There are good and funny moments and great dialogues, but the development of the storyline was not that gripping or thrilling. While Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim chase down the clues with help from old friends and new. Another show-stopper from Richard Osman and a must-read for fans of the Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice.

I love that this series celebrates the intelligence, ingenuity, resourcefulness and savvy that only comes with a life fully lived! A new mystery is afoot in thethird bookin the Thursday Murder Club series from million-copy bestselling author Richard Osman.Oddly enough, even though the action picked up early in the story, I still found this book to be slow-going before my interest had been truly hooked. It is not all laughs – Osman doesn’t milk it for pathos, but Elizabeth’s battle with Stephen’s developing dementia is heart-wrenching. Activist marked for death Ron and psychiatrist Ibrahim chase clues for Viking's identity, and investigate mob-queen prisoner from last book.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, ably assisted by Bogdan and not forgetting DCI Chris Hudson and DC Donna De Freitas. From the very first book, I became fond of side characters Donna, Chris, and Bogdan and they are back, each with their own doubts about life. Its predecessors, The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice, sold millions of copies around the world.The mysteries are complex, the characters vivid, and the whole thing is laced with warm humor and—remarkably, considering the body count—good feeling. The characters are still sharp, the poignancy is still a big undercurrent that offsets the zaniness, and the plots get better and stronger as the series progresses. The progress of Stephen's dementia is very realistic and is especially heart breaking now that he is beginning to be more aware that something is wrong. A reader would better understand though the relationships between the primary and secondary characters if they had read the preceding novels. It only took a couple chapters to discover that Fiona Shaw was more than up to the task of filling her shoes.

But that cynicism can only go so far, because once you read Osman’s funny, warm-hearted novels, it is hard not to be charmed by the eccentricities and the resourcefulness of his creations. The audio has a bonus section at the end in which Steph McGovern interviews Richard Osman about the series. To make matters worse, a new nemesis pays Elizabeth a visit, presenting her with a deadly mission: kill or be killed.

Not only is her beloved Stephen slipping deeper into the clutches of dementia, but she’s kidnapped and charged with carrying out a hit herself. To make matters worse, a new nemesis pays Elizabeth a visit, presenting her with a deadly mission: kill or be killed… While Elizabeth grapples with her conscience (and a gun), the gang and their unlikely new friends (including TV stars, money launderers and ex-KGB colonels) unravel a new mystery. Joyce (and her humorous journal entries) continue to fill us in on the details, and she has definitely earned her spot in the Club as she “googles” for answers.