The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)

Title: The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)

Author: Richard Osman

Published in: 2022

Date read: 10th September 2023

Score: 5/5

Genre: Crime, Detective, Thriller, Mystery

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"The Bullet That Missed" by Richard Osman, published in 2022, is the third novel in the hugely popular Thursday Murder Club series. It continues the adventures of the four delightful septuagenarian amateur detectives residing in Coopers Chase retirement village, proving that age is no barrier to solving complex crimes.

The story finds the members of the Thursday Murder Club – Joyce Meadowcroft, Elizabeth Best, Ron Ritchie, and Ibrahim Arif – tackling two interconnected mysteries, one contemporary and one from the past.

Their primary focus shifts to a cold case from ten years ago: the disappearance of Bethany Waites, a local TV news presenter. The official police investigation concluded she drowned, but her body was never found. Elizabeth, in particular, is drawn into this mystery, as it appears to have connections to a figure from her own shadowy past as a former MI6 agent.

The investigation into Bethany's disappearance quickly unearths a tangled web of lies, illicit affairs, and high-stakes financial fraud, involving powerful local figures and shadowy international criminals. The Club discovers that Bethany was investigating something dangerous herself before she vanished.

As they delve deeper, the Club finds themselves up against a notorious and ruthless mob boss known as "The Viking." The Viking is not a man to be trifled with, and his presence introduces a genuine threat to the safety of the amateur sleuths, especially Elizabeth, whose past connections seem to put her directly in his crosshairs.

Meanwhile, a second, more immediate mystery emerges when a local drug trafficker is murdered. This contemporary crime seemingly has connections to the cold case, pulling the police, including DCI Chris Hudson and PC Donna De Freitas, into the Club's orbit once more.

The novel is characterized by Osman's signature wit, charming character interactions, and clever plotting. Each member of the Club uses their unique skills – Joyce's meticulous record-keeping, Elizabeth's cunning and shadowy connections, Ron's street smarts, and Ibrahim's sharp intellect – to piece together the puzzles. They navigate police procedures, criminal underworlds, and their own personal lives with humour and surprising dexterity.

The climax involves a tense confrontation with "The Viking" and the unmasking of the real perpetrators behind Bethany's disappearance and the subsequent murder, all while the Club tries to keep themselves and their loved ones out of harm's way. "The Bullet That Missed" is a delightful, intricate, and often thrilling mystery that solidifies the Thursday Murder Club's place as unlikely but brilliant detectives.

Comments:
These books keep getting better and better. I have been in awe since the last book and this one is even better.

Books that we've read by Richard Osman (4):
The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1) (2020), The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club, #2) (2021), The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3) (2022), The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4) (2023)