Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Book Review: The Last Devil to Die


It's rarely a quiet day for the Thursday Murder Club. Shocking news reaches them—an old friend has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.

The gang's search leads them into the antiques business, where the tricks of the trade are as old as the objects themselves. As they encounter drug dealers, art forgers, and online fraudsters—as well as heartache close to home—Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim have no idea whom to trust.

With the body count rising, the clock ticking down, and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die?

The Last Devil to Die is the fourth book in Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club Series. Coming out on September 19, 2023, Penguin Publishing provided an early galley for review.

Longtime followers will know that I am a big fan of this series, having reviewed the earlier titles in the series. I am glad to be able to drop-in once more on the geriatric gang to see what mess they've stumbled upon this time.

As expected, Osman continues to build up threads and relationships established in the earlier books of the series. There is, of course, a murder and crimes for the group to investigate. But quite a bit of the story also deals with Stephen, Elizabeth's husband, whose dementia has continued to progress. This will definitely hit home and hard for readers who have themselves had family members suffer from this debiliating condition. It definitely hit me on an emotional level. I appreciate when a story can do that.

There is a line in chapter 19 that I really liked: the world of antiques and antiquities is not always squeaky clean. This is definitely something I'll take away from this one as well. It is not a sentiment I haven't seen before, but it was good to have that reminder.

At the end, I am glad that Osman plans to continue this series down the road, but not before he scratches another itch with a different sort of mystery. I'll be keeping my eyes open for that.

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