The Bullet That Missed: (The Thursday Murder Club 3)

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A cold case involving a missing journalist, garners the attention of the Murder Club this time around, while Elizabeth gets tangled up in her own side drama. Not only do the mysteries keep on getting better but the character development has me feeling like these are friends of mine who I am catching up with whenever a new book gets released! A new mystery is afoot in the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series from million-copy bestselling author Richard Osman. Septuagenarians Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are investigating the decade old unsolved murder of TV news show co-host and journalist Bethany Waites where things seem...well, suspicious. The victim's body was never found and all the cash, from a money laundering scheme Bethany was hotly researching for a story, has never been located. A bit fishy, wouldn't you say? Mike knows the story she is working on. He doesn't know the details - a reporter has to keep her secrets - but he knows it's a risky one. He's there if she needs him, but there are some things you have to do alone.

The Thursday Mystery Club decides that they want to take on a cold case, but in any case they take on, there is always someone who is not going to like it being stirred up. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim find an old cold case that interests them, and they’d like to solve it. When they’re on the prowl, they’re going to get their way. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, she’s also dealing with a personal issue when someone from her past threatens her future. She’s reluctant to share this with her friends, but by keeping it to herself…is she putting them in danger? I love these characters: Elizabeth whose husband Stephen is slowly succumbing to dementia; Joyce and her dog Alan; Bogdan who provides muscle when needed and unobtrusively babysits Stephen when Elizabeth is otherwise occupied.

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As the cold case turns white hot, Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), while Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim chase down clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?

I love the 4 main characters and their voices. I love that they're old but instead of sitting around talking about the good old days, they're still out there squeezing every last drop out of life. Life is about understanding opportunities. Understanding how rarely they come along, and then rising to meet them when they do.Elizabeth continues to show us not only her grit but also her softer side, as she grapples with her beloved husband’s dementia, and realizes that she now considers Joyce to be her best friend! Other than that, this series shows no signs of slowing down. The characters are still sharp, the poignancy is still a big undercurrent that offsets the zaniness, and the plots get better and stronger as the series progresses. Elizabeth, Osman’s retired spy, has other problems to deal with. Not only is her beloved Stephen slipping deeper into the clutches of dementia, but she’s kidnapped and charged with carrying out a hit herself. As ever, she takes it in her stride. “Things have been too quiet recently. A retired optometrist crashed his moped into a tree, and there has been a row about milk bottles, but that was about it for excitement. The simple life is all well and good, but, in this moment, with a murder to investigate, and threatening texts arriving daily, Elizabeth realises she has missed trouble.” Writing genuinely funny prose is not at all easy; it is rare that I find a book that has me actually laughing out loud It's a typically convoluted story that eventually has people happily pairing off, working together, and generally becoming best versions of themselves. (Or are they?) Once again, I feel it should be stressed that while this series often lands in the cozy category, anyone who loves mysteries or crime fiction will like this series. It’s smart, clever and oh so entertaining!