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If you’ve just finished the Thursday Murder Club Netflix film and want more, or you’re a long-time fan trying to figure out where the new series fits in, this is the guide you need. Richard Osman has two mystery series running simultaneously, and with a new book out this September, now is a great time to catch up.
Here’s every Richard Osman book in order, plus everything you need to know before you start.
The Thursday Murder Club Series (in order)
The Thursday Murder Club is set at Coopers Chase, a fictional retirement village in Kent. Four residents — Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron — meet weekly to discuss unsolved cold cases. Then real murders start happening on their doorstep, and the four of them discover they’re rather good at this.
Elizabeth is a former spy with an impeccable poker face. Joyce is a retired nurse who narrates chunks of the story through her diary, which is funnier than it has any right to be. Ibrahim is a psychiatrist who analyses everything and everyone, usually correctly. Ron is a former trade union firebrand who still wants to fight, just about different things now.
It’s cosy mystery — warm, witty, genuinely funny — but Osman also writes about ageing, grief and friendship in ways that catch you off guard. The plotting is tighter than the tone suggests. Read them in order; character development carries across all five books and you’ll get more out of each one if you’ve read what came before.
1. The Thursday Murder Club (2020)
The one that started everything. A property developer is found dead near Coopers Chase, and the Thursday Murder Club — who have never actually investigated a live case before — find themselves in the thick of it.
The setup is pure Agatha Christie — if you haven't read her, our ranked guide to the best Agatha Christie books is a good place to start — but the voice is entirely Osman's own. It became the fastest-selling debut crime novel in UK history and spent months at the top of the bestseller charts. The Netflix film adaptation arrived in August 2025 if you want to see it on screen first, but the book is richer and funnier.
2. The Man Who Died Twice (2021)
Elizabeth's ex-husband turns up at Coopers Chase with a significant problem: he's been accused of stealing £20 million worth of diamonds from a very dangerous man, and that man wants them back. The Club are drawn into a case that goes well beyond their usual territory.
The second book is where you realise Osman isn't just doing cosy mystery for the laughs. The Elizabeth backstory deepens considerably here, and the book is sharper and more emotionally complex than the first.
3. The Bullet That Missed (2022)
A cold case: a TV journalist died in a hit-and-run ten years ago, officially ruled an accident. The Club don't think so. Meanwhile, a new and genuinely threatening villain enters the picture — the first real sense of danger the series has had.
Osman expands the world here, introducing characters who carry through into later books. The mystery plotting is among the best in the series.
4. The Last Devil to Die (2023)
An antiques dealer and old friend of the Club is murdered, and a consignment of heroin goes missing from his shop. The case pulls the group into the world of serious organised crime — further out of their depth than they've ever been.
This is the most emotionally affecting book in the series. Osman deals directly with dementia and loss in a way that's neither mawkish nor avoiding. If you've laughed through the first three books, this one will also make you cry. Many readers consider it the best of the five.
5. The Impossible Fortune (2025)
The latest instalment. A ruthless villain is hunting for an uncrackable code, and the Club are the only ones who can stop them finding it. The fifth book in the series, and proof that Osman hasn't run out of road. Osman has confirmed more books are coming.
The We Solve Murders Series (in order)
Osman’s second series, launched in 2024, is a deliberate change of gear. Where The Thursday Murder Club is rooted in one place, We Solve Murders is globe-trotting. Where the Club are retirees, the new cast is younger and quicker. Where Coopers Chase is cosy, We Solve Murders is closer to a thriller.
The three leads are Amy Wheeler, a private security officer who can’t stop getting into trouble; Steve Wheeler, her father-in-law and retired detective who’d rather be in his village pub; and Rosie D’Antonio, a bestselling crime novelist who hires Amy as a bodyguard and then immediately makes the job as difficult as possible.
The humour is still there — Osman can’t help himself — but the stakes are higher and the pace is faster. Worth reading if you’ve enjoyed the Thursday books, and written so you don’t need to have read those first.
1. We Solve Murders (2024)
The series opener. Rosie D'Antonio is receiving death threats on a private island in South Carolina, so Amy is sent to protect her. Shortly afterwards, a body turns up and the three of them find themselves tangled in something considerably bigger than a missing author.
An instant New York Times bestseller. Osman described the new series as his attempt to write a different kind of mystery — faster, more international, with characters at different life stages to the Coopers Chase crew.
2. We Chase Shadows (September 2026)
The second We Solve Murders book, out 10 September 2026. A body is found on the steps of a private villa in the Italian hills at sunrise, with a threatening note on it. Amy, Steve and Rosie take on their first official case — tracking through Italy, Barcelona and Palm Springs as the suspects multiply and the killer stays one step ahead.
What Order Should You Read Richard Osman’s Books?
Both series should be read in publication order within their respective series. The Thursday Murder Club books in particular rely heavily on character continuity — references to past cases, relationships that develop over time, and storylines that carry directly from one book into the next.
The two series are independent of each other. You don’t need to have read The Thursday Murder Club to start We Solve Murders, and vice versa. Most readers start with The Thursday Murder Club, since it came first and is where Osman built his reputation, but there’s no wrong answer.
The quick version:
The Thursday Murder Club first, in order 1–5. Then We Solve Murders 1–2 if you want more. Or start with We Solve Murders if you prefer a faster, globe-trotting style.
A Note on the Netflix Film
The Thursday Murder Club film, produced by Amblin Entertainment and directed by Chris Columbus, landed on Netflix in August 2025. It adapts the first book only. The film is fun and the casting is excellent, but it necessarily streamlines the plot and trims some of the character depth that makes the novels work. If the film is what’s brought you here, the books will give you more of what you liked about it — and five more stories after that.
Richard Osman’s Non-Fiction
Before the novels, Osman published The World Cup of Everything (2017), a tongue-in-cheek bracket-style ranking of everything — based on polls he ran on Twitter. It’s a different beast from the mysteries, more of a light entertainment read than a book in the traditional sense. Worth knowing about, but not required reading before you dive into the fiction. If you’re after something quick to read between Osman novels, our list of the best short books you can read in a day has plenty of options.
You Might Like
- Best Agatha Christie Books Ranked
- Discworld Reading Order — Terry Pratchett
- Browse the Crime & Mystery Top 100
- 32 Best Short Books You Can Read in a Day
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