The Man Who Died Twice – A Genius Mystery Comedy Novel!

Posted On October 10, 2021

Hi Readers! After writing the review for The Push yesterday, I realised that it had been about 45 days after which I wrote a review. I think this was the main reason why I was struggling with it. But after I wrote it all day taking a lot of breaks & actually getting very few parts of it done till I finally finished it at 11 in the night. Luckily, writing this review was easier after that. The creative juices just flew & I had the review in front of me in less than an hour. But in case you don’t find it useful, spare me one, yeah?

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

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? 

~~I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS~~

When I started reading The Man Who Died Twice, I was just immensely happy to be with Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, Ron, Chris & Donna. It felt like meeting old friends after a year. It was so comfortable just being in that environment at Coopers Chase. All these characters were pretty perfect in the first book itself. But, in this book, their humanity side came up a bit more than in the first book where it was all about their detective skills. Because Ibrahim had a mugging incident right in the initial part of the book, it really mellowed all the other characters, but also because of this their razor-sharp edge became even stronger. It was also amazing to watch Chris take care of himself, even if it was just to impress a woman. And, though Donna’s parts were few, I still loved those. Somehow, I always imagine Donna as Lauren Lapkus. Anyway, even with a few additional characters, these 6 have stayed really close to my heart.

I loved how Bogdan also became sort of their unofficial hit man. His discreetness & keeping-to-himself attitude matches so well with the nasty & sometimes illegal asks of the Thursday Murder Club.

~~MULTIPLE STORY LINES~~

This time also there were different story lines going on at the same time which kept things really interesting. There was Ibrahim’s mugging leading to setting up of the mugger Ryan Baird. There was the sweet old lady drug dealer Connie Johnson in town who was tailed by Chris & Donna. Then of course, there was Elizabeth’s ex-husband Douglas Middlemiss & his associate Poppy. We also had Martin Lomax who was chasing for diamonds. And lastly, we had those two MI6 folks Sue & Lance. So, yes, a lot of people with a lot of story lines revolving crime, which, as expected, tied together perfectly towards the end. Even though these people were being chased by the Mafia or had murdered other humans or had stolen some super expensive diamonds or were managing a drug dealership, there was no threatening tension anywhere in the story.

I have admired Richard Osman’s genius mind when it comes to these two Thursday Murder Club books. The kind of details it takes to get all the separate story lines & people in it to connect at the end is simply a mastermind’s work. Although, despite so many story lines, I felt they were fewer than the first book. It might also be because in the first book everyone was a stranger to me, but in this one, I already knew the characters, which is why less time went into establishing the foundation. Nevertheless, I loved the story line, narrative & writing style in this one as well.

~~TO READ OR NOT TO READ~~

You must read The Man Who Died Twice. There is nothing & no one in the opposition who can say anything to want you to not read this amazing book. I mean, murder stories have never been so casual & fun to read! Even with multiple murders, this book achieves to keep the overall theme light & enjoyable. If you loved The Thursday Murder Club, then naturally you will love this one too. If you want to read something light, but something with great content, you should pick this book. If you feel at home with crime comedy (which is a made-up genre but is becoming sooner & sooner my favourite), then you should start reading this book right away! My list of why to read The Man Who Died Twice can go on & on. So stop reading this & start reading the book already! You will not be disappointed. I have rated it at 4/5 stars!

Until next time,