Book Review: Richard Osman’s ‘The Last Devil To Die’

The senior citizens of Copper’s Chase are hoping for a year without murders — or at any rate, Joyce’s daughter is. Unfortunately, the antique dealer Kuldesh Sharma is shot in the head and he happens to be a friend of Elizabeth’s husband Stephen which makes the murder personal. The Thursday Murder Club, against the wishes of the National Crime Agency, proceeds to step into the investigation, discovering a world of drug dealers and a missing box of heroin — this despite the fact that their own favourite police officers, Donna and Chris, have been sidelined from the investigation.

Osman does not just stick to detection. His story meanders through the troubles of old age and loneliness that plague pensioners even if they do live in a beautiful serene village with friends at hand. Stephen, Elizabeth’s beloved husband, has dementia and Osman explores what that means to couples — whether incarceration in a home is the answer while the spouse gradually sees herself fade from her partner’s consciousness with the attendant heartbreak involved. He occasionally holds up the investigation for Stephen and Elizabeth’s issues and details the pathos involved. He also brings in the love frauds that afflict lonely people who are easy prey for scams like this.

Of course, with heroin things cannot be peaceful or nostalgic for long. Ibrahim is counselling a drug dealer in jail and trying to pick Connie’s brains. The Scouse drug muscle is on the hunt for the missing heroin and the body count is mounting. Windshields get smashed with golf clubs to deter the Murder Club from their investigations — not that that helps much. The atmosphere is built through football matches, food, and encounters in cafes.

Despite the violence, Osman’s is a cosy read, much on the lines of Agatha Christie, though less acute in its style, making it a comfortable armchair companion. The Last Devil to Die is the fourth of the series and takes the reader through the developments in the lives of the investigators who are septuagenarians but determined to enjoy life to the hilt in their own way and also determined to allow no obstacles in their search for Kuldesh’s murderer. They are an odd group with their own secrets but manage to fit together perfectly and work toward a common goal.

All is not what it seems in Osman’s story, but one can make a guess at what it is really about and antiques, heroin, and stately homes make for a compelling combination backed by the niceness of the characters. No one is really bitchy or vicious even the drug dealers have their own down-to-earth way of dealing with things. And it’s always top marks to the oldies who manage to confound the youngsters at every step simply because ageism leads to underestimating them. 

Yes, the theme is about death — as people get older, death occupies much of their thoughts, how to live with it, how to prepare for it and what to do when it comes. Kuldesh was old, lonely and sophisticated but really didn’t deserve to be shot in the head. Winter adds its own backdrop to the story, the snow, cold, and the fallout of Christmas with its problems of family and rituals. Heroin is of course known as ‘snow’ — not that Osman had that in mind when he started writing about devils. The point is that evil never ends and the devils continue to walk the world even while one waits for the last devil to die.

Quite obviously the Thursday Murder Club will reappear in another story, perhaps with new love for Joyce and peace for Elizabeth. Perhaps Ibrahim will give up counseling criminals and Ron and his ladylove move in together. Age is of course a factor and one waits to see how Osman channels a bunch of senior citizens through more investigations. The little touches, Joyce’s baking, neighbourliness and the importance of home will surely remain the same, delighting readers with the comfort of a country house murder mystery.

As to whodunnit —many people doing different things— the reader will just have to riffle the pages till the end is nigh.

(‘The Last Devil to Die’ has been written by Richard Osman and published by Penguin Random House.)