The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Last Devil to Die is the 4th-installment in Richard Osman’s wildly-popular Cozy Mystery series, The Thursday Murder Club, following sleuthing retirees.
This is the most emotional installment yet, and I’m left wondering, if this is a Cozy Crime Mystery, why am I crying!?
The answer is simple. It’s because of the way Osman writes his characters. I feel like it would be impossible to read this series, and not come to love Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim, like they’re your own grandparents.
I absolutely adore them. The humanity and humor that is brought to these stories brings them to life in a natural and engaging way. It’s so enjoyable.
In this installment, one of Stephen’s old friends, Kuldesh Sharma, an antiques dealer, is killed. Shot in what looks like a professional hit. Shocking to say the least.
Unable to let a good murder pass them by, the Thursday Murder Club decides to investigate. Who would want to kill dear old, Kuldesh? It doesn’t make sense.
This multilayered mystery is fun and fast-paced. There’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of characters. We’re thrown into a world of oft-corrupt antiques dealers, art forgers, and most entertainingly, believe it or not, heroin dealers.
In addition to the mystery, I feel like with each installment we are given more info on the backgrounds of our MCs. We get to know them a little more with each mystery.
I loved seeing Joyce come into her own in this one, as Elizabeth is preoccupied with some personal issues. Joyce really stepped up to fill the void and it was nice to see how much her confidence has grown since the 1st-book.
We also learned more about Ibrahim and got some insight into his past. It was touching to see him feel comfortable enough to open up in the way he did here.
As you can tell from the above-statements alone, these books are about so much more than just the murder mystery. Small note of advice before you dive into this one, be sure you have some tissues handy.
I’m actually not sure what the plans are for this series. I’m hoping this isn’t the last book. There were some aspects of this that felt conclusive, but there’s still a lot of life left to live for these characters, nonetheless.
If you haven’t started this series yet, let me assure you, the hype is real. You don’t want to miss out on this!
I definitely recommend these to anyone who enjoys Cozy Mysteries, character-driven stories, or stories following older characters. Just be prepared to feel things…