The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman Review

It's the following Thursday.
 

Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He's made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life.
 

As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn't that be a bonus?
 

But this time they are up against an enemy who wouldn't bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can The Thursday Murder Club find the killer (and the diamonds) before the killer finds them?

Round 2 in Richard Osman’s charming Thursday Murder Club series, the Man Who Died Twice is a sequel novel that should satisfy most fans of the first book. Delivering the same cozy mystery vibes and light-hearted comedic shenanigans, this novel instantly feels familiar and is incredibly easy to pick right up. In many ways this novel is a refinement of the first book’s beloved formula, the most notable highlights being an increased focus on the Thursday Murder Club members, a tidier and better executed mystery investigation, and a more consistent tone and pacing. While I personally found this second novel to be less narratively ambitious and compelling compared to the Thursday Murder Club, the Man Who Died Twice is still a solid read for those looking for a cozy mystery or snarky British humor.

Taking place right after the events of the first book, the Man Who Died Twice sees the Thursday Murder Club investigating a new mystery that ironically doesn’t start with murder, at least initially. A handsome and charismatic man from Elizabeth’s past named Douglas sends her a letter requesting help involving stolen diamonds worth twenty million pounds and hiding from a mafia mobster and his shady financer. Bringing new excitement to the Cooper Chase retirement community along with old memories, the premise of this novel smartly pitches itself as a new mystery for the Thursday Murder Club to solve while also exploring Elizabeth’s past as an undercover MI5 operative. Initially a case of missing stolen diamonds during an undercover stint gone awry, this novel’s focal mystery inevitably becomes one of murder as dead bodies are found and the plot thickens.

While I generally enjoyed reading the Thursday Murder Club last year due to its unique pitch of a cozy murder mystery with senior citizens running amok, I had noted that the focal mystery, huge number of character perspectives, and multiple different storylines had a bit too much going on, resulting in a disjointed and inconsistent presentation. As Osman’s second published novel, the Man Who Died Twice improves on all of his first novel’s chaotic areas substantially. While the Thursday Murder Club featured numerous different plot threads and character relations that didn’t always contribute much to the main mystery, this novel has a far more focused approach, simplifying the plot to just two main areas. The first is the group’s task of assisting Elizabeth’s ex-husband Douglas and the stolen diamonds, primarily led by Elizabeth and Joyce. The second focus is the group’s attempt to seek justice for Ibrahim following a mugging and assault, this storyline featuring more of Ron, DCI Donna, Chris, and of course a shaken Ibrahim. Compared to the first book, the two main narratives and their associated characters are considerably more straightforward and less convoluted. While this novel also features constant perspective shifts between chapters, they’re done far more strategically, most being made up of the four Thursday Murder club members supplemented by other perspectives when appropriate. The mysteries themselves are also far more restrained, featuring less random red herrings and limiting the number of big plot twists, making each feel more impactful and intentional when they occur. While I appreciated the complexity and ambition of the Thursday Murder Club, I cannot deny that the plotting and mystery of this novel feels far more appropriate and digestible for the target readership that would be interested in the series’ signature cozy mystery vibes and content.

In addition to having a more coherent mystery, this novel also wisely features the group members doing much more investigating themselves compared to how most of the first novel’s work was done by Donna and Chris. The increased focus on the group, particularly the mastermind Elizabeth but also Joyce who’s perhaps the most interesting of the four, is one of the best elements of this novel as it allows it’s fun and colorful characters to carry the story. Another improvement is that this novel makes good use of its returning characters, some such as friend and handyman Bogdan and more notable this time around while introducing only a select few new characters specific to each mystery compared to the first book’s unnecessarily huge cast of characters. Each new character not only has memorable personalities but also has distinctive roles/backgrounds vs the first book where various friends, senior citizens, or significant others often blended together. Osman’s character work continues to be the biggest selling point of the series, highly comical in his subtly funny and distinctively British sense of humor.

While the Man Who Died Twice features many quality-of-life improvements for the general readership and enjoyability of the series, I unfortunately found it less compelling and interesting to read compared to its predecessor. While the straightforward story and tidied presentation makes this book far more appealing and readable for most, I found it to be a lot less ambitious with its storytelling and mystery investigation. While the Thursday Murder Club featured a lot of funny senior shenanigans and mystery twists, one of my favorite elements of the story was its unexpectedly nuanced and quiet reflections on senior life, memories, and mortality. While there are trace moments of that here courtesy of Elizabeth’s husband Stephen’s dementia and Ibrahim’s shaken outlook following his assault, they’re nowhere near as deep or emotional compared to the touching moments between Elizabeth and Penny, Father Matthew’s tragic loss of Maggie, etc. The Thursday Murder Club was a great blend of comedy, mystery and drama but the Man Who Died Twice only sticks to the lighter moments.

Another highlight for me was also Donna and Chris’s unorthodox professional partnership that went against the grain against standard tropes that would typically pair them romantically. Not only are Donna and Chris paired less in the second book, but their roles are also substantially diminished in favor of the Murder Club members. At times their inclusion feels like Osman is almost forcing them into the story with the secondary Ryan Baird storyline for series continuity,  often fragmenting the main mystery (this is most notable when Donna is given a run down in the conclusion of who is who in the main mystery case, that’s how irrelevant and out of the picture they are). And although the book ends on a strong note with an exciting and hilarious conclusion, the first half of the book noticeably lagged for me and the mystery itself felt too simplistic and low stakes for my taste. It isn’t until nearly a third of the way into the novel before the first murder occurs and in general, this book lacks the occasional thrilling scenes or sense of danger of the first book. While the mystery was good and the investigation effective, I consistently felt like there wasn’t enough content to fill its four hundred plus page count. While the padded character writing was fun and pleasant to read in small doses, most of it felt like unnecessary and overwritten fluff that grew stale and tiring in excess. The glimpses into Elizabeth and Douglas’s past were interesting as well as some of the future breadcrumbs left about Chris’s romantic future and Donna’s lack of (both being serviceable but the latter severely rushed and underdeveloped), but they didn’t have enough substance to compensate for the basic plot.

While on paper delivering a very similar story to the first book, the Man Who Died Twice is a noticeable refinement from the first book. Osman takes all the elements that most readers enjoyed from the Thursday Murder Club and pushes them to the forefront, resulting in a confident and polished read that’s considerably less chaotic and messy. Though the finished book will likely satisfy most casual or cozy mystery readers, this novel didn’t hit the same level of ambition or nuance as its predecessor for me, smoothing over all the rougher edges and favoring the cozy vibe at the cost of harder-hitting material. However, while this book veered away from what I subjectively appreciate, it’s still a solid read and an above-average entry in a genre I often find middling (still more interesting than Osman’s more recently published series We Solve Murders). Here’s hoping the next Thursday Murder Club is better!