enough. I wish I had their sense of perspective, hopefully I get as wise as they are one day.
At the same time, they all know that life is short. And what they enjoy right now can be taken from them without warning (there are examples aplenty in the two books of the series). Which probably helps them enjoy their luck as long as they have it.
Elizabeth, in particular, knows that her luck is about to run out. Her husband loses his battle with dementia a little every day, and it’ll soon be over. Each scene with the two of them together (or when Elizabeth thinks about him) is a fantastic combination of sweetness and heartbreak.
Come to think of it, that’s a pretty good description of the series.
A Joyce Sampler
I can’t find some way to shoe-horn in these quotations, but I feel compelled to share them. Joyce’s journal entries are gold. A couple of samples:
What would I do with five million pounds, I wonder?
I need new patio doors, they’re about fifteen thousand, though Ron knows someone who could do it for eight.
I could buy £14.99 wine instead of £8.99 wine, but would I notice the difference?
…So I probably don’t really need five million pounds but, nonetheless, I’m sure I shall dream about it tonight. You would too, wouldn’t you?
By the way, earlier, when I said Elizabeth is a terrible flirt, I didn’t mean she’s a terrible flirt like I’m a terrible flirt. I mean that when she flirts, she’s terrible at it. Really all over the place. I like to see things Elizabeth is bad at. There aren’t many, but at least it levels the playing field a bit for the rest of us.
So, what did I think about The Man Who Died Twice?
“Anyone interested in something very weird at Coopers Chase?” says Chris.
Yes. Everyone is.
That bit of narration speaks for everyone* who’s spent any time with The Thursday Murder Club and will likely continue to do so until Osman steps away from the series.
* I guess I should say “nearly everyone” I’m sure there are readers who weren’t taken in by Osman’s charm. I don’t understand those people, but I should acknowledge their existence.
I’m not sure what to possibly say at this point in the post—this is a fantastically entertaining read. Osman has a gift for making you laugh, appreciate the depth of grief, muse on aging, and ponder the random vicissitudes of life all within a page or two—all while telling a first-class amateur detective story.
As much as I loved The Thursday Murder Club, I think this was a more entertaining read. I was chuckling almost instantly, and audible laughter soon followed that. But by the last paragraph of Chapter 3, I was reminded that Osman is as skillful at playing your heartstrings as he is tickling your funny bone. This is a winner. Stop wasting time with this post and go read the book.
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