The Man Who Died Twice

On a whim, we recently purchased a copy of Osman's The Man Who Died Twice from a bookstore. We were not huge fans of the first novel in the series, but there is something quite charming and humorous about 4 elderly sleuths solving dangerous and difficult murder cases. The second book in the series also unveils more about Elizabeth's past and, despite some convoluted and unlikely turns, is a satisfying sequel. The humorous style throughout the book can be a bit jarring in some chapters, especially after particularly violent or brutal killings take place. But we can see how useful each member of the club is in this book, even if Ibrahim Arif is less involved. Perhaps trying to integrate the Connie Johnson investigation into the larger mystery of the two murders of the spies was doomed to be an insurmountable challenge. Yet the Polish immigrant Bogdan's character returns and Ron and Joyce have their great moments. Kudos to the author for the clever revelation of the location of the stolen diamonds. Who knows, maybe we will read the other two books in the series...