Read History
2026 | Score: 5
Still a fun, easy little mystery. Nothing crazy.
Format: Book
Days: 20
Date: 1/29/2026 -> 2/18/2026
Summary
The Man Who Died Twice
Richard Osman
Thursday Murder Club #2
Elizabeth gets a note from a Michael Carmichael or something which is odd since he never existed and was an alias she used to pass information then killed. So she decides to go visit whoever sent her the note. Meanwhile Chris Hudson and Donna De Freitas are staking out a local drug kingpin (Queenpin?) Connie Johnson. It is a situation where they know she knows they are watching her. Joyce wants to adopt a rescue dog. Elizabeth goes to meet the stranger and it turns out to be her ex-husband, Douglas Middlemarch, and his watcher/bodyguard Poppy. They go on a walk and Elizabeth learns that Martin Lomax, a middleman for criminals, had 20 million pounds of diamonds stolen from his house recently, and he suspects Douglas / MI5 (who douglas still works for), of taking them. Which he did. So he and poppy are hiding out to avoid death by gun or bullet. MArtin Lomax is upset because the diamonds belong to the US Mafia and if he does notget them back he will be killed by gun or strangulation or some other method of dying.
Chris is also dating Donna’s mom Patrice, who is helping him get healthier and they like each other. Ibrahim goes to town and gets pushed over, assaulted, and robbed by some teenagers. They learn it is a kid named Ryan Baird but have no way to prove it currently. Douglas almost gets killed but instead Poppy shoots his assassin and is very distraught. Elizabeth and Jiyce come over and they meet Sue Reardon or something and Lance something who are MI5 agents working this case. Joyce comforts poppy and they decide Douglas has to be moved. Joyce finds a note in her pocket saying Call my Mum and a phone number presumably from Poppy. So she calls and meets Siobhan, a nice woman.
Bogdan helps out. They buy cocaine from COnnie Johnson and plant it in Ryan BAirds bathroom and call the police, so he awaiting trial. Ibrahim returns from hospital to coopers chase, and Ron’s grandson Kenrick is coming over.
Douglas calls Elizabeth and says she needs to come over, he has something he needs to tell her, so Elizabeth and Joyce set out. They arrive at the safe house to find Poppy and Douglas shooted in the faces and barely recognizable but very clearly dead. They call Sue and Lance over after Elizabeth takes some photos and have a debrief. They assume MArtin Lomax did it. Ron, Joyce, and ELizabeth go talk to Martin and don’t think he did it but he is still a bad person.
Donna is also feeling sad this book and goes and talks to Ibrahim about being lonely. Connie Johnson threatens Chris, and his girlfriend Patrice, making him mad. Elizabeth finds a note from Douglas saying the diamonds are in a train locker and the key, so her and Joyce go but all there is is a chips bag, empty, but they go see Donna and find a secret message saying Elizabeth should know where the diamonds are and get the security footage of the lockers.
Ibrahim and Kendrick go over the footage and we find out Siobhan, Poppies mom,. Checked out the locker a few days ago but found nothing. They suspect either Poppy or Douglas faked their death and killed the other to cover up the diamonds.
Ryan Baird does not show up for trial so Joyce finds him in Scotland using Instagram. They begin concocting and hatching a plan. Elizabeth finds the diamonds with Joyce, back at the train lockers just flip the numbers. They take them back to Cooper’s Chase in secret and this is the plan: Bogdan (who Connie Johnson has a crush on) takes Ron, dressed as mafia guy, to COnnie to give her some diamonds and say she is helping mediate a meeting between drug people. She says yes. Bogdan tells her to make Ryan Baird her driver and gives her his hiding out address. Elizabeth and Joyce pick up the new york mafia guy from the airport and bring him to the meeting, while Sue stakes out and looks for Poppy/Siobhan in the area, and Lance drives Martin Lomax down. They meet up and things get choppy when only 2 diamonds are there, so Mafia guy (andre drummond jr or something), shoots Martin, so Connie shoots Andre, and Lance turns of the camera, pockets the 2 diamonds, Bogdan tells COnnie to run, and Bogdan and Lance clean up. Connie arrives to her car to find Chris and Donnie there arresting her and Ryan. yippee. Sue drives Elizabeth and Joyce away, but then Elizabeth confronts her (because she solved it), and says Sue killed Poppy and Douglas, and wants the diamonds, so Sue pulls agun on them and they go to Coopers chase, where Sue has people waiting to takae the diamonds from Joyces microwave. They get there and once inside Bogdan shoots sue in the shoulder and they capture her. Bogdan has already killed The 3 men and “Siobhan” is tied up. She is actually another of DOuglas’ exes. They tried to force the diamond location from Stephen (elizabeth dementia husband), but Bogdan is spiderman? Happy ending for most. Joyce gets a tattoo of a poppy. Bogdan is going to ask out Donna. Elizabeth sells the diamonds and donates the money to a dementia charity. Ibrahim helps Joyce adopt a dog Alan.