Please Note:  I received an advance audio copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

It's the following Thursday.

Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He's made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life.

As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn't that be a bonus?

But this time they are up against an enemy who wouldn't bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can The Thursday Murder Club find the killer (and the diamonds) before the killer finds them? 

Review:

I really enjoy mysteries, and the series called The Thursday Murder Club is quickly becoming a favorite.  The first book introduced us to a group of retirees who are not sitting quietly in an old folks home.  These four solve murders!  

The second book in the series, The Man Who Died Twice, continues the adventures of Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron, as we learn a lot more about the people in this group.  What was hinted at in the first book is confirmed:  Elizabeth was a spy for MI-5!  This story encompasses murder, spying, and a healthy dose of personal antics on the part of the group.  I loved it.  

What I Liked:

Narration:

Leslie Manville does a superb job as the narrator of this series.  She knows how to show each character's personality and seems to have a lot of fun with the various British accents.  She also knows how to slowly build suspense, and this book gave her plenty of opportunities to do that.

Characters:

I read this book just as I was watching the latest season of The Great British Bake Off on Netflix.  So, when I read the book, I instantly equated several of the characters with people on that show.  Here are my picks for who should play the characters, should this become a television series:

Elizabeth:  The clear choice for the assertive former MI-5 spy of course is on of the judges, Prue Leith.  I love this character!  Elizabeth is a smart, no-nonsense former spy who is not content to sit on the sidelines, watching the world go by.  She wants to continue to solve crimes.  But she also has to (and wants to) take care of her husband who has dementia.

Joyce:  This character seems mild-mannered and quiet.  But Joyce has a lot more depth to her.  I see Val Stones from GBB Season 2016.  I loved Joyce's patience with the other members of the group.  And she is not one to be underestimated!  She often finds to solutions to problems the gang encounters.

Ibrahim:  Ibrahim is the quiet, introspective former psychiatrist.  Although he is way too young, I would love to see Rahul the winner of the 2018 season of Bake Off in the role.  Like Ibrahim, Rahul is very quiet and shy, but also very smart!

Story:

I really liked that we saw more of who the four main characters were, particularly such a complex character as Elizabeth.  She is both incredibly kind and amazingly brutal (when she needs to be).  While she is the epitome of the caring partner to her husband, she also has no qualms about putting her friends in danger, or even killing someone. 

Ibrahim is also quite a complicated character.  At the beginning of the book, Ibrahim is the victim of a crime.  This leaves him really shaken.  He begins to suffer from PTSD.  Now, Ibrahim is a retired psychiatrist, so he knows what is happening to him.  But that doesn't prevent his brain from suffering.  I really felt for this character, but also for his friends who have a hard time knowing how to help him. 

The murder, itself, is quite a who-done- it.  There are several possibilities, each stranger than the next.  It's quite a thrill ride to be sure.

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  September 28, 2021

Author:  Richard Osman

Genre:  Mystery

Audio Publisher:  Penguin Audio

Audio Narrator:  Lesley Manville

Audio Length:  11 hours, 50 minutes

Print Publisher:  Penguin 

Print Length:  336 Pages

Review Format:  Audiobook

Source:  Random House Audio

Recommendation:  Start with the first book, and then dive into this fun mystery.  You will want to spend all your time with these wonderful pensioners.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny's latest spellbinding novel.

You're a coward.

Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache.

It starts innocently enough.

While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request.

He's asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting professor of statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university.

While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is, until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture.

They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson's views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion, are so confused it's near impossible to tell them apart.

Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold.

Abigail Robinson promises that if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.

When a murder is committed, it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion.

And the madness of crowds.

Review:

There's so much to love in this latest installment of the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny.  All our favorite characters, Ruth, and her swearing duck, Gabri and Olivier, Myrna, Clara, and Armand's wife, Reine-Marie are all back and in fine form.  Plus, this is the first novel I've read that addresses the recent pandemic.  Those real-life events are not the focus of the book, but they bring forth many ethical questions which are at the heart of the mystery.  This was a wonderful addition to this series.

