The Man Who Died Twice

These are my notes about The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, published September 28, 2021. This is the second book in the popular Thursday Murder Club Series.

I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated expertly by Lesley Manville. I am systematically listening to the first four books in the series before reading or listening to the fifth book, released September 30, 2025, The Impossible Fortune.

These notes contain spoilers. Do not read these notes until you have read the book.

The second book of the Thursday Murder Club resumes the investigations of the club members, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim. Joyce, as always, is particularly delightful, and Elizabeth is especially controlling and annoying.

The book introduces Elizabeth’s ex-husband Douglas, and the story turns on twenty million dollars of diamonds that Douglas stole and hid during an operation. The extremely implausible but highly entertaining plot does not bear up well to close examination, but the warmth of the major characters and the quality of the writing make the book well worth reading.

There is a clever plot twist, carefully constructed, where Joyce makes a significant conclusion, at the end of Part 2. (Eventually, however, we learn that Joyce’s conclusion is probably wrong.)

After twelve unnatural deaths in the first book, this book contains “only” five unnatural deaths, all by pistol shot:

• Poppy kills Andrew Hastings, an assassin working for Martin Lomax
• Poppy and Douglas are murdered together by shots to their heads
• Frank Andrade kills Martin Lomax
• Connie Johnson kills Frank Andrade

Richard Osman ignores standard operating procedures in the worlds of police and spy agencies that would obviate many of the quandaries in the book. The police and spies in this book are lax or incompetent. (This, of course, contributes to the entertainment.)

For example:

• There is considerable doubt about the identities of the bodies purported to be Poppy and Douglas. The identity of a body would be confirmed quickly by DNA testing.
• Poppy’s body is identified by her “mother.” The identity of a witness brought in to identify a body would be confirmed.
• A “lost” cell phone can be tracked by the police using cell phone tower and GPS signals.
• The police know how to use social media to track down a suspect who has disappeared.

Other implausible plot points:

• A key to a storage locker would have the locker ID stamped on the key.
• When things get especially unbelievable, the action is not described. For example, somehow Bogdan disarms three men who are bearing guns, and he does it so well that ambulances are required.
• The conversations with the criminals Martin Lomax and Connie Johnson are not convincing.
• A policeman doesn’t know how to deal with a criminal who has threatened him and someone he loves.

I know, I know, I’m taking the plot too seriously when this book is clearly not that type of book.

See my notes about the first book in the series, The Thursday Murder Club.

My rating: Very good, four stars