The Bullet That Missed

The Bullet That Missed (2022) Richard Osman (Thursday Murder Club)

The gang are back together (they were never apart, actually) and have decided to look into the murder of a young newscaster, partially because it is an interesting case (no body was ever found) and partially because Joyce wants to meet the man she worked with before she died.

“I had read you were a Buddhist, Mike?” Ibrahim spent the morning researching their guest.

“I am,” says Mike. “Thirty-odd years.”

“Ah,” says Ibrahim. “I had been under the impression that Buddhists were vegetarian? I was almost sure.”

“I’m Church of England too,” says Mike. “So I pick and choose. That’s the point of being a Buddhist.”

“I stand corrected,” says Ibrahim.

Ah, Joyce.

I am Googling Heather Garbutt and listening to the World Service. She is difficult to Google, because there’s also an Australian hockey player called Heather Garbutt, and most of the results are about her. I actually ended up quite interested in the hockey player, and I follow her on Instagram now. She has three very beautiful children.

The group comes to the attention of the police–beyond Chris and Donna.

“Then your other friends. The ladies?”

“Joyce and Elizabeth?”

“You might be comfortable with a chief constable questioning you. Ron might take it in his stride. But two elderly women? How do you think the two of them would react if I decided to question them? Because if I have to, I will.”

Ibrahim laughs. “I wish you the very best of luck with that, Andrew.”

This series remains a delight, always going places I would never expect–even with Elizabeth involved.

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books

Rating: 9/10

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