What I Liked:

Addressing The Pandemic:

In the novel the pandemic is over, but there are references to the terrible price society has paid.  Besides acts of neighborly kindness, we hear of older people being abandoned and left to die in retirement communities.  I don't believe there was an actual case of this happening, but 80 % of Canadian COVID deaths in the early part of the pandemic were in nursing homes.  It has caused a reckoning in Canada.

Themes:

Along these lines, the main theme of the book revolves around a controversial doctor who advocates for forced "mercy" killings of older adults, and children with disabilities.  Most people find this horrifying.  But others buy into the fear that the doctor creates saying that Canada will collapse unless drastic measures are taken.  With such a wild claim, can you guess who is the target of the murder in the story?

Characters:

As always, I adore all the occupants of Three Pines.  The villagers have such an easy rapport with each other that I wish this were a real place I could move to.  When a new person is introduced into the mix, a young woman who seems to be modeled after Malala Yousafzai (the Pakistani activist who was disfigured for the sin of wanting to go to school), the group is excited to meet her and rolls out the welcome mat.  What they find is a bitter, unpleasant young woman who doesn't seem to respond to kindness.  They are confused, at first.  But eventually, they realize how different this woman's life has been from theirs, and they try to find some compassion.

Story:

As always, there is a complex mystery at the center of the novel.  I really liked the twists and turns in the plot, which I will not spoil here.  What I will say is that the investigation reveals the dark secrets of some of the villagers.  And it brings forth some very uncomfortable truths about Canada's participation in CIA-sponsored research into psychological torture techniques (something that actually happened).  This novel has so many elements of real-life issues interwoven into the story, that I felt it packed a huge punch.  Through her books, Louise Penny confronts what it means to be a civil society in an ever-changing world.  This is why I will want to visit the fictional village of Three Pines over and over again.

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  August 24th, 2021

Author:  Louise Penny

Publisher:  Minotaur Books

Genre:  Mystery

Page Length: 436 Pages

Source:  Public Library

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  The first novel to address the pandemic, this is one of the best in the Inspector Gamache series.  I highly recommend this book.

Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in Exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.

Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.

DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft.

Review:

The first Ann Cleeves novel I ever read was The Long Call (book 1 in this series).  But most people will know the author from her very popular crime novels that have been made into hit British television series such as Vera.  I enjoyed The Long Call, but I think I like this next book, The Heron's Cry, even more.  Much like Louise Penny (author of the Inspector Gamache series), Ann Cleeves creates a whole town full of characters and relationships that become richer with each successive novel.  With it's small seaside town setting, wonderful characters, and a mystery that is compelling, this was a winning reading experience.

What I Liked:

Setting:

North Devon is a seaside community that get's lots of tourists each summer.  With beaches and smart cafes, it's a popular destination. But for the locals, there is also lots of traffic, and busy restaurants to contend with.  While the characters make their irritations clear, they have also created places that are more for the townspeople.  There is the Woodyard, a community center where people can meet for a coffee, or a yoga class in the daytime, and then see a theatre production there at night.  There's also a thriving arts community.  With a mix of lifelong locals, and London transplants, this is certainly a town I would want to live in.  But even an Idyllic town has its share of crime,,,

Characters:

The author not only has a great cast of characters who are police detectives, but also a wonderful mix of spouses, as well.  Matthew Venn, the lead detective at the local police force, is a quiet, serious person who is married to Jonathan, who is more of a free spirit.  Considering how important Matthew's job is (catching killers), it's no wonder that Matthew is so controlled with his emotions.  Jonathan has no such constraints.  He is more impulsive and more open with his emotions than Matthew.  They are usually a good balance for each other, but not always.  They often miscommunicate.

Jen, another police officer in the group, is a single mom with two teenage kids.  She is often overworked and stressed.  This leads her to make some poor choices in her off hours, when she just wants to relax.  But the demands of the job make this understandable.

Ross is the third person on the team.  I found him harder to like, as he is more of a traditional male.  He thinks he is better than Jen, and always wants to be praised for his work.  But, I understood him too.  He is married, but seems to struggle with understanding his wife.  I think he really wishes this were the 1950's, where he could be the "breadwinner" and his wife would stay at home and cater just to him.  But you can see that this is how he was raised.  He knows that times have changed, and he is (mostly) willing to have more of a partnership with his wife.

