After enjoying the second instalment of the Thursday Murder Club a lot more than I expected, I had pretty high hopes for The Bullet That Missed, which is the third book in the series.

The Man Who Died Twice brought us deep into Elizabeth’s world and her dangerous past. In The Bullet That Missed, an investigation into an unsolved murder (with a missing body) brings us back into that world, with kidnappings, attempted assassinations, KGB officials, and money-laundering experts. Oh, and Joyce gets to interview some of her favourite TV stars!

While the book was generally quite fun, I did realise that I just didn’t find it as gripping as the previous one. At one point, I put the book down for five days and read something else because it wasn’t convenient to bring the book with me! I think it’s because the book has dialled the antics up way too high – I’m getting it hard to believe that the gang (mostly Elizabeth) is running rings around everybody!

That said, I thought the second half of the book was more gripping and I finished it a lot more quickly. It was unbelievable, for sure, but it also moved at a fast pace and that helped. I also enjoyed the development of Stephen (Elizabeth’s husband); it’s a slow heartbreaking story and part of the more moving bits of the book.

Overall, while the story was fun and it was nice to see everyone again, I just didn’t find this book as good as the previous one. I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series – perhaps yes if I see it in the library but I might not look for it.