A Highly Entertaining Book

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osmon is as entertaining as all the other books in this series I‘ve read. I love the usual suspects, who are the neighbors and “partners in crime” solving murders and hunting down criminals together despite their living in a retirement community. I appreciate way Osmon spins his tales, always turning corners when you least expect it, and very engrossing. This mystery involves a Bitcoin account that has accrued a massive amount of value, as the initial $20,000 should now be worth over $300 million, and the couple who were joint account holders finally decide to take profits…and pretty soon people go missing, bombs are discovered, and an investment insider turns up dead. 

In the early pages of this book recurring character Elizabeth is still coming to terms with her husband’s death and friend Bogdan makes a comment to her, “‘You look happier. Not happy but happier.’ ‘They don’t tell you, Bogdan, no one tells you.’ ‘About death?’ ‘About death,’ says Elizabeth. ‘Take every word anyone has ever written about grief. Every line every poet has ever written. Every word of every friend who breaks down in front of you, every tear you’ve ever seen shed. Take the whole lot of them and throw them down a well, and you wouldn’t even hear them hit the bottom.’” This particular case draws her back into the Elizabeth her friends have missed. Soon sarcastic Elizabeth is sparring with her partners who give as good as they get, “‘Tell me, Joyce,’ says Elizabeth, ‘have you ever seen a bomb before?’ ‘No,’ says Joyce. ‘I once saw someone with a Hoover attachment up his backside though.’ Elizabeth nods. ‘Thank you for that, Joyce.’”

Bogdan is conversing with a potential suspect, and Elizabeth becomes part of their conversation in absentia. The suspect wonders, “‘And if I kill you?’ ‘Then Elizabeth will kill you,’ says Bogdan. ‘Who’s Elizabeth?’ ‘You don’t want to find out,’ says Bogdan. ‘Perhaps I’ll kill her too?’ says Davey. ‘You can’t,’ says Bogdan. ‘Only God can kill Elizabeth.’ ‘And even he’d think twice,