The Thursday Murder Club is at it again. This time it begins with the arrival of an old friend of Elizabeth's who has been set at her retirement village with his handler Poppy. Apparently, he is wanted man accused, correctly, of stealing 20 million pounds of diamonds from a man who brokers deals with all sorts of criminals. There is quite a list of people who want him dead.

But that is not all. Ibrahim is mugged and hurt by a young local thug and two of the local cops who helped the Thursday Murder Club are trying to find enough evidence to arrest a local drug dealer. Chris, who is now dating Donna's mother, and Donna are busy staking out the drug dealer but not having much luck catching her doing something criminal.

When Poppy and Douglas Middlemiss, who happens to be one of Elizabeth's ex-husbands, are murdered, it is up to the Thursday Murder Club to track down the killer and the diamonds. Oh, and if they can find Ibrahim's mugger and help out Donna and Chris with their investigation into the drug dealer, that would be useful too.

I enjoyed the second Thursday Murder Club which is told from multiple points of view and is a fast-paced and engaging story. ( )

Synopsis: 'An unexpected visitor - an old pal of Elizabeth's ... - arrives, desperate for her help. He has been accused of stealing diamonds worth millions from the wrong men, and he's seriously on the lam.
Then a body is discovered, and Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim soon find themselves up against a ruthless murderer who wouldn't bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can our unlikely friends catch the killer before the killer kills them?' From the book cover.

Review: There is a whole lot to this book. Story lines converge to present several viable answers to 'who done it', but the actual villain is a surprise. ( )

The Man Who Died Twice is Book #2 in Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series.
The ongoing, main plot of the series is - a group of pensioners with very interesting and very diverse backgrounds meet on Thursday evenings at their posh retirement village’s ‘Jigsaw Room’ to discuss unsolved crimes. The group consists of Elizabeth Best, Ron Ritchie, Joyce Meadowcroft and Ibrahim Arif.
The plots are complex and very clever. The main characters are interesting and fun to be with.
(I feel like I know these people!) They are fun, smart, interesting, charming and endearing. Their conversations are a main draw of the series (for me).

An unexpected visitor (actually Elizabeth’s ex-husband) arrives at Cooper’s Chase, desperate for help. He has been accused of stealing diamonds (20 million pounds of uncut diamonds) from a very bad man during an assignment. He is now ‘on the run’.

***** I’m hooked on this series. An excellent read. ( )

This was the second book in the series and I think I actually enjoyed it more than the first one. The first book deals with Euthansia which is a heavier topic. This one just has murder!
There is again a lot of humor in this book. I really like the four main characters and I also enjoyed getting to know the supporting characters Donna and Chris a bit better.
This is a book that I really enjoyed the experience of reading it. I did feel like I rushed through it a bit at the end though just because I really wanted to know how it ended. I didn't see some of the plot twists coming and quite enjoyed the ride.
I continued to enjoy Elizabeth's matter of fact-ness "...Elizabeth will use the stairs while she still can. Stairs are good for hip and knee flexibility. Also, it is very easy to kill someone in a lift when the doors open. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and a ping to announce you're about to appear. Not that she's worried about being killed; it doesn't feel to her like that's what is happening here, but it's always important to remember best practice."
And Joyce continues to be a bit naive which was quite funny at times.
There were a few crude sexual references and approx 20 uses of blasphemy.
Other than murder and drug dealing and some other violence, I don't recall any other content issues. The violence and murders were not overly graphic.
I would recommend this series and I'm looking forward to the next one. ( )

What a delight.
This book begins immediately after the first book ends, so have it handy so you can start right in.
Well written, cleverly plotted. The strength, though, is in the delightfully engaging characters and their enjoyable and warm interactions.
Nice light fare, with a few home truths sprinkled about.
Very much looking forward to Book 3! ( )