Reading Richard Osman’s The Bullet That Missed, you get the sense that third books are to the celebrity novelist what second albums are to bands: tricky. Once the initial hype has died down and everyone’s bought their Pointless-loving aunt a copy of The Thursday Murder Club for Christmas, you’re left with the question: are the stories actually any good?
Fortunately, the answer here is a resounding yes. The murder mystery chugs along nicely with enough twists to keep you guessing. And even if the herring is so red it feels like a Great White’s been at it, and the (very) short list of suspects makes the initial confession underwhelming, the plethora of genuinely shocking revelations that follow more than makes up for any missteps along the way.
Osman’s real strength has always been characterisation though. Part New Tricks, part Last Of The Summer Wine, his ragtag bunch of pensioners offer up all the humour and comfort fans have come to expect. More surprising is the powerful emotional punch he delivers. The Bullet That Missed’s rumination on what aging and dementia does to a marriage elevates it far beyond the average, formulaic whodunnit and into the realm of a modern-day classic. Same time next Thursday, everyone?
The Bullet That Missed, Richard Osman (Viking)
Price: £20. Info: here
words RACHEL REES