“Sylvia Finch wonders how much longer she can do this.”
I have made no secret of the fact that The Man Who Died Twice is one of my most highly anticipated books of this year.
You should follow me on Twitter if you haven’t by the way.
The first Thursday Murder Club was on my TBR after I had chanced upon it while browsing through a bookstore; it sat there for a few weeks, maybe months, before I had some time and decided to give it a go. And I’m not lying when I say I’m obsessed.
An old flame has recently come back into Elizabeth’s life after hearing about the TMC’s shenanigans and he needs their help to keep him safe while he’s on the run from the mafia. And with the body count rising, the mafia is proving they are willing to do whatever it takes to get their money back from him.
The adventure is definitely bigger in the sequel; sure, there were bodies in the first book but all that was at risk was an old cemetery getting thrown up. But the stakes are higher here with missing diamonds being hunted down by multiple interested timings and a few tidbits being revealed about why Elizabeth’s ex needs her help of all people. It’s less Miss Marple and more James Bond this time.
As always, the four members of TTMC are the shining stars of the novel. Their dynamics are a lot more developed in the sequel as the characters find their groove as friends and in my opinion, Ron and Ibrahim get more time in the spotlight than before. (I still need a lot more Ibrahim though.)
Joy also gets to use more of her detective skills in this one and she’s coming into her own as a detective under Elizabeth’s tutelage. Osman really manages to highlight the differences in how Elizabeth and Joy think through their problems and I love the effect this has on their investigation.
However, there is a lot of callback to the first book in terms of backstory and characters. If you’re a first time reader of the series, I would say you should still be able to follow along pretty easily but you might want to read the first book just in case.
I think Osman kind of took a bigger risk in this book than he did with the first one, in terms of how he chose to develop the characters’ arcs and the narrative, but it definitely works and it’s not too far of a leap to adjust your understanding of the characters to fit in the new information.
The Man Who Died Twice definitely didn’t let me down after months of waiting and if you are someone who is looking for a lighthearted murder-mystery, I am the biggest shill for TTMC.
And as always, Richard Osman, please send me an ARC for the third book. I will do anything.
Rating: 4/5
September Round Up + October announcement
I’ve been busy this month as school catches up with me and I haven’t really been able to read as much as I’d have liked. The shipping supply debacle is also definitely hurting how fast I’m able to get my new releases too.
But for October, I have an exciting line up of horror and thriller books to send to your inbox! We have both upcoming releases and drops from the past one or two years. As Halloween gets closer and the weather gets colder, I’m definitely in the mood to read some spookier books.
Murder on the Golden Arrow by Magda Alexander
It’s Agatha Christie meets Nancy Drew. When a woman mysteriously dies on the train home from finishing school, Kitty Worthington suddenly finds herself in the middle of a police investigation. And her brother, who was last seen with the dead woman, is the police’s top suspect. Kitty must save her brother from going to prison, but before that, she has to stop her mother from trying to marry her off.
Rating: Coming soon
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
Gavin Scott has it all: he’s a well-off player in major league baseball and he just won his team the World Series, he has a beautiful wife with two children. But when his wife reveals that she has been faking her orgasms their whole marriage and asks for a divorce, his world falls apart. He’s willing to do anything to save their marriage but apparently his teammates think that the answer lies in… romance novels?
Rating: 4/5
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
When her mum’s cancer doesn’t go into remission as planned, Nina must come up with a plan to pay for the hospital fees. She’s about to pull off her most complicated con yet: stealing a million dollars from Vanessa Liebling, a rich heiress on sabbatical at her old family home. All this hinges on one thing: that Vanessa doesn’t recognise her from their childhood together.