The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)

by Richard Osman

As so often, Ibrahim’s is a lone voice in the wilderness. So be it, that is his cross to bear. The prophet is often unheralded in his own land. There will be apologies aplenty when he uncovers Heather’s message.

They are now hard at it. Ibrahim has a brandy and a cigar; Kendrick has an orange squash (“It’s less sugar, but you don’t even know when you drink it”).

If life ever seems too complicated, if you think no one can help, sometimes the right person to turn to is an eight-year-old.

Hilary Mantel

“And they put this on television?” Elizabeth watches closely as a man walks past them. “Every day,” says Joyce. “You can watch it instead of the news, that’s why it’s so popular.”

horses for courses,

Bent as a nine-bob note. Bogdan always likes to discover a nice new idiom.

That’s impossible,” says Kuldesh Sharma, pushing eighty, handsomely bald, and wearing a lilac suit and a white silk shirt unbuttoned to a point beyond the confidence of any ordinary man.

“Anahita,” says Kuldesh, looking over. “The Persian goddess of love and battle.”

The snooker is over for the evening. The first, everyone hopes, of a regular game. Three old men, three new friends. The gangster, the KGB colonel and the trades union official.

“I can’t think of anything more fun,” says Jack Mason. “A couple of mates, a glass of whisky, a game of snooker. Everything else is ego and greed. It’s taken me a long time to work that out.”

Andrew Everton looks at the file in front of him. “It’s all in here?” “It is,” says Elizabeth. “And it’s all yours. But I will need a couple of favors in return.” “Yes, you have that air about you,” says Andrew Everton. “If I can help, I will.”

“Because I never kill anyone,” says Viktor. “Honestly, once you start, that’s it, you have to keep killing.” “That’s like lip salve,” says Pauline. “Once you start using it, your lips dry out, and so you have to keep using it.” Viktor gestures toward Pauline to show his point is proven.

Mike never put his perfectly groomed head above the parapet again, never left the burrow, however much he could smell the air outside.

And the lovely thing about investigating a murder is that you can be nosy and call it work.

“You just have to be yourself,” says Donna. “Ignore the cameras.” “I’ve never been good at being myself,” says Chris. “I wouldn’t know where to start.” “Mum says you cried last night when you were watching Sex and the City.” “I did,” agrees Chris. “Well, don’t start there,” says Donna.

And, before you ask, yes, Mervyn is heterosexual. He’s had two wives and five kids, and there was a Top Gear DVD on one of his shelves.

“It’s the people, in the end, isn’t it?” says Viktor. “It’s always the people. You can move halfway around the world to find your perfect life, move to Australia if you like, but it always comes down to the people you meet.”