The Man Who Died Twice, by Richard Osman

The Man Who Died Twice picks up where The Thursday Murder Club leaves off, with a second mystery. Retirement home residents Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, hot off solving a real-life murder case, are presented with another tangly problem. Elizabeth, a retired spy, is contacted out of the blue by a man she not only knows to be dead, but one who never actually existed — a name and fake identity that she remembers from her years in intelligence work. Then Ibrahim, overcoming some of his fears to step out on his own, is brutally attacked and severely injured. These two storylines weave together in surprising and rewarding ways.

As an exercise in character and setting, I found this an enjoyable continuation to the saga, further exploring the lives of our four main characters plus local police officers Chris and Donna. As a mystery novel, I found this one more tightly plotted and the solution more satisfying than the last book. I hope there are more to come.