A hoot, a romp, a dizzy ride through the world of VAT fraud, money-laundering and cryptocurrency with the Thursday Murder Club (which seems to be expanding). And it isn't really necessary to understand much about how those things work to enjoy the trip. (But I feel Joyce would warn you against getting involved, even with the most expert help available.) Delightful, even when it's sad. And loose ends left to be dealt with next time, one would hope. ( )

THE BULLET THAT MISSED by Richard Osman
This third outing of the Thursday Murder Club is just as much fun as the other two. Four pensioners living in a gated community get together every Thursday to discuss and try to solve a cold murder case. Each of the four is a wonderfully portrayed personality. They include a former spy, a psychiatrist, a doddering (maybe) busybody and a supporting cast of characters just as delightful.
The murders are intriguing and come with additional characters to join the fun. This time around a former KGB hitman joins the four and I hope he sticks around for more chapters in this series. Not quite a cozy (murders do happen!) but not a bloodthirsty thriller either. This one deals with stolen money, cryptocurrency, an aging TV star, the requisite murder (and several more murders) before the plot plays out.
Well worth your time. A clever plot that is satisfying at the surprising conclusion.
5 of 5 stars ( )

Love this series with likeable characters. ( )

As with the other books in the series, we get twisty twisty mystery, shades of Elizabeth's shady past, and a range of small exitements for the core four characters. I love that while there are police involved, they aren't the important characters. I also love that we have elderly main characters who are honest about need for companionship and are actively interested in exploring options.

I like Osman's characters better than I like their plots. I'm intrigued by the plots, but I also hit a 'eh, bored' point where I feel that attempts are made to add too many details.

And, particularly in this one, I didn't believe the culpability of the criminal. I fully believe I was supposed to accept them as The One, but it was unconvincing. The take down, in a nicely twisted modern adaptation of an Agatha Christie 'gather them all in a room', while tidying up many plot threads, didn't help there, because too much time is spent on the surroundings.

standard content warnings for murder mystery and criminal undertakings apply: murder, suicide references, drug use, death. Non-standard: dementia. ( )

The Bullet That Missed is the third entry in this somewhat fun cozy mystery series featuring supposedly harmless pensioners. And while I did enjoy the book, I have to admit that this one seemed to have some very loose plot lines, and I found the dialogue between the characters far more tedious than in previous instalments. And it also felt like the author didn't know what to do with some of his characters as they simply seemed to disappear for pages, without explanation, and then suddenly they were there again.

First of all, although touted as a mystery, this is primarily a character-driven book, following the lives of four pensioners and a couple of police detectives as they work together to solve interesting crimes. Personally, I loved the focus on the four main characters, with glimpses into the lives of the police officers, but prefer the focus to be on our favourite pensioners, especially Joyce, who, I have learned, is the one we really need to watch. Her journal entries are the heart and soul of the books, but they were a bit lacking in this instalment, something I missed quite a bit.

Unfortunately, the number of characters has grown considerably, and I feel like the author doesn't quite know how to fit them all into his plot lines, and they are getting away from him, removing the charm that was in the first book from this one. As I've already mentioned, some core characters disappear completely from the story, only to suddenly reappear without explanation as to where they have been. Personally, I just found them a lot less interesting, and I wasn't as invested in learning more about these characters as I was in the first two books.

There were moments that were really good in this book, but there were moments that made me cringe as well. At first, I enjoyed the spy mystery involving Elizabeth, but it eventually turned into something a bit silly and I couldn't help rolling my eyes at some of the things that were happening in this book. I know the book is meant to be satirical in nature, but there were points where it became farcical; it made me question whether I should continue or just call it quits. I can handle satire, but the silliness got to me after a while.

Verdict
The Bullet That Missed is one of those books where I love the main characters, but struggled to enjoy the plot and thought the author was trying way to hard to include information about his characters and the plot that weren't really needed, through additional boring dialogue that made the book feel sluggish and slow. The book included a number of extra characters that really took away from the charm of the first book, and I missed the simpler story lines featuring our main characters. The characters no longer feel genuine, and everything seems to be working out for everyone. Just not for me as I don't think I will be continuing this series. ( )