The Impossible Fortune
Richard Osman
As you can tell, I was very happy to get my hands on it, and I was not disappointed.
For me, it was the kind of book that part of me wants to keep reading in order to know what will happen next, while part of me wants to read just a short chapter or two at a time, in order to draw out the pleasure of reading it.
I can say that I genuinely enjoyed every page, every dialogue, every paragraph and every line.
If you are familiar with The Thursday Murder Club and, like me, count Connie Johnson among your favourite villains (as a literary character only, of course), you will love the story, since Connie features quite prominently.
The familiar cast are all there, too, and a newcomer is added - here to stay, possibly, if there will be more books in the series (which is by no means certain, as far as I know).
As before, the book is much more than just a work of crime fiction. It's never only about solving a mystery with the Thursday Murder Club; the big topics of life and death, love and friendship, youth and age are all part of the parcel. There is food for (deep) thought as well as laugh-out-loud lines.
If you haven't yet read any of the books, I recommend you start with the first one. Typing "Thursday Murder Club" or "Richard Osman" in the search box in the top left corner of my blog you will find my reviews of the previous four in the series. Enjoy!
This is a thorough review and an inducement to read. It helps to read the previous books in the series, although they can be read as stand-alone novels. It is a rare treat to read a book that spurs the reader on and yet makes the reader want to slow the process to make the enjoyment last longer.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's a rare treat. All the Harry Potter books were like that for me, and these are, too. Now that you said that it is a thorough review I have realised that I've not actually said anything about the plot - I'll leave that for the reader to find out :-)
DeleteYes, I read that a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it very much!
ReplyDeleteNice to know you enjoyed it, too!
DeleteI enjoy Richard Osman Thursday Club Murder books. I notice that he tends to be either loved or hated amongst bloggers. He has a good eye for detail and humour in his writing which I like. I also like that he said he got the original idea for the Thursday Club when visiting his mother in the gated community for the elderly where she lives and said he could imagine a Thursday Club there with her and her chums. I don't normally read crime novels but I like these because they are something different. I haven't read The Impossible.
ReplyDeleteYes, they are something different. Part of their charm for me is in Osman showing elderly people not as either doddery and useless or glowing with wisdom and the mildness of age, but as real people, with their past having shaped their character and their present bringing new challenges which they tackle individually while at the same time supporting each other as friends.
Delete