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Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Man Who Died Twice in Books
Jul 31, 2022
Another fantastic book by Richard Osman, sometimes sequels fall a bit flat and have lost the magic of the first book, but not this one.
We start not long after the last book finished, the following Thursday in fact. Elizabeth has been invited round to a flat in the retirement village, but the letter inviting her has been signed off by a dead man. All becomes clear as soon as Elizabeth goes to meet him, and it her ex-husband, Douglas. He tells her he is in trouble and needs her help. Elizabeth being Elizabeth agrees to help, but only if she can enlist the help of The Thursday Murder Club.
Elsewhere, Ibrahim is happily going about his business when he is violently mugged. This leads to the book touching on agoraphobia and how people deal with things after a violent attack, whilst pretending to everyone around them that they are perfectly fine.
Donna and Chris are back, with Chris dating Donna’s mum and making Donna a little uncomfortable. She also begins to question her own loneliness and it is interesting to watch how she tries to combat it, without succeeding.
As the book goes on, the situations get more and more ridiculous (but this never had me questioning if it could really happen, as I just enjoyed the ride) and once one mystery is solved, two or three more crop up! I definitely didn’t guess the ending, and 70 pages from the end I was sure that I knew how it ended, but I was extremely wrong.
I also didn’t guess where the money would end up either, but I’m extremely pleased with the ending and I feel that it changed the ending from something a little obvious to something no one would guess.
I have been enjoying this series so much, that the next release cannot come soon enough for me! I very rarely understand the hype around books, especially ones written by celebrity authors, but this one has lived up to the hype and more in my eyes.
We start not long after the last book finished, the following Thursday in fact. Elizabeth has been invited round to a flat in the retirement village, but the letter inviting her has been signed off by a dead man. All becomes clear as soon as Elizabeth goes to meet him, and it her ex-husband, Douglas. He tells her he is in trouble and needs her help. Elizabeth being Elizabeth agrees to help, but only if she can enlist the help of The Thursday Murder Club.
Elsewhere, Ibrahim is happily going about his business when he is violently mugged. This leads to the book touching on agoraphobia and how people deal with things after a violent attack, whilst pretending to everyone around them that they are perfectly fine.
Donna and Chris are back, with Chris dating Donna’s mum and making Donna a little uncomfortable. She also begins to question her own loneliness and it is interesting to watch how she tries to combat it, without succeeding.
As the book goes on, the situations get more and more ridiculous (but this never had me questioning if it could really happen, as I just enjoyed the ride) and once one mystery is solved, two or three more crop up! I definitely didn’t guess the ending, and 70 pages from the end I was sure that I knew how it ended, but I was extremely wrong.
I also didn’t guess where the money would end up either, but I’m extremely pleased with the ending and I feel that it changed the ending from something a little obvious to something no one would guess.
I have been enjoying this series so much, that the next release cannot come soon enough for me! I very rarely understand the hype around books, especially ones written by celebrity authors, but this one has lived up to the hype and more in my eyes.
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Unusual Suspects: Stories of Mystery & Fantasy in Books
Mar 1, 2018
Another uneven anthology. I still have it in my hands, so I'll try to hit each story briefly.
"Lucky" by Charlaine Harris - Sookie is much easier to take in short form. I can't help it, the woman grates on me (in the TV show even worse than in the books). The other characters keep me reading.
"Bogieman" by Carole Nelson Douglas - Delilah Street does more than grate on my nerves in long form. She's more palatable in short form, too, but there are reminders of why I don't intend to read more in that series.
"Looks are Deceiving" by Michael A. Stackpole - If I've read any of Stackpole's work before, it's been in anthologies, and I don't remember it. I did wonder if this short story is set in a universe he uses in longer works, though. It wasn't bad at all.
"The House of Seven Spirits" by Sharon Shinn - I loved this story! And how often do you say that about a haunted house tale? I must track down and read some of Shinn's novels. Any suggestions?
"Glamour" by Mike Doogan - The Peasantry Anti-Defamation League might be after Doogan if he isn't careful (at least, representatives of the male peasantry). The story was cute, and it did make me laugh.
"Spellbound" by Donna Andrews - This is another author whose books are going on my (groaning) to-read shelf. The story hit a few clichés, but was fun enough to get away with them.
"The Duh Vice" by Michael Armstrong - Ugh. A little too preachy, and way too much anti-fat prejudice.
"Weight of the World" by John Straley - Where does Santa Claus go in the off-season? That's the biggest question answered in this piece. The "mystery" was "solved" nearly as soon as it was discovered.
"Illumination" by Laura Anne Gilman - Bonnie's back story! I think a bit of this story is used in the first chapter of Gilman's first PUPI novel, but I'll know more when I get my hands on it. It's a must-read for fans of the Cosa Nostradamus universe, though.
"The House" by Laurie R. King - could we maybe call a hiatus on the abused-kid stories? Maybe I'm hypersensitive, but I'm tired of them.
"Appetite for Murder" by Simon R. Green - another dark Nightside story. I don't think I'll ever need to read more in that universe.
"A Woman's Work" by Dana Stabenow - I'm an unabashed Stabenow fangirl. Despite that, I wasn't sure how she'd do in a fantasy setting. She proved herself, certainly. I can only hope that we'll see longer fantasy works from her in print at some juncture.
"Lucky" by Charlaine Harris - Sookie is much easier to take in short form. I can't help it, the woman grates on me (in the TV show even worse than in the books). The other characters keep me reading.
"Bogieman" by Carole Nelson Douglas - Delilah Street does more than grate on my nerves in long form. She's more palatable in short form, too, but there are reminders of why I don't intend to read more in that series.
"Looks are Deceiving" by Michael A. Stackpole - If I've read any of Stackpole's work before, it's been in anthologies, and I don't remember it. I did wonder if this short story is set in a universe he uses in longer works, though. It wasn't bad at all.
"The House of Seven Spirits" by Sharon Shinn - I loved this story! And how often do you say that about a haunted house tale? I must track down and read some of Shinn's novels. Any suggestions?
"Glamour" by Mike Doogan - The Peasantry Anti-Defamation League might be after Doogan if he isn't careful (at least, representatives of the male peasantry). The story was cute, and it did make me laugh.
"Spellbound" by Donna Andrews - This is another author whose books are going on my (groaning) to-read shelf. The story hit a few clichés, but was fun enough to get away with them.
"The Duh Vice" by Michael Armstrong - Ugh. A little too preachy, and way too much anti-fat prejudice.
"Weight of the World" by John Straley - Where does Santa Claus go in the off-season? That's the biggest question answered in this piece. The "mystery" was "solved" nearly as soon as it was discovered.
"Illumination" by Laura Anne Gilman - Bonnie's back story! I think a bit of this story is used in the first chapter of Gilman's first PUPI novel, but I'll know more when I get my hands on it. It's a must-read for fans of the Cosa Nostradamus universe, though.
"The House" by Laurie R. King - could we maybe call a hiatus on the abused-kid stories? Maybe I'm hypersensitive, but I'm tired of them.
"Appetite for Murder" by Simon R. Green - another dark Nightside story. I don't think I'll ever need to read more in that universe.
"A Woman's Work" by Dana Stabenow - I'm an unabashed Stabenow fangirl. Despite that, I wasn't sure how she'd do in a fantasy setting. She proved herself, certainly. I can only hope that we'll see longer fantasy works from her in print at some juncture.