Book Review: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

The Man Who Died Twice

by Richard Osman (Osman)

 

How do you start a good book? Begin with a letter from a man who should be dead — one who you invented and then killed off years ago. Jokes on you, it’s your ex-husband and he allegedly stole 20 million pounds worth of diamonds from the wrong people. Later, he is murdered for real. Is his death a joke on you as well?

 

The Man Who Died Twice is the second cozy mystery installment in the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman. Once again the four more-than-meets-the-eye retirees in quiet Coopers Chase England are doing what they do best to solve the murder and find the diamonds to boot. Each character brings a toolbox of skills: Elizabeth the ex-police officer and spy, Ibrahim the psychiatrist, Ron the political mover and shaker, and Joyce the retired nurse.

 

I enjoy how Osmond portrays his characters, and I find the dialogue to be full of personality and wit. I can envision these characters in a quirky Netflix or Hulu series. The book moves quickly along with a number of twists, similar to the first book in the series. And if you haven’t first read the first book in the series, I would strongly recommend it before you read The Man Who Died Twice. You will miss many references and a lot of backstory that makes this book more enjoyable. All in all, the whole series is comical and clever. Well worth the read..

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, or The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.)

 

( publisher’s official The Man Who Died Twice web page ) | ( official Richard Osman Twitter feed )

 

Recommended by Cindy K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

If you're a mystery fan, join us for this month's Just Desserts meeting tonight, February 24th, where we'll be discussing the 2019 suspense novel "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides. Although Just Desserts group nomally holds our in-person meetings at 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. on the last Thursday of each, this month's meeting will be held on Zoom online. For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts