Readability Review No. 3: The Last Devil to Die
Where do I sign up for the Thursday Murder Club? I'm free Thursdays.
Readability is a special department of The Book Case, reviewing how engaging books can be, from first glance to the final page. If that’s what you’re here for, click here to jump down. This week, I’m covering The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman, the fourth instalment in The Thursday Murder Club Series.
First, I need to tell you about the Rekindle Creativity Women’s Writing Retreat.
It’s true. We’re gathering again with writers, and this time,
and I are bringing our Rekindle Creativity retreat to Gore Bay, Ontario, a small town on beautiful Manitoulin Island. We’re coming together October 2 to 6, 2024 — in two weeks! — to award ourselves time to write, plan, and recover our creative selves after the deliciousness of Canadian summer and the start of September routines.There are only a few spots left! If you planned to register, now is the time. There are two single rooms left (overlooking the bay, no less!) or you can pull together two friends and take the 3-bedroom cottage with full kitchen.
Never been to Manitoulin? You’re in for a treat. Getting onto the Island is an adventure whichever way you come, via the swing bridge at Little Current or on the Chi Cheemaun Ferry from Tobermory. We’ll be staying in the small town of Gore Bay, where tall bluffs shelter the bay, and where you can easily explore the best of the Island, like Kagawong and Bridalveil Falls, the Cup and Saucer Trail, Misery Bay Provincial Park or the incredible (and incredibly cold water of) Providence Bay. I’ll also take you over to my sister’s shop and factory, Finnia Chocolate & Cacao, and then we’ll sit down for a break at Split Rail Brewery. If you want to know more about the town, read more from
in her Gore Bay travel guide, “Manitoulin Magic: A Guide to Gore Bay.”You can book your spot now by visiting the Rekindle Creativity website.
Sharing is caring! Tell your friends you care about their writing goals.
And now onto the main event…
READABILITY: Readers, Engaged
Book reviews that measure engagement with the book.
Readability Review:
The Last Devil to Die, by Richard Osman
Am I an Elizabeth? Ibrahim? Ron? Or Joyce?
Type of book: Audio
Bought or borrowed: Bought
Provenance: I downloaded this audiobook months ago, and I was saving it until exactly the right mood hit. I am very much a mood reader, sorting through books until I find the one that suits me in the moment, and having read the three earlier instalments in this series, I knew this book would deliver on humour and heart.
The book’s promise:
A reunion! - Readers will be reunited with the four members of the Thursday Murder Club at Cooper’s Chase, Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Ron, and Joyce. We also expect to see their crime-solving pals Bogdan, Donna, Chris, and their loved ones, like Stephen …and let’s include Alan in that category.
Excellent narration - A new audio narrator this time, Fiona Shaw, replaces Lesley Manville, but the series’ has an established track record for excellent audio storytelling.
Strong mystery, with laughs - All the books in this series to date have solid mystery elements coupled with storytelling that tickles the funny bone, even when subject matter is serious. We expect more of the same in this fourth book.
What the cover tells us: “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?”
All that, plus an excerpt from the New York Times Book Review calling it “poignant."
My review
Readability qualities:
You can’t help but laugh aloud - I listened with my earbuds in and worked on a jigsaw puzzle in the dining room as my family buzzed in an out. I chuckled out loud often, garnering perplexed and bemused looks. Richard Osman brought the laughs again. Joyce’s diary entries are killer comedy writing.
But it makes you cry - In this instalment, Osman continues the story of long-married couple Elizabeth and Stephen, whose bravery in the face of imminent threat is tested again, even if their careers as spies are behind them. I had to wipe away my tears before they fell on my jigsaw pieces.
The mystery is solid - I read a lot of amateur detective mysteries, and this one holds up against any of the best. The antiques business is the backdrop for the crime. The story takes turns, drops red herrings, and builds to a fine finish.
The characters are familiar and still surprising - By now, readers like me are invested in the members of the Thursday Murder Club. At a book club meeting I attended, each of us in attendance saw parts of ourselves in the four Club members. The characters’ strengths and weaknesses, their skills and circumstances, are still being revealed in Book 4, and the best of each is carried forward. In this book, for example, we discover more about Ibrahim in a heart-cracking scene, and understand there is more to be told of his story. (This isn’t the first time Osman has brought me to big emotion with Ibrahim.)
The narration is perfect - Fiona Shaw has taken on the audio narration after three pitch-perfect books told by the esteemed Lesley Manville, and she delivers a performance that is nuanced and engaging. I didn’t lose attention at any point, and she treated the characters with respect and care and rendered each one distinct in her voice work. The interview between Richard Osman and Fiona Shaw that follows the book reveals the process of both writer and narrator - fascinating!
Verdict: This is best book in the series. I laughed, cried, and found myself hooked on the mystery-solving hijinks of the Thursday Murder Club once again. While lighthearted in approach, the concerns of modern day life are examined through the eyes of the series’ foursome. I couldn’t set this book aside until it was done.
Reader engagement rating: 5 out of 5
This is for you if:
You love the Thursday Murder Club series
You appreciate humour writing
You need to be reassured that we are better with friends
If you want to read it:
Publisher: Penguin Audio Date: 2023 ISBN: 0593912837
Buy it at Bookshop.org Buy it on Amazon
Buy it at Indigo Chapters Look for it in a library near you
More Readability reviews coming soon:
Watch for my Readability Reviews of Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man, Karen Slaughter’s False Witness, The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, and Radical Acts of Love by Janie Brown. Which do you want to read first? Leave a comment below!
Do you want to submit your own Readability Review? Email me at hello@dinahlaprairie.com
Coming Soon in The Book Case
More delights! 3 Small Items of Great Delight returns soon. If you like pumpkin spice season, you’ll like this.
My new nonfiction book-planning course, coming this November!
Thanks for being here. Thanks for reading.
I really like the mixture of funny and serious in this series.