Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

How did you like The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman?
Spoilers welcome on this topic to the end of the book.

I am only about 50% in the book so far, and this post doesn't really include spoilers, just some observations.
The narrator is annoying to me for one of the main female character's voice. She makes Joyce's voice breathy, and it is soft and hard to hear, especially in the car. The first two books were narrated by Lesley Manville and I loved listening. This third book is narrated by two women and the author. Now that I realize Richard Osman is narrating along with Fiona Shaw and Steph McGovern I will listen more to the male voice. I am not sure which narrator is doing which of the voices.

Ann, I could have written your post, that is the first thing I made note of that I wanted to share here. That breathy voice SO annoyed me. I didn't track that Lesley Manville narrated the first two, I love her anyway.

I've finished the book and will post some thoughts but I don't think we summarize here, right? I hope not, LOL.

Oh and you have a treat in store, Ann. At the end of the audio is an interview with the author, and he is every bit as amusing as I imagined him to be.

I loved this book as well as the previous ones, although more for the characters than for the mystery which I found to be a bit convoluted.
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Spoilers to the end
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I like how we follow Connie in prison and Ibrahim (I think it was Ibrahim, not Ron) gets her involved in investigating the case. Bogdan better watch out, though, she has it in for him when she gets out of prison.
Bogdan and Donna hooking up was something I think was teased in the last book but I'd forgotten. Good for them!
Stephen's developing Alzheimers is heartbreaking but it's so wonderful how Elizabeth and Bogdan take care of him. We learn so much about the characters through these novels; I just eat them up and can't wait for the next one.
I wasn't sure how Elizabeth was going to get herself out of the order to kill--was it Victor? She is so clever and came up with a plan, but too bad she forgot about the bullet she fired into the ceiling. But I suppose she wasn't to know that her tormentor actually had access to the apartment to discover her trick.
This was a satisfying read, and the interview with Osman at the end was icing on the cake.

Carol: yes, the characters are what makes the series so special, and the interview was a great treat. Richard Osman is very personable, and I enjoyed hearing both his joy at the success of the books and his reasonings and plans. That did make the audio well worth it even with the breathy voices.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "I loved this book as well as the previous ones, although more for the characters than for the mystery which I found to be a bit convoluted.
This was a satisfying read, and the interview with Osman at the end was icing on the cake
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Carol: another non-spoilers topic. I finally settled into the mystery at about the half-way point, up until then the actual case was a bit convoluted in the description. I was contemplating while I listened whether someone who read out of order with this book first would have had a glimmer of a chance to figure out what was going on.

Some other authors were famous for the introductory chapter at the beginning of every series book, Sue Grafton comes to mind there. And some don't have this many characters.
Here I was able to piece together the relationships and had two books of history with each club member, but thought it was a bit harder along with the mystery that didn't seem to settle down for quite a few chapters.

Carol: Your comments and questions were spot on!
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spoilers to the end follow
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Yes, Stephen's developing Alzheimer's is heartbreaking and certainly sets up some changes and sadness for book four. Here was a spot where the interview with the author on the longevity of the four main characters was important to my comfort level.

The peripheral relationships such as Bogdan and Donna are great, The new relationship angst was not relegated to only younger characters, characters of any age have similar worries and doubts. I also really enjoyed the details of the other female relationships, with Joyce and Elizabeth and how they interacted with Pauline and Fiona too. Richard Osman is adept at those details feeling authentic.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Spoilers to the end"

Responding to Ann
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Ann said: "The peripheral relationships such as Bogdan and Donna are great, The new relationship angst was not relegated to only younger characters, characters of any age have similar worries and doubts. I also really enjoyed the details of the other female relationships, with Joyce and Elizabeth and how they interacted with Pauline and Fiona too. Richard Osman is adept at those details feeling authentic."

Yes, I loved his follow-up with the various characters, and also how some pop in for a moment (Joyce's daughter and her colleague, Ron's grandson I think who helped Ibrahim with the note, wasn't that the sweetest thing ever!) and others are temporarily in the background, like Ron's son the boxer (right?). I love them all.

As I think about it, Osman reminds me of Alexander McCall Smith who in his Scotland Street series writes characters of all ages and relationship statuses. His writing also delights me in that way.

I was finally able to check out the audio from the library and found this just as delightful as the first two books.

I did agree that the actual plot was on the tad convuluted side but liked how most items will tied up with some things left dangling that I hope continue into the next book.

The characters are really what make this series for me though and I really enjoyed the new characters that seemed to fit in seamlessly.

I also enjoyed the author interview at the end of the audio.

Sandi, I’m glad you got your turn at the library and enjoyed listening. I am also grateful for an opportunity to hear from the author of a book I have just read and hear from their perspective about creating the characters. - and what great characters these murder club members are!

Sandi, thanks for reminding me of how much I enjoyed this book; I'm glad you did too. On to book #4, whenever that comes.