The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman brings the beloved Thursday Murder Club back for another clever, funny, and surprisingly emotional mystery. Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim may be older than most professional detectives, but their experience, curiosity, loyalty, and ability to notice what others overlook make them an unusually effective crime solving team. This time, the peaceful routines of their lives are interrupted when Elizabeth is approached by Nick, a wedding guest with a mysterious request. When Nick suddenly disappears, the friends find themselves pulled into a dangerous puzzle involving secrets, suspicious people, an apparently impossible code, and something valuable enough to put lives at risk.
Joyce’s daughter Joanna also becomes part of the investigation, adding another layer to the story as the group tries to understand what happened and uncover the truth. Along the way, readers encounter missing people, murder, family complications, unexpected clues, and plenty of Osman’s trademark humor.
What makes The Impossible Fortune especially enjoyable is the balance between its mystery plot and the emotional lives of its characters. Beneath the jokes and clever investigations are thoughtful reflections on grief, aging, family relationships, friendship, loyalty, and the changes that come with growing older. The characters feel wonderfully human, with their imperfections making their relationships even more convincing.
Richard Osman also knows how to keep the atmosphere warm without making the mystery feel lightweight. There are genuine surprises, carefully placed clues, emotional moments, and enough twists to keep readers guessing. Whether you have followed the Thursday Murder Club from the beginning or are discovering Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim for the first time, this novel offers a charming combination of humor, mystery, heart, and unforgettable characters.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
• Wonderful chemistry between the four main characters
• Clever mystery with plenty of unexpected turns
• Warm humor balanced with emotional moments
• Strong themes of friendship, family, and aging
• Engaging clues and memorable supporting characters
Weaknesses
• Several subplots can make the story feel busy
• Readers who prefer darker mysteries may find it gentle
• Some emotional scenes may feel especially intense
Key Ideas from the Book
• Friendship can become family: Deep friendships can provide comfort, courage, and belonging at every stage of life.
• Age does not define ability: Experience and knowledge can become powerful advantages when others underestimate you.
• Grief changes relationships: Loss can affect people in unexpected ways and reshape how they connect with those around them.
• Family relationships evolve: Parents and adult children often have to discover new ways of understanding one another.
• Humor can coexist with sadness: Even difficult periods of life can contain moments of warmth, laughter, and genuine connection.
• Appearances can be misleading: People and situations may not be what they initially seem, making curiosity essential to solving a mystery.
• Loyalty matters: The Thursday Murder Club succeeds not simply because its members are clever, but because they trust and support one another.
Who Should Read This Book
• Fans of the Thursday Murder Club series and Richard Osman
• Readers who enjoy cozy mystery novels with clever investigations
• Anyone who loves stories centered on friendship and found family
• Readers who prefer crime fiction with humor and emotional depth
• Fans of character focused mysteries with surprising twists
Joyce’s daughter Joanna also becomes part of the investigation, adding another layer to the story as the group tries to understand what happened and uncover the truth. Along the way, readers encounter missing people, murder, family complications, unexpected clues, and plenty of Osman’s trademark humor.
What makes The Impossible Fortune especially enjoyable is the balance between its mystery plot and the emotional lives of its characters. Beneath the jokes and clever investigations are thoughtful reflections on grief, aging, family relationships, friendship, loyalty, and the changes that come with growing older. The characters feel wonderfully human, with their imperfections making their relationships even more convincing.
Richard Osman also knows how to keep the atmosphere warm without making the mystery feel lightweight. There are genuine surprises, carefully placed clues, emotional moments, and enough twists to keep readers guessing. Whether you have followed the Thursday Murder Club from the beginning or are discovering Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim for the first time, this novel offers a charming combination of humor, mystery, heart, and unforgettable characters.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
• Wonderful chemistry between the four main characters
• Clever mystery with plenty of unexpected turns
• Warm humor balanced with emotional moments
• Strong themes of friendship, family, and aging
• Engaging clues and memorable supporting characters
Weaknesses
• Several subplots can make the story feel busy
• Readers who prefer darker mysteries may find it gentle
• Some emotional scenes may feel especially intense
Key Ideas from the Book
• Friendship can become family: Deep friendships can provide comfort, courage, and belonging at every stage of life.
• Age does not define ability: Experience and knowledge can become powerful advantages when others underestimate you.
• Grief changes relationships: Loss can affect people in unexpected ways and reshape how they connect with those around them.
• Family relationships evolve: Parents and adult children often have to discover new ways of understanding one another.
• Humor can coexist with sadness: Even difficult periods of life can contain moments of warmth, laughter, and genuine connection.
• Appearances can be misleading: People and situations may not be what they initially seem, making curiosity essential to solving a mystery.
• Loyalty matters: The Thursday Murder Club succeeds not simply because its members are clever, but because they trust and support one another.
Who Should Read This Book
• Fans of the Thursday Murder Club series and Richard Osman
• Readers who enjoy cozy mystery novels with clever investigations
• Anyone who loves stories centered on friendship and found family
• Readers who prefer crime fiction with humor and emotional depth
• Fans of character focused mysteries with surprising twists
Crime, Thrillers & Mystery › Cozy Mystery › The Impossible Fortune
Updated September 27, 2026
The Impossible Fortune is Book 5 in Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. Read the four earlier novels first: The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed, and The Last Devil to Die. The mystery here is new, but the friendships, losses, and family relationships carry forward.
After a relatively quiet year, Joyce is planning a wedding, Elizabeth is grieving, Ron faces family trouble, and Ibrahim continues providing therapy to his favorite criminal. Then Elizabeth meets Nick, a wedding guest who asks for help. Nick disappears, his guarded business partner becomes the group’s next lead, and an apparently uncrackable code points toward something valuable enough to kill for.
Updated September 27, 2026
The Impossible Fortune is Book 5 in Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. Read the four earlier novels first: The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed, and The Last Devil to Die. The mystery here is new, but the friendships, losses, and family relationships carry forward.
After a relatively quiet year, Joyce is planning a wedding, Elizabeth is grieving, Ron faces family trouble, and Ibrahim continues providing therapy to his favorite criminal. Then Elizabeth meets Nick, a wedding guest who asks for help. Nick disappears, his guarded business partner becomes the group’s next lead, and an apparently uncrackable code points toward something valuable enough to kill for.
Why Series Order Matters
The club’s appeal depends on accumulated trust. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron bring different skills to an investigation, but later books also show how age, grief, family, and friendship change their methods. Starting at Book 5 would not make the central puzzle impossible to follow, but it would weaken those emotional layers and expose developments from earlier installments.
Wedding Plans Meet a Missing-Person Case
The wedding gives the story a communal center before the disappearance reactivates the group. That contrast is characteristic of the series: ordinary pleasures and serious danger share the same world. The code provides a puzzle, while Nick’s absence raises the more urgent question of whether he left, was taken, or was silenced.
Reader Fit and Content Notes
Choose this book if you enjoy warm ensemble mysteries, older amateur sleuths, fair-play puzzles, dry humor, and crime stories attentive to grief and friendship. Content in the official premise includes disappearance, possible kidnapping, murder, bereavement, family stress, and criminal danger. This guide does not explain the code, identify the victim or culprit, or reveal the fortune.
For another community mystery driven by secrets and suspicion, see Getting Away with Murder. For a darker mystery where guilt and public narrative shape an investigation, explore The Amateur.
For another community mystery driven by secrets and suspicion, see Getting Away with Murder. For a darker mystery where guilt and public narrative shape an investigation, explore The Amateur.
