Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this Waiting on Wednesday, I look at an upcoming novel I wholeheartedly believe will be one of the best releases of 2025, with the exceptional and impressive new Thursday Murder Club novel, The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman.

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Over the last few years, I, as well as many other lovers of crime fiction, have been blown away by the works of relative newcomer Richard Osman, who has wowed the world with his Thursday Murder Club novels.  Osman, a fun British television personality, blew into the crime fiction scene back in 2020 with his debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, an enchanting novel that followed four loveable senior citizens with an unlikely hobby, as they attempted to solve a series of murders around their retirement village.  Not only did The Thursday Murder Club have an outstanding murder mystery greatly enhanced by Osman’s subtle humour, but the author also created four incredible and memorable protagonists in Thursday Murder Club members Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, who all brought their own distinctive charm to the story.  I ended up have an exceptional time with The Thursday Murder Club, and it ended up being one of my favourite books, debuts and audiobooks of 2020.

While The Thursday Murder Club was an exceptional first book from Osman, it turned out to only be the start of the magic from the author, as we soon got some outstanding new additions to the series.  This included the awesome first sequel, The Man Who Died Twice (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), the excellent third novel The Bullet That Missed (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022) and the tragic and powerful fourth novel, The Last Devil to Die (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023).  Osman also successfully branched out with the intriguing thriller novel, We Solve Murders (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2024), that also greatly impressed.  All these novels were simply incredible, and getting the new Osman is now a major highlight of my reading year.

Unsurprisingly, I am extremely keen for the next book from this amazing author, and fans of Osman are apparently in for a big treat later this year with the fifth Thursday Murder Club novel, The Impossible Fortune.  Set for release in late September 2025, The Impossible Fortune will see the gang get back into action when they encounter a new criminal conspiracy threatening those close to them.

Plot Synopsis:

The unmissable new mystery in the bestselling, record-breaking Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman.

But when Elizabeth meets a wedding guest who fears for their life, the thrill of the chase is ignited once again. A villain wants access to an uncrackable code and will stop at nothing to get it. Plunged back into their most explosive investigation yet, can the gang solve the puzzle and a murder in time?

This sounds like another outstanding addition to the Thursday Murder Club series, and I like the direction that Osman is taking the narrative.  Setting a deadly game of cat and mouse amongst an important and stressful wedding event is a sure to make the plot of The Impossible Fortune something really entertaining, and I am deeply intrigued to see how the entire story unfolds.  While there aren’t too many details in the above synopsis, I have no doubt that Osman has cooked up another complex and thrilling tale of deceit and murder, which her four elderly protagonists will be eager to dive into after their hiatus from crime solving.

While I love the sound of the cool story above, I think a lot of us are going to be reading The Impossible Fortune to check in on the four beloved protagonists of the book, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, especially after all the tragic and life changing events of the fourth novel.  It is going to be particularly sad to follow Elizabeth again after the heartbreaking passing of her husband (something I still haven’t forgiven Osman for), and I imagine that her perspective scenes are going to be some of the hardest to read in the entire book.  It will be interesting to see how the rest of the cast are going, and if Osman is true to form, there will be some amazing character-focused storylines around all of them that will make you love these brilliant protagonists even more.

To be clear, there is no chance in hell that I will not be reading The Impossible Fortune later this year.  Richard Osman’s previous books have all been so damn exceptional, and I really cannot wait to get my next hit of complex mystery, amazing humour and particularly personal character stories.  Based on how incredible all the other Thursday Murder Club novels have been, there is no doubt at all that The Impossible Fortune is going to be one of the very best books of 2025, and I am going to have such an incredible time powering through the audiobook version of this novel in a few months’ time.