Some mystery series are not especially adept at character growth, but Osman’s books are. Joyce and Ibrahim, in particular, have been through periods in which they have felt invisible, but both blossom over the course of the five books. Ibrahim probably has the smallest role in the first novel, for instance, but a key relationship he develops is at the center of the new one, “Impossible Fortune,” and it’s a hoot to see how the dynamic between him and a crimelord named Connie has shifted. When I watched the movie, it had been six years since I read the first book, so it was intriguing to recall that one person who is a major suspect in “Thursday” is now a key ally of the club.
The Impossible Fortune (Viking)
I wasn’t as wild about Osman’s non-“Thursday” book from 2024, but I have loved all five “Thursday” books. I will say that you’re more likely to appreciate them if you’re drawn in by the characters than if, for instance, you are a hard-core mystery fan.
Osman does a decent job with the puzzle aspects of the homicides that are solved in each of the books, but he sometimes gets bogged down in the details. That’s especially true of “Impossible,” in which the cryptocurrency-related murders are one of several plot threads that eventually wind together. I tend not to care if things get a little too twisty because the fun is in hanging with these people more than in the specifics of whodunit.
No sequels have been announced, but the first movie is a huge hit and there are four more books just waiting to be adapted. With a cast whose leads range from 72 (Brosnan) to 82 (Kingsley) and who are busy with many other projects, there’s no time like the present.