Novels No. 25 (LL343)

 

Richard Osman. The Last Devil to Die. Ebook download from TPL's Libby. Penguin Random House, 2023.

Welcome relief after recent domestic drama: with the Thursday Murder Club gang of cosy sleuths. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim can be counted on for serious amusement. They've upped their tech skills with Computer Bob; Ibrahim continues to provide psychiatric counselling to imprisoned cocaine smuggler Connie. Their new friend Mervyn is in love, awaiting the arrival of his internet Lithuanian girlfriend on whom he showers money—surely the gang will clue him in. On a sad note, the dementia of Elizabeth's husband Stephen is progressing. Nonetheless, all become highly involved when Kulbesh Sharma, an antiques dealer and friend of Stephen, is found shot dead, execution-style. Oddly, local cops Chris and Donna are dismissed from the case in favour of national crime detective Jill Regan, a caustic critic. Well, our gang was miles ahead of them anyway.

In no time they learn that Mitch Maxwell, noted heroin smuggler, is missing a valuable package last seen with Kulbesh. His burly henchman Dom Holt, one link in a chain extending from Afghanistan, had delivered the bag to Kulbesh's shop. Chris and Donna decide to share information with Elizabeth and company ‒ as is their reluctant custom, the way their cases have gone ‒ and they are one up on Regan because Donna has Kulbesh's phone. Illegally. The phone leads to scam artiste Samantha, who leads to big Garth "the Canadian," who leads to—let's say the Thursday Murder Club is off to the races. Or rather, to a lunch which they host for assorted parties interested in the heroin, adding Donna's sweetheart Bogdan as their bodyguard. All of them wish to locate the package (even solve a couple of murders that pile up) before Regan does.

This geriatric group of characters is delightfully tangled in yet another devious plot. "The Canadian" is definitely a curiosity. See who tries to kill us is their default position. Often deliriously funny ‒ my kind of humour ‒ but easing gracefully into the most tender moments, Osman is a genius putting human nature into writing. Compassion shines in the depths of friendship and loss and end of life observations.

Bits

▪ "Terrible corruption in Lithuania. Everyone bribing everyone." (22)

▪ I'm so shallow, I wish I wasn't. (57)

▪ ... I will be using my flask tomorrow. Crematoriums are often very drafty. (84)

▪ "Please find some other crime to solve, if you have any here." (86)

▪ "Antiques dealer," says Jonjo. "Lives in a stately home just outside Petworth." (129)

▪ Samantha has a nose for trouble, but she also has a nose for opportunity. It's the same nose, if truth be told. (133)

▪ "We were looking at your house on Google," says Joyce. "There must be an awful lot of money in hat stands." (182)

▪ Elizabeth just wanted to get everyone together, to shake the tree. (289)

▪ "I need something," says Garth. "And I need it right now. You're lucky I even knocked." (305)

▪ "God cries every time someone lies to a Canadian." (307)

▪ The very proper English lady, and the silent, hirsute Canadian mountain, years her junior. But from the moment he had pointed his gun at her they both knew it was love. (319)

Elizabeth and Stephen

▪ Elizabeth is not your nurse; she is your lover. Read her this letter, please, and then ignore her objections. (103)

▪ Deep inside, he wants to scream, he wants to cry for help, to cry for his father to come and collect him, but he clings to the positive. (144)

▪ Elizabeth loves him so utterly, and is loved by him so utterly, and that is being stolen from her. (293)

▪ All she had wanted to know is that it would be quick, and painless. (349)

Shari Lapena. An Unwanted Guest. Ebook download from TPL's Libby. Doubleday Canada, 2018.

Ah, the isolated location away from civilization and limited number of suspects in a crime: Classic! It's Mitchell's Inn in the Catskills during a snow storm (even more classic). Three couples, two singles, and a female duo, all strangers to each other, are having a snowed-in weekend. Beverly and Henry face a failing marriage; Dana and Matthew are giddily celebrating their engagement, planning a spring wedding; Lauren and Ian are just getting to know each other. Gwen and Riley are old friends from journalism school; Riley suffers PTSD from her wartime journalism experiences. David Paley is a criminal defence attorney, once accused of murdering his wife. Candice Wright is an author, seeking privacy to work on her novel. In the inn, short-staffed due to the storm, owner James Harwood is the chef and his son Bradley strives to provide the expected guest services.

Oops, wicked storm knocks out the electricity. No reception here for cell phones. One of the women dies at the bottom of a staircase. Another woman dies; the police can't be reached, and the roads are blocked anyway. Christie's And Then There were None (originally Ten Little Indians) pops into mind. In between deaths we visit the anxieties of each person ‒ repetitively ‒ as they search the inn room by room for a possible intruder. A third death: suspicions are cast, accusations made. A few characters are compelled to unload a past guilty action that basically gets us nowhere. Motive is the biggest mystery. Are there any secret connections among them prior to this weekend?

I'd previously missed this Lapena book, and my anticipation was higher than the goods. Formulaic as the plot is, the characters, too, have a deja vu air of stereotypes. The revelation of a killer leads to a long ho-hum exposition of why. You likely won't guess who, but you could pass the story altogether except for a slightly redeemable twist at the end.

Probably noted before: an off of writer.

Bits

▪ Gwen is becoming infected by Riley's quiet panic, rather than Riley being reassured by Gwen's calm pragmatism. (26)

▪ To anyone who doesn't know who Matthew is, they just come across as a well-heeled successful couple. But Matthew is from money, and lots of it. (36)

▪ But Dana is in another class altogether. It's not just her beauty which is hard to ignore. (41)

▪ Bradley hasn't always been so good at observing boundaries. (43)

▪ Candice feels that she has been doubly cheated. Denied the happiness that her sisters seem to take for granted, and saddled with the thankless, grinding, demoralizing duty of elder care. (45)

▪ "Don't say anything about David. You could be wrong." (121)

▪ "The charges were dropped," David says, more firmly. "I didn't do it." (192)

▪ He's tempted to use Matthew as bait, David realizes with a sickening feeling. (208)

▪ It's the way she views him. Overweight family man. A bit of a fool. He grips the poker tight. (223)

▪ "You were looking at him—as if—as if you were glad he was dead." (237)

▪ [Police Sgt. Margaret Sorenson] "Christ. What a horror show." (257)