There’s good news and bad news for diehard fans of Richard Osman and his #1 New York Times bestselling Thursday Murder Club series. The good news is that while it is still untitled, Osman’s next book does finally have a publication date listed and is currently available for pre-order.
The bad news, however, is that his next book will not be the fifth book in his red-hot series.
You read that correctly. The Thursday Murder Club won’t meet again until 2025 when popular characters Joyce, Ron, Elizabeth, and Ibrahim are indeed set to return in the highly-anticipated follow-up to Osman’s 2023 novel, The Last Devil To Die. If you’re late to the publishing phenomenon that is the Thursday Murder Club, Osman released the first book in 2020. It caught fire shortly after hitting store shelves, blowing up in a way that’s rarely seen among mystery novels and has only continued to grow with each new release. According to Nielsen Bookscan, long considered the most trusted source of physical book sales, though they’ve been wildly inaccurate (lowballing numbers) in the past, Osman’s series has already surpassed 3.1 million units sold.
It’s safe to say that readers will show up for more Thursday murder meetings.
Now, of course, the question is whether or not those same fans will jump in line at the bookstores to get their hands on Osman’s first novel outside of his thriving franchise. We’ll know the answer to that this fall when Osman’s new book, which is said to feature “a brand-new detective duo who partner up to solve international mysteries that nobody else can,” arrives on September 2024.
Speaking to Virgin Radio UK back in September of 2023, Osman explained his temporary stepping away from the Thursday Murder Club by saying, “What happens in The Last Devil To Die, they go through quite a lot. So I’m giving them a year off to get some rest and recuperation. So, I’m doing a new series for next year.”
When asked about the new book, Osman did share details, and the more we learn about his forthcoming new title, the more probable it seems that his fans, even as they miss their favorite characters, will likely enjoy this new series starter, too.
“It’s about a father-in-law and a daughter-in-law detective duo. And the father-in-law’s got a tiny little investigations agency in a village in the New Forest. He used to work at the Met, but he does not want to go back to London. He barely wants to go to Southampton. So, he does little insurance jobs, finding your cat. He’s got the loveliest life. He just wants to do his pub quiz in his beautiful village. And his daughter-in-law is a close protection officer for billionaires. And so she’s always in Dubai and on private yachts. And she gets in trouble, and the only person she can send for and she can trust is her father-in-law. So, he has to fly out on a private jet, much to his chagrin. He’s not happy on there. And essentially, it’s their adventure.”
More details, including a title reveal, cover art, and an official plot synopsis, are expected soon. In the meantime, those eager to pre-order Richard Osman’s next book can now do so here.
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and is building a growing community on Twitch. His debut thriller, FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” is now available. His second novel, LETHAL RANGE, is also in bookstores, and his third book, OUT FOR BLOOD, comes out on June 4th. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. To interact with other readers and talk about your favorite books and authors, join The Real Book Spy’s Discord server.