I am a new-ish fan of the Thursday Murder Club book series by Richard Osman and so I was very excited that book four has been released. What did I think? Check out my Review of The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman with SPOILERS and the ending explained. I put this book on my Best Cozy Mysteries of 2023 list!
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
- Published on September 14, 2023 by Viking Books
- Grab the Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition here! (affiliate link)
- I read this book in September 2023.
Do you need a refresher on Thursday Murder Club books one through three? Check out my series summary!
Jen’s Quick Take on The Last Devil to Die
- The most emotionally wrenching book of the series
- My favorite comic sub-plot so far
- I think that The Man Who Died Twice might have a better plot, but wow, this one really got me.
Review of The Last Devil to Die
I have become terribly, terribly fond of the loyal, irreverent, hilarious band of elderly detectives in The Thursday Murder Club. All are residents of Cooper’s Chase, a luxury retirement village in Kent, and meet every Thursday to solve murders.
If you, like I, are a longtime fan of elderly detectives like Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher, you’ll love this series with a whole Scooby gang of elders.
The main gang: former British spy Elizabeth, psychologist Ibrahim, union leader Ron, and ex-nurse Joyce.
Secondary characters include Donna and Chris, the (much younger) police officers that the club run investigative circles around, plus some significant others of the main members, like Stephen (Elizabeth’s husband), Bogdan (Stephen’s friend and Donna’s significant other), Patrice (Donna’s mum and Chris’s significant other) and Pauline (Ron’s on and off again girlfriend). And Connie, the friendly neighborhood drug wholesaler.
Why I Was a Relative Latecomer to the Thursday Series
I’ll be honest: I read book one and thought it was not really for me. So as everyone was raving about the series, I didn’t read further.
But when book three, The Bullet That Missed, ended up on just about every “best of” book list of 2022, I decided that maybe I’d better re-assess. Yes, I am WRONG sometimes.
So I re-read book one and then proceeded to read and absolutely love books two and three. The Last Devil to Die is probably my favorite, but it’s hard to choose.
Things I Love About the Thursday Murder Club Series
- The wry humor.
- The way the stories highlight the ways elders are underestimated and devalued. The way the characters use the fact that they are constantly underestimated to outwit just about everyone
- The fact that the books also don’t sugarcoat the difficulties of aging.
- The way these characters plausibly insert themselves into so many mysteries.
Now, by book four, I feel that I’ve absorbed the pattern of these books. Characters are shuffled and re-purposed.
There’s usually a comic subplot (my favorite of which has to be Joyce joining Instagram, but this book’s plot about a Tinder Swindler of sorts was pretty funny).
- The books always have a poignant element. Just like life!
- I also love the fact that the Thursday mysteries follow the mystery rules by giving you all the suspects and clues. Thrillers don’t have to do that, but in a mystery, it seems like fair play to have all the information you need to solve the case.
Every book has a reveal that makes me smack my head and say “I missed that completely!
- I also love how these characters have grown and developed across books. Joyce is really growing in confidence. Ibrahim is getting over some of his fears and, in this book, starts to tell some of his backstory.
I am proud to say that I, while far from an Elizabeth, did figure out who the killer was and another major aspect of the mystery. And enjoyed every minute of it!
Spoilers for The Ending for The Last Devil to Die and the ending explained
Well, first off the saddest spoiler: Stephen died. His dementia was getting worse. He finds a letter he’d written to himself when he first started forgetting things and reads it to Elizabeth. The letter says that he didn’t want to live if he things got worse and was no longer himself. So Elizabeth, supported by Bogdan and Viktor, helps Stephen end his life. Wow, that was rough. I am NOT okay. But the symbolism of the fox was really nice.
What was Kuldesh killed over? What was everyone after? Not so much the heroin but the BOX that the heroin was in, which was a priceless Mesopotamian artifact.
Elizabeth realizes that Stephen was the person that Kuldesh called. Stephen buried the box of drugs.
The gang digs the box up and Joyce puts it under her sink. When Garth comes after it, she says that she put the box out with the trash (love Joyce!) Jonjo offers to give the box to the foreign office, but Elizabeth tells him she needs it.
Who killed Kuldesh? Nina.
Who killed Samantha? Connie’s assassin, Caroline. Connie wanted to expand her drug empire to heroin, and Sam was possible competition.
And, in a surprise ending, Elizabeth and Viktor get a lead on the whereabouts of Bethany. Forgot who she is? Check out my Recap of Books 1-3.
What’s Up Next for the Thursday Murder Club Series?
In the acknowledgments for The Last Devil to Die, author Richard Osman says that he is putting the series temporarily on hold to work on a new book with a father-in-law and daughter-in-law detective team. And it’s out! Check out my Review of We Solve Murders here!
In addition, Osman recently shared some Thursday Murder Club movie news. The series was bought by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin entertainment, and Osman said in the spring of 2023 that the filming should start this year. There were cast announcements, and I think it’s happening!
If you haven’t yet tried this series, I recommend it highly. If you don’t LOVE book one, just know that the other books get better and better!
Before you read this, be sure to check out my plot summary for Thursday Murder Club books one-three!
And if you loved The Last Devil to Die, check out my review of The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder, a classic mystery with an inter-generational team of detectives, a murdered antique dealer, and an English manor house setting.
Looking forward to your explanation of the ending.
Sure – what do you want to know besides the spoilers I posted?
When Elizabeth asks Donna to check her phone records, whose phone is she really checking? I’m guessing not Kuldesh’s as Donna was the person who found his phone and so why would Elizabeth have it? I can’t figure it out and it’s driving me crackers
Hi Holly! If it’s the part I think you’re referring to, Elizabeth asks Donna to check her own phone records. Her theory is that Samantha is the one Kuldesh called shortly before he died. As Elizabeth also spoke to Samantha, she wants to see if Samantha’s number comes up on her phone as a blocked 777 number, as it did on his.
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