All my worries wash away as I open the book. I am immediately transfixed, awash with glee. What sort of trouble are my friends in the Thursday Murder Club going to get into this time? I already know this will be the highlight of my week. I could get a job promotion, win the lotto, etc., but this is my peak. I finish the first chapter and I am ravenous.

Action! Rheumatoid Arthritis! Not knowing how smartphones work! Murder! Octogenarians dating! What more do you need? I lost count of how many times I was overtook with giggles, kicking my feet around, full of unabashed glee. And then, just a few chapters later, my eyes well up with sympathy and grief. Something about Osman’s prose, character creation and dialogue just reaches the inner corners of my heart.

I’ve never once picked up a series and liked the following book more than the previous but here we are: the hits just keep coming out of Richard Osman; they just keep getting better. And now I have to wait until September to keep this win train going. Whatever will I do?!

5/5 I talk about these books once a day and I feel like it’s starting to ruin a few relationships but I don’t care.