The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

In this fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club series, Kuldesh, a friend we met in the previous book, is murdered during an exchange with a drug ring. The police are focused on finding the valuable shipment of heroin that disappeared when Kuldesh died, but the Thursday Murder Club wants to find Kuldesh's murderer. Meanwhile, Donna and Chris are pulled from the case when a outside investigator is brought in.  Why is this case so important to the national police? Why are all the crime bosses in England involved, and what does it have to do with the art forgery business. As the pensioners of Cooper's Chase start looking into the mystery, pitting one criminal element against another, the body count rises. Who will be the last devil to die? 

I waited in hold for a long time for this book but it was worth it.  Although Osman is pretty good at his mystery plots, it is the interactions between the characters that are so engaging. Even the villains are three dimensional. He does an amazing job balancing funny and touching. I don't know for sure if the over 70 crowd really think like he portrays, but I bet a lot of them wish they could be like Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Ron and Joyce. I was excited to hear that they are making a movie of the first book.  I hope they do a good job.  (368 p. 2023)