Editors Reads Verdict
The most emotionally resonant entry in the Thursday Murder Club series. Osman deepens his portrait of ageing and friendship without losing the cosy wit that made the series a phenomenon, and the personal stakes make the mystery feel genuinely urgent for the first time.
What We Loved
- Joyce's diary entries remain among the warmest and funniest narration in contemporary crime fiction
- The personal connection to the murder case gives the investigation an urgency the earlier books held back
- Osman takes the emotional reality of ageing seriously here without abandoning the cosy wit that built the series
- The friendship between the four core members, tested by genuinely serious stakes, is handled with real tenderness
Minor Drawbacks
- The formula is comfortable enough that readers who found the earlier books predictable will find this one similarly so
- The drug gang plot is standard cosy mystery territory — it is the emotional material, not the crime, that distinguishes the book
- New readers starting here will miss the accumulated warmth built across three previous books
Key Takeaways
- → Ageing does not diminish the capacity for friendship, loyalty, or effective action — only the assumption that it does
- → Mortality is not a threat that arrives at the end of life; it hovers over every day of a life well-lived
- → The Thursday Murder Club's most dangerous quality is that nobody expects people their age to be dangerous
- → Grief within a friendship group is not an interruption of life — it is the texture of a life shared long enough
| Author | Richard Osman |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
| Pages | 370 |
| Published | September 14, 2023 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Cozy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Humour |
The Last Devil to Die Review
By the fourth book in a cosy mystery series, a certain comfortable predictability is usually the point — readers return for the characters and the reassurance of a formula they enjoy. Richard Osman delivers both, but The Last Devil to Die also does something the earlier books held back from: it takes the emotional reality of ageing seriously.
The case involves a murdered antiques dealer, missing heroin, and a drug gang operating through legitimate businesses — all standard cosy mystery territory. What elevates it is the personal connection: one of the Thursday Murder Club’s core members has a relationship with the dead man that makes this investigation something other than a pleasant intellectual puzzle.
What works: The series’ central dynamic — four elderly friends in a retirement community being considerably more dangerous than they appear — remains as charming as it was in Book 1. Joyce’s diary entries continue to be among the warmest and funniest narration in contemporary crime fiction. The friendship between the four, tested here by circumstances more serious than before, is handled with genuine tenderness.
The emotional stakes: Osman moves the series into new territory without abandoning what made it work. The mortality that hovers over every character — the retired spies and doctors and trade union negotiators living out their days in Coopers Chase — is allowed to land with more weight here.
Verdict: The best entry in the series since the first. Long-term fans will find it moving; new readers should start with The Thursday Murder Club and work forward.
Thursday Murder Club Reading Order
- The Thursday Murder Club
- The Man Who Died Twice
- The Bullet That Missed
- The Last Devil to Die ← you are here
Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "The Last Devil to Die" about?
When a local antiques dealer is murdered and a consignment of heroin goes missing, the Thursday Murder Club has a new case. But this investigation is personal — one of their own is directly connected to the dead man — and the answers they find will test the friendship at the heart of the group.
What are the key takeaways from "The Last Devil to Die"?
Ageing does not diminish the capacity for friendship, loyalty, or effective action — only the assumption that it does Mortality is not a threat that arrives at the end of life; it hovers over every day of a life well-lived The Thursday Murder Club's most dangerous quality is that nobody expects people their age to be dangerous Grief within a friendship group is not an interruption of life — it is the texture of a life shared long enough
Is "The Last Devil to Die" worth reading?
The most emotionally resonant entry in the Thursday Murder Club series. Osman deepens his portrait of ageing and friendship without losing the cosy wit that made the series a phenomenon, and the personal stakes make the mystery feel genuinely urgent for the first time.
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