The Bullet That Missed - Richard Osman

It's fall and in fall we read The Thursday Murder Club. This year we read the third instalment, The Bullet That Missed.

What can I say about this book that I haven't said previously? The characters are wonderful, the story is full of twists and turns, and it's just a great series.

In this book, the gang is looking into another cold case, this one chosen by Joyce. She might have picked this one so they could meet news presenter, Mike Waghorn, who she has a crush on. But it is a good case. Bethany Waites was Mike's co-presenter and had been onto a great story when one night her car drove off a cliff and she was presumed dead. No body was ever found, but since the car went into the ocean, everyone assumed her body washed out to sea. The leads had dried up and the case went cold until The Thursday Murder Club got involved.

The gang brought in their favourite detectives, Donna and Chris to help. Both Donna and Chris have blossoming romances, which added a nice layer to the book. While both were happy to help, they did try to keep some of the investigation under wraps and by the book. After meeting Mike Waghorn, Chris was going to be on a tv segment with Mike discussing local crime, but then Mike saw Donna and decided she was better for the job.

Elizabeth and her husband, Stephen, got wrapped up in a kidnapping early in the book that added another mystery and another sense of urgency to the story. Elizabeth was told by "The Viking" that if she didn't kill Viktor Illyich that The Viking would kill Joyce. It turns out that Viktor was an old friend/lover, so of course Elizabeth had a plan. She also kept Joyce in the dark, making her think Elizabeth was in danger. One of our favourite parts was Joyce's interactions with The Viking, but I'll let you read about that.

This book also had a continuation of the Connie Johnson story from the previous book. Now she's in jail and has revenge in mind. As the Bethanny Waites investigation plays out, the gang thinks Connie might be able to provide some information so Ibrahim goes to visit her. Connie hires Ibrahim as her psychiatrist, but it doesn't go quite as you would expect.

I don't want to ruin any of this wonderful mystery, so I won't go into any more details!

Both Jen and I loved this book. Jen said that this was her favourite of the series so far, while I still prefer the first one. We both love the characters, Joyce is always good for a laugh. This book had some very good moments between Stephen and Bogdan, and a nice romance for Ron. There were also some great moments with Viktor and I would not be disappointed if he returned in the next book.

Susan - 📘📘📘📘📘

Jen - 📘📘📘📘📘

Until next time, have a drink, read a book, and be happy!