Story:

The story centers around a murder at a farm where an eccentric rich man has surrounded himself with artists, and artisans.  Like every small town, there are a lot of people who are related to each other, and this complicates Matthew's investigation.  

I enjoyed reading about how the detective and his team went about piecing everything together.  There were some interesting twists and turns, such as a previous suicide and a possible connection with the murder.  This leads to a look at how stretched the National Health Service is, especially in regards to dealing with mental health issues.  This is an issue in the U.S., as well. 

Trigger Warning for Suicide

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  September 7th, 2021

Author:  Ann Cleeves

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Genre:  Murder Mystery

Page Length:  400 pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  I really enjoyed this book.  But start with the first in the series, The Long Call, to get the whole scope of the town and characters.  I can't wait for the next installment of the series. 

Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand’s godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man’s life.

When a strange key is found in Stephen’s possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d’Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art.

It sends them deep into the secrets Armand’s godfather has kept for decades.

A gruesome discovery in Stephen’s Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized.

Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit. In order to find the truth, Gamache will have to decide whether he can trust his friends, his colleagues, his instincts, his own past. His own family.

For even the City of Light casts long shadows. And in that darkness devils hide.

Review:

This is the sixteenth book in the Inspector Gamache mystery series, and I have read them all.  Besides the challenge of solving whatever crime is featured in the novel, I love the people and village of Three Pines, Quebec.  This is the first novel in the series that is not set in that idyllic small town.  But, the Paris setting, a more in-depth look at the Gamache family, and the complex mystery in this book, I didn't mind this detour.  This book widens the world of the series and was as thrilling as any of her other books.  I loved it.

What I Liked:

Setting:

Who doesn't like Paris?  The author does a wonderful job of showing what this city is like for Quebecois visiting France.  They don't quite fit in.  Similar to when Americans go to England.  They may speak the same language, but that's the only thing they have in common.  Parisians consider themselves to be superior to all others, and treat anyone with a Quebecois accent like they are country bumpkins.

But Penny also shows the magic of Paris, with it;s many lovely parks and monuments, museums and libraries.  It is a place of culture and privilege.   One can definitely see why so many people want to live in such a magical place.

Characters:

All of the Gamache family are in Paris in this book.  Daniel, Armand's son, is a banker and has made a comfortable life for himself and his family.  Jean Guy Beauvoir, married to Gamache's daughter Annie, has just taken a job in the private sector (and away from all the bullets).  Armand, and his wife Reine Marie, are in Paris for the birth of Annie and Jean Guy's baby.  Everyone is looking forward to a happy occasion.

When Armand's godfather is attacked, Gamache must find out who is behind it.  This strains his relationships, particularly with his son, Daniel.  Daniel is a very complex character.  Outwardly successful, he is actually full of insecurities, and anger towards his father.  I vacillated between finding Daniel annoying, and feeling sympathy for his tragic misunderstanding of his father.  So many years are lost to hurt feelings and grudges.  This dynamic illustrates how difficult it is to see your parents as adults, and for parents to look at their kids as grownups.

Plot:

Once again, the plot is a web of conspiracies, and unlikely connections between people that lead to a satisfying puzzle.  The author gives just enough information so the reader will have the possibility of solving the mystery along with Inspector Gamache.  I loved figuring out the clues and piecing it all together.  I also loved how the book focuses on how (and if) Armand can heal his relationship with Daniel.

What I Was Mixed About:

No Three Pines Characters:

I really liked this book, but I cannot lie:  I missed the people of Three Pines.  I think the purpose of this book was to focus on Armand and his family relationships, so it was natural for the plot to be set away from the village.  The contrast between the small Canadian village and big old Paris couldn't be more stark.  But this did end up being less cozy and more real world, as a result.

Rating: 

Release Date:  September 1st, 2020

Author:  Louise Penny

Narrator:  Robert Bathhurst

Audio Length:  14 hours

Audio Publisher:  Macmillan Audio

Print Publisher:  Minotaur Books 

Page Length: 448 Pages

Genre:  Mystery/Thriller

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  Audiobook

Recommendation:  Another wonderful book in the Inspector Gamache series.  A must read for fans.