Literacy 2025: Book 22: The Last Devil To Die

Book
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

Series
Book 4 in the Thursday Murder Club series

Synopsis
A heroin smuggling ring drops off a valuable shipment in a shop owned by one of the old friends of the Thursday Murder Club. The plan is to have a handler pick it up the next day, and he’ll be able to make a tidy profit just by keeping quiet about it. But a few days later, he’s found murdered in his car, and the box of heroin has gone missing. The club resolves to find out who murdered their friend, and the case will end up involving every one of their increasingly growing group of colleagues and acquaintances, as well as getting them involved with drug smugglers, art forgers, online scam artists, shady government organizations, and murderers with multiple levels of experience.

Notes
This series started out aggressively cozy, just on the verge of being insufferable, but managed to win out on charm. The stories have gotten better with each installment, finding a good balance between a cozy charming mystery story where you’re hanging out with a bunch of familiar characters, and making them all feel like real people with real concerns instead of just a bunch of stereotypes about the elderly.

The Last Devil to Die is unquestionably the best in the series, both for keeping up with a twisting plot and also giving the reader time with each member of a cast of characters that’s grown to unwieldy proportions. But most of all, it deals with the death of a main character across several chapters that are extraordinarily well written. It’s sentimental without being maudlin, respectful without being cold, and all handled in a way that feels honest and not manipulative. It’s an extended series of emotional gut punches that feel earned in a series that’s always shown affection and respect for its characters.

This feels like the last book in the series, but Osman quickly assures readers in the afterword that it’s not. He’s just wrapping up the first four-book run of the story and taking a break to concentrate on a different series of mysteries. I think it’s a good call, and it’s definitely going into a hiatus on a high note, reminding us why we’ve gotten to feel like these characters are friends, instead of growing tired of over-exposure.

Synopsis
An excellent wrap-up to the first four books of this series, balancing the obligations of a twisty murder mystery with readers’ desire to spend more time with characters they’ve gradually gotten attached to.