Are you ready for the third Thursday Murder Club Mystery? I’ll admit Richard Osman’s The Bullet That Missed starts slowly. But, let’s face it. Many of us read the books for the characters as much as the mystery itself. This time, I really didn’t care about the cold case the foursome selected.

Joyce Meadowcraft picked the latest case. She’s fascinated by television celebrities. Ten years ago, Bethany Waites, a brilliant young reporter, was investigating a big fraud case when her car went over a cliff, but the body was never found. Joyce has talked the rest of the club into investigating Bethany’s case. She also hopes to meet Mike Waghorn, the journalist who reads the news, and worked with Bethany.

Elizabeth Best, the former spy for MI6, has bigger things to worry about. She thinks maybe her husband Stephen’s dementia is getting worse. She hasn’t told the rest of the club members. Only Bogdan, who plays chess with Stephan and sometimes drives him, knows about Stephen. To make things worse, she’s getting threatening texts telling her she has to kill an elderly Russian who was a KGB agent, or the person sending the notes will kill Joyce. Now, Elizabeth is worried about her husband and her best friend, which is why she gets a little sloppy.

But, the entire club is working the Bethany Waites case. Heather Garbutt, the woman arrested for the fraud is in prison, and Ibrahim, the psychiatrist finds a way to talk with another prisoner, Connie Johnson. Connie has clout in the prison. She’s awaiting trial for running drugs, but she continues to do it from prison. And, she has enough money to have a big screen TV, a mini-bar, and a coffee maker in her cell. In fact, Connie has the run of the place, and Ibrahim asks her to talk with Heather.

Ron Ritchie, the former labor organizer, has connections with the criminal believed to be behind Heather Garbutt’s fraud. He’ll meet with him, but Ron also falls in love. There’s almost as much romance as mystery in this book because the Thursday Murder Club’s friends on the police force have found romance. PC Donna De Freitas is dating Bogdan, but keeping it a secret. DCI Chris Hudson is in love with Donna’s mother.

There might be little too much in this convoluted story, with spies, money laundering, the investigation into Bethany’s case, romance, and Stephen’s dementia. But, Osman ties most of it up neatly while leaving one dangling storyline for another book. It’s a little convoluted, but the humor and the characters make up for some confusion. There’s a great burial scene, and the scene in which the villain is confronted is clever.

Now, you just have to decide if you’re willing to put up with some confusion in The Bullet That Missed.

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman. Pamela Dorman Books, 2022. ISBN 9780593299395 (hardcover), 352p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley to review for a journal.