The Bullet That Missed

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (2022 Viking paperback 415pp)

 

This third “Tuesday Murder Club” series book arrived late in 2022 and as has become tradition I read it on the run up to Christmas. If you’ve read the first two, you’ll have no hesitation picking this one up – its more of the same ‘cosey crime’ thriller material you’ve come to know and love from this author. If you’re new to the series its probably best to start from the first book to get proper introductions to the main characters as in this volume we’re dropped right into the action without much explanation given.

All the regulars are back – Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron and this time there’s several new supporting characters introduced who become more or less important to the plot.

There are two main plot lines that eventually merge. In the first the club has decided to investigate the disappearance and possible murder of a local television journalist 10 years ago. The second storyline involves Elizabeth receiving threatening messages ordering her to kill a former KGB agent or she and Joyce will be killed instead.

The main characters each get important tasks and minor characters from the previous books also get some room to move and develop. Elizabeth with her secret service past gets all the best action and lines – she’s almost a superhero with her abilities and I find her the least believable as a result. I wish the author would let one of the other regulars drive the story for a change. This time around Joyce is written as something less of a ditz thankfully. Some of the best parts of the book are her diary entries and she makes a lot of wry comments on modern life that ring true to the reader. Ron is mainly relegated to a comedic role as he finds love with a local TV make-up woman Pauline. Ibrahim befriends local drug dealer Connie Johnson who the club was instrumental in having imprisoned last time around. He acts as her therapist and discovers some crucial information as a result. Local cops Chris and Donna also appear as does local Polish handyman Bogdan although all of their roles are somewhat reduced this time.

This book is mainly pure entertainment with large doses of humour and whimsey. It does try to make some serious points and has a dark side too. Anything connected to Elizabeth’s past seems to be heading into pure fantasy land with spies and assassins etc. I wish Osman would reel that side of things in a bit and keep to the local crime angle. You could do much worse than getting into this series of books, they have become wildly popular for a reason.