The Impossible Fortune
- Authors: Richard Osman
- Series: Book 5 in the Thursday Murder Club series
- Type: Novel
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery
- Rank:Top 300 in Best Books on AmazonTop 10 in Best Amateur Sleuths on AmazonTop 10 in Best Murder Thrillers on Amazon
- Rating: 4.6 based on 7,269 reviews
- Release Date: September 30, 2025
- Print length: 368 pages (Hardcover)
About the book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller • The unmissable new mystery in the Thursday Murder Club series from bestselling author Richard Osman, now streaming on Netflix
Who's got time to think about murder when there's a wedding to plan?
It''s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favorite criminal.
But when Elizabeth meets Nick, a wedding guest asking for her help, she finds the thrill of the chase is ignited once again. And when Nick disappears without a trace, his cagey business partner becomes the gang's next stop. It seems the duo have something valuable - something worth killing for.
Joyce's daughter, Joanna, jumps into the fray to help the gang as they seek answers: Has someone kidnapped Nick? And what's this uncrackable code they keep hearing about? Plunged back into action once more, can the four friends solve the puzzle and a murder in time?
Praise for The Impossible Fortune
First rate entertainment-Osman just keeps upping his game.
Expect madcap fun.
Osman excels at tying all the disparate stories together in a satisfying way that allows a lot of love to be shared. A worthy fifth addition to a popular series.
The Thursday Murder Club is back and better than ever... . There are satisfying red herrings and a well-constructed answer to the puzzle... And you’ll be happy just to have spent some time in Osman’s delightful world. If you’re coming to the series from the Netflix movie, start at the top. If you’ve read the others, this is a high point.
The crime, though ingeniously plotted, with many red herrings, is not the main attraction. It’s the growing love and respect among the Thursdays and their kith and kin, including a few criminals and cops, that is the biggest draw. All is done with warmth and humor that will satisfy fans of Osman’s fantastic foursome and their sidekicks.
Always endearing.
[A] cozy, exceedingly British romp of friendship, murder and creative aging.
Witty and openhearted... [The Impossible Fortune] features the same sort of sly humor and thrillerish components that make the other novels hum along: a car bomb, a missing person, a possibly unopenable safe, an unscrupulous aristocrat, some excellent sleuthing by octogenarians whose ages cause others to underestimate them. But Osman’s fans know that there’s more to it than that... . Tucked inside the crowd-pleasing plots are themes of grief, loss, friendship, the renegotiated relationships between parents and their adult children, and the indignities and sorrows of old age.
Osman’s septuagenarian sleuths are having a busy fall, making their film debut (on Netflix Aug. 28) and returning for another literary adventure. The latest addition to the Thursday Murder Club series promises plenty more satisfying twists and English charm as Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron and Ibrahim investigate the disappearance of a guest at a wedding.
The Impossible Fortune, like its series predecessors, is an exhilarating work. Mr. Osman’s irresistible characters are resolute in old age, even in the face of mortal danger. 'There may be trouble ahead,' Ron reflects. 'Bring it on.'
Pensioners Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are up to their old tricks again in Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, inserting themselves into a missing-persons case that will no doubt ensnare their expanding roster of buddies, from their favorite local police detectives to an imprisoned drug kingpin.
As delightful as ever-if you loved the first four [Thursday Murder Club books], you will definitely want to read this one.
About the author
