I found the first novel delightful, so I can’t wait to read The Man Who Died Twice: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman for Book Beginnings on Fridays.
Book Beginnings is a fun meme hosted by Rose City Reader blog. To participate, share the first sentence or so of a novel you are reading and your thoughts about it. When you are finished, add your URL to the Book Beginnings page linked above. Hope to see you there!
Summary: Amateur sleuths Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim return in this sequel to the hugely popular novel, The Thursday Murder Club. This time Elizabeth’s ex-husband arrives on the scene with a wild tale about being accused to stealing diamonds from some ruthless criminals. Before long people are found murdered. It is up to the retired foursome to put things right.
First Sentence:
Sylvia Finch wonders how much longer she can do this. One foot in front of the other, her suede shoes darkening in the autumn puddles.
Death hangs about her like a fine mist.
Discussion:
It’s hard to define this first page. It is set apart with only a few lines. It feels like a prologue, but isn’t labeled as a prologue. None of the main characters are in it. I guess we’ll have to see how it fits.
56
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. The premise is simple. Turn to page 56 in the book and pick a quote.
“So you need us to look out for him?” asks Joyce. “Like bodyguards?”
“Hardly bodyguards, Joyce,” says Elizabeth.
“We’re guarding his body,” says Ron.
“All right, bodyguards then, Ron, as you wish.”
I love how you can see differences between the characters even in this short piece of dialogue, complete with banter.
Also, it is written in present tense. Present tense gives a sense of immediacy, but keeping the verb tenses consistent can be tricky indeed.
The Man Who Died Twice: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery*by Richard Osman
(*Amazon Affiliate link- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
The previous novel:
The Thursday Murder Club: A Novel by Richard Osman
Have you read any of the Thursday Murder Club mysteries? What do you think?
I do enjoy “murder club” stories, so I want to read these books. Thanks for sharing, and here’s mine: “THE DETECTIVE’S DAUGHTER”
I think you’d really like them.
I’d like a book with the sleuths being a retired foursome.
Older adults bring a different perspective, that’s for sure. But they have some unique back stories, so some things they do are quite unexpected.
I also loved The Thursday Murder Club and is very excited to read this one!! Thanks for sharing the excerpts, now I really can’t wait to get my hands on it!
Have a good weekend!
Elza Reads
It’s a bit more complex than the first, but still enjoyable.
I have the first book on hold from the library, but it’s going to be a long wait!
You’ll want the second one right away. 🙂
You may keep touting this book long enough that I’ll break down and buy it!
As I remember, there’s a birthday coming up this month…. 🙂
Clearly I need to give this series a try. Sounds fun. My Friday quotes from the Silent Patient
The series is fun and thought-provoking, too.
Yes, the banter between the characters is funny! I hope you enjoy the book!
I still need to read the previous one, but it’s on my GINORMOUS wishlist. *le sigh*
🙂
Happy weekend!
I might have to look into this author. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds like such a fun read. I can tell just by the dialogue in the 56 snippet how much I’d enjoy this. Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a great week! 🙂