Oh, Richard Osman, you’ve done it again.

I’ve loved the whole Thursday Murder Club series, but this one really takes the cake for me. In the previous books, I found myself tripping over the plot, mysteries, and trying to keep the characters straight. In this third installment, I’ve finally gotten a grasp on the characters, their quirks, and Osman’s particular mystery-writing style.

I really enjoyed that Osman didn’t try to introduce a ton of new characters in this one and it really left you to dig deeper into those you know and already love. Joyce continues to be the damn best person I’ve ever encountered on a page and I really loved watching the newer relationships flourish. I’m not going to dive into much more there because spoilers, but just know this was a 5-star read all-around for me.

If you love a character-driven novel, but want to expand into more of the mystery/plot-driven genre, you can’t go wrong with this whole series. Start at the beginning though so you can really get to know the characters…just know that the series gets better with each book.