One Line Summary

When a best man quietly begs for help at a family wedding, the Thursday Murder Club are drawn into a vanishing act, a coded ledger and a fortune that tests what truly matters.

Opening Impression

The Impossible Fortune opens in celebration rather than crisis, which is exactly Richard Osman’s trick. Warmth comes first, jeopardy later. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim return with their familiar sparkle, but there is a reflective seam beneath the humour. The opening chapters glide from canapé chat to quiet unease with confidence, suggesting a series comfortable in its skin and ready to explore deeper emotional ground.

Synopsis

At Joyce Meadowcroft’s daughter’s wedding, the best man confides to Elizabeth that he is in danger and cannot go to the police. Shortly afterwards, he disappears. The search that follows moves from village greens to corporate boardrooms, circling coded records, contested assets and a rumoured cache that turns allies into suspects. Joyce gathers truths with diary-bright charm, Ron leans on old loyalties, Ibrahim maps motives with clinical calm and Elizabeth tests the edges of her formidable skillset. As the puzzle tightens, the fortune at its centre reveals itself as both prize and trap.

Analysis

Structure: Short, propulsive chapters rotate perspectives, keeping momentum high while planting fair clues. Red herrings amuse rather than frustrate and the final configuration of answers feels earned.

Characterisation: Elizabeth’s steel now carries tenderness. Joyce remains the emotional anchor, while Ron and Ibrahim receive moments that deepen their roles beyond comic relief. Supporting characters are sketched economically but leave an impression.

Style and voice: Conversational prose masks sharp observation. Osman moves from humour to poignancy within a paragraph without strain.

Themes: Friendship as strategy, ageing as advantage rather than handicap and the emptiness of money when set against loyalty and care.

Verdict

Charming, clever and quietly affecting, The Impossible Fortune shows a series confident in its formula yet still capable of surprise. The mystery satisfies, the humour lands and the emotional notes ring true. A generous slice of cosy crime with intelligence and heart in equal measure.