Read time: 4 minutes
📱📖 Read on Kindle
📃 368 pages
⏱ Duration: ~5 hours
🏷️ Publisher: Penguin Books
📅 Published: September 30, 2025
Book Blurb:
A quiet year is underway for the Thursday Murder Club—Joyce is busy planning a wedding, Elizabeth is navigating grief, and Ron faces family struggles. But peace doesn’t last long. When a wedding guest brings trouble, the group is pulled into a dangerous mystery involving kidnapping, a ruthless villain, and an uncrackable code. As Joyce’s daughter Joanna joins the investigation, the stakes rise. With lives on the line, the gang must unravel secrets and solve a murder before time runs out.
Let’s talk … murder!
There are series that ride on peaks. Not every book hits the same high note, but the best ones know when to shift tempo. Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder club series has found its rhythm, and The Impossible Fortune proves he knows exactly when to slow down for moments that matter most. Book 2 and Book 4 set the emotional benchmarks, but Book 5 lingers in its aftermath. The grief isn’t loud, but it’s everywhere. The book harmonizes with Book 4 beautifully.
Elizabeth is still reeling from Stephen’s death, and Osman doesn’t rush her grief. The scene where she and Bogdan stand around Stephen’s empty chair discussing life gutted me. When Elizabeth offers Bogdan the chair saying “Stephen would have liked it,” and Bodgan refuses because “he’s still sitting here,” I had to put my Kindle down. That’s the kind of writing that sneaks up on you in a cozy mystery series about pensioners solving crimes.
The Nick and Holly kidnapping mystery is solid, twisty, and perfectly plotted. But here’s the genius move. Osman let’s the £35 million puzzle simmer in the background while Ron’s story takes centre stage. Watching Ron protect his grandson Kenderick from Danny Lloyd’s calculated cruelty was gut-wrenching in the best way. A ten-year-old carrying that much weight on his tiny shoulders felt unbearable to me, especially as I was reading it sitting next to my one-year-old niece. I wanted to bubble wrap him and protect him from the world. But then I remember he’s got Suzi, Jason, Ron, and the entire Thursday Murder Club in his corner, with even Connie stepping up to protect him.
Osman takes what could have been a formulaic mystery and transforms it into masterclass in character development, proving that sometimes the best plot twist is caring more about the people than the puzzle. The impossible fortune in this book remained the people. Always the people!
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely, unequivocally, without hesitation! The Impossible Fortune is what happens when an author trusts his characters enough to let them breathe, grieve, and grow while still delivering a cracking mystery. The Nick and Holly case provides plenty of intrigue, but the real story is watching Elizabeth find her footing and Ron stepping back into the fierce lion to protect his family. Osman executed a brilliant narrative sleigh of hand, making the ‘main’ mystery the backdrop while elevating the emotional stakes to the foreground. This is peak Thursday Murder Club.
Book Recommendations to follow this book:
- The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman — For obvious reasons; emotional continuity at its finest.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto — Cozy mystery with heart and found family vibes.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood — Smart, character-driven British mystery with charm.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten — Darkly funny take on aging and crime.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn — Older characters, sharp wit, and emotional depth.
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
Your Turn: Who’s in Your Corner?
Ron’s protective instincts for Kenderick had me thinking about found family and the people who’d go to battle for us. Who’s your Coopers Chase crew, the ones who’d solve mysteries, stand up to villains, and refuse to sit in the empty chair because someone’s still there? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
Book Links:
Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
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