Thursday Murder Club, #2
The Man Who Died Twice
by Richard Osman
Contents
Chapter 32
Overview
Joyce and Elizabeth travel to Hove, where they discover Douglas and Poppy shot dead in a house Douglas had arranged to show Elizabeth. MI5, represented by Sue and Lance, take control and discuss the killings. The murders escalate stakes around the missing diamonds and leave Elizabeth grieving and isolated.
Summary
Joyce narrates domestic asides before revealing the central shock: Douglas and Poppy have been found shot dead. Elizabeth had agreed to meet Douglas in Hove, where he intended to show her something; upon entering a house on St Albans Avenue, Elizabeth and Joyce discovered both bodies.
Joyce reflects on Poppy’s youth and lost potential, contrasting her sympathy for Poppy with mixed feelings about Douglas. Poppy’s mother, Siobhan, is notified by authorities and travels to identify the body; Joyce reaches out with condolences.
Afterward, MI5 figures Sue and Lance discuss details of the killings, emphasizing gunshot wounds and blood spatter, while Joyce notes the strained dynamic compared with their usual cooperation with local police. Joyce wonders how Elizabeth is coping, noting Douglas still carried Elizabeth’s locket, suggesting lingering affection.
The discovery heightens the stakes around the missing £20 million in diamonds, which Joyce speculates could be found by Lomax, MI5, or their group. Joyce closes with personal reflections, from social media fumblings to daydreams about the diamonds’ value, underscoring the mixture of shock, grief, and unresolved mystery.
Who Appears
- JoyceNarrator; accompanies Elizabeth to Hove and discovers Douglas and Poppy dead; reflects on grief and stakes.
- ElizabethGoes to meet Douglas; finds him and Poppy shot; silently mourns, complicated by Douglas’s locket.
- DouglasElizabeth’s MI5 ex-husband; intended to show Elizabeth something, found shot dead in Hove.
- PoppyYoung MI5 agent; previously visited Joyce; found shot dead alongside Douglas.
- Sue ReardonMI5 handler; discusses gunshot details and controls the aftermath of the Hove murders.
- LanceMI5 colleague of Sue; present around the investigation; object of Joyce’s hair musings.
- SiobhanPoppy’s mother; notified as next of kin and travels to identify Poppy’s body.