Richard Osman’s fifth outing with the Thursday Murder Club demonstrates exactly why this cozy mystery series has captured readers’ hearts across the globe. Following The Thursday Murder Club (2020), The Man Who Died Twice (2021), The Bullet That Missed (2022), and The Last Devil to Die (2023), The Impossible Fortune proves that some series only get better with age—much like our beloved amateur detectives themselves.
Where previous installments established the quartet’s investigative prowess and deepened their relationships, this latest mystery finds Osman at his most confident, weaving together a cryptocurrency caper with the warmth and wit that has made Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron feel like cherished family members to millions of readers.
The Heart of a Perfect Storm
The premise hooks you immediately: a missing best man, a murdered business partner, and three hundred and fifty million pounds worth of Bitcoin locked away in an unbreakable vault. When Holly Lewis arrives at Coopers Chase seeking help to find her disappeared partner Nick Silver, the Thursday Murder Club members find themselves drawn into their most financially complex case yet.
What begins as a straightforward missing person investigation quickly escalates when Holly’s car explodes in the retirement village’s car park, launching our amateur detectives into a world of cryptocurrency cold storage, high-tech security vaults, and dangerously motivated adversaries. The central mystery revolves around The Compound—a ultra-secure storage facility where the Bitcoin fortune lies locked behind two separate six-digit codes, one known only to Holly, the other to Nick.
Osman masterfully balances the technical aspects of cryptocurrency and digital security with accessible explanations that never bog down the narrative. The concept of “cold storage”—keeping digital assets offline to prevent hacking—becomes both a clever plot device and a metaphor for the secrets people keep buried in their own lives.
Characters Who Feel Like Family
The enduring appeal of this series lies not in its puzzles, but in its people. Elizabeth remains the steel-sharp former intelligence operative whose grief over Stephen’s death adds layers of vulnerability to her commanding presence. Joyce continues to be the heart of the group, her apparent innocence masking shrewd observations and an increasingly sophisticated understanding of criminal behavior. Ibrahim’s gentle wisdom and Ron’s working-class pragmatism complete a quartet that feels genuinely lived-in after five books together.
The Impossible Fortune particularly shines in its exploration of Ron’s relationship with his grandson Kendrick and his developing romance with Pauline. These domestic subplots never feel like filler—instead, they ground the more outlandish elements of the mystery in real emotional stakes. When Ron makes a dangerous solo play to protect his family, the scene crackles with genuine tension precisely because we care so deeply about these characters.
The supporting cast remains robust, with Donna and Chris’s professional partnership continuing to evolve, and the introduction of characters like the menacing Davey Noakes and the desperate Lord Townes adding depth to the suspect pool without overwhelming the central dynamic.
A Mystery With Satisfying Complexity
Osman constructs a pleasingly layered puzzle that plays fair with readers while maintaining genuine surprises. The cryptocurrency angle provides a thoroughly modern twist on the classic treasure hunt, while the various suspects—from tech-savvy criminals to aristocrats in financial trouble—each possess credible motives and opportunities.
The author’s background in television production serves him well in pacing reveals and managing multiple plot threads. The solution, when it comes, feels both inevitable and surprising—the hallmark of superior mystery writing. Without spoiling the resolution, the final revelation contains both poetic justice and genuinely unexpected character moments that recontextualize earlier scenes.
Balancing Humor and Heart
Osman’s greatest strength remains his ability to find humor in human foibles without ever mocking his characters. The comedy emerges naturally from personality clashes, generational differences, and the absurdity of septuagenarians pursuing armed criminals. Joyce’s tendency to bring inappropriately dense brownies to crucial meetings, Ibrahim’s therapeutic interventions with young criminals, and Elizabeth’s imperious dismissal of standard procedure all generate laughs while revealing character.
Yet the book never sacrifices emotional weight for easy laughs. The grief, loneliness, and mortality that shadow retirement community life provide genuine stakes beneath the comedic surface. When violence threatens these characters we’ve grown to love, the danger feels real and consequential.
Minor Reservations in Paradise
While The Impossible Fortune represents peak Thursday Murder Club, it’s not without minor flaws. The cryptocurrency explanations, while generally accessible, occasionally slow the pace as Osman ensures readers understand the stakes. Some plot coincidences stretch credibility—particularly the way various suspects’ paths intersect around The Compound.
The resolution, while satisfying, relies on one character’s decision that feels slightly out of character given their established pragmatism. Additionally, certain technical elements of the security arrangements could have been explained more clearly earlier in the narrative to avoid confusion during the climax.
The book occasionally suffers from middle-volume syndrome, with some investigations feeling like marking time rather than building momentum. However, these pacing issues are minor compared to the overall effectiveness of the storytelling.
A Series Finding Its Perfect Rhythm
What’s most impressive about The Impossible Fortune is how comfortable Osman has become with his fictional world. The Thursday Murder Club universe now feels fully realized, with its own internal logic and rhythm. The author trusts his characters enough to let them drive scenes through dialogue and interaction rather than forcing plot developments.
The mystery elements blend seamlessly with character development and social comedy, creating something that transcends genre limitations. This isn’t just a cozy mystery or just a character study—it’s a fully integrated entertainment that satisfies on multiple levels.
Comparison and Context
Among contemporary cozy mystery series, the Thursday Murder Club books occupy a unique space. While sharing DNA with Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache novels in their emphasis on community and character, Osman’s work is consistently lighter in tone and more consciously comedic. The series lacks the darker psychological depths of Tana French or the historical richness of Elizabeth Peters, but it succeeds brilliantly at being exactly what it aims to be: comfort food for the soul that happens to include murder.
Within Osman’s own work, The Impossible Fortune represents a maturation. The first book’s charm sometimes relied too heavily on the novelty of elderly amateur detectives; by book five, these characters have earned their place through consistent development and genuine investigative competence.
The Verdict
The Impossible Fortune confirms that Richard Osman has created something special with the Thursday Murder Club series. This is comfort reading at its finest—intelligent enough to engage serious mystery fans, warm enough to provide genuine emotional satisfaction, and entertaining enough to make pages fly by.
The book succeeds because it understands that the best mysteries aren’t really about murder—they’re about community, friendship, and the ways people support each other through life’s challenges. The cryptocurrency plot provides a thoroughly modern framework, but the heart of the story remains timeless: good friends working together to set things right.
For series newcomers, this wouldn’t be the ideal starting point—too much character history enriches the experience. But for established fans, The Impossible Fortune provides exactly what you’d hope: these characters at their best, facing their most complex case yet, with all the humor, heart, and satisfying detection that has made this series a phenomenon.
If You Loved This, Try These
Readers who enjoyed The Impossible Fortune might appreciate:
Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series – Beginning with Still Life, featuring another ensemble cast in a close-knit community
Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple novels – The original elderly amateur detective, starting with The Murder at the Vicarage
M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series – Beginning with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, for amateur detection with British humor
Charles Todd’s Inspector Rutledge series – Starting with A Test of Wills, for well-developed character relationships alongside solid mysteries
Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series – Beginning with Crocodile on the Sandbank, for archaeological mysteries with strong character dynamics
The Impossible Fortune stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of well-crafted cozy mysteries and the particular magic that happens when an author finds the perfect balance between puzzle and heart. It’s the kind of book that reminds you why you fell in love with reading in the first place.