ARC Review: Thursday Murder Club #5

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

Publication Date: September 30, 2025

Summary from NetGalley:

ARC provided by Viking Penguin via NetGalley for an honest review.

Confession:

It was so much fun being back with this quirky group of octogenarians who love to solve murders. This was another twisty and hard to solve mystery, but our friends are up for it, and with a little bit of help from some new characters, get the job done.

This story takes place a year after the events of the last book. Elizabeth is still grieving, but she is getting better. Although she doesn’t seem quite up to snuff at times, she still has the presence of someone who knows what’s what and can get people to talk. Joyce is still as kind as ever, Ibrahim is still giving out advice and Ron is beginning to feel his age. But despite everything this group is still delivering the answer to the mystery.

We have a couple of new younger characters that I really adored. Ron’s grandson Kendrick has some chapters from his point of view and I loved his take on how he sees adults. He is also a pretty smart kid and has his hand at solving some of the clues the group is challenged by. Tia is an older teenager that Ibrahim is helping, as a favor to Connie. Connie has been mentoring Tia in the ways of being a criminal, but Tia begins to think that perhaps that is not what she wants to do with her life. I really liked her character and hope she sticks around for more adventures with the gang.

The murder mystery was quite good and very well done. I was at a complete loss as to what really happened until the big reveal. There was also a secondary plot involving Ron’s family that added some nice moments to the story. I did kind of get the feeling that the author is working toward winding this series down though. Nothing I can positively point too, just a feeling that the characters are beginning to show their ages. I will be sad when this happens, but I will continue to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

Fans of the series are going to enjoy this one just as much as the others. This could be read without having read the other books, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You really need to start at the beginning and really get to know this delightful group of characters.