The Last Devil to Die by Richard OsmanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Osman comes to a natural stopping point of sorts with this latest entry in the Thursday Murder Club series, promising that while there will be more stories to come, he'll be taking a brief hiatus and concentrating on another kind of mystery project in the meantime. For now, though, this book starts with some lighthearted Boxing Day dramedy - the club is trying to make a new friend in the community, but Mervyn is so utterly besotted with a lovely Lithuanian that he's never met and stubbornly refuses to accept that she's a scammer - but slowly builds up to the reveal that, no, there will be no murder-free year coming up for the club, because an antiques dealer and old friend is dead. Interspersed in are some interludes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, dealing with the ceaseless wars and drug trades that region has had to endure for so long, and also the real drama of the book - Elizabeth having to accept that her dear husband Stephen is not long for this world, not when he's in the grip of dementia. For Osman, this storyline was quite personal, inspired by the experiences of his late grandparents, and it shows. I don't blame him for taking a break from this series for a bit - he's definitely earned it.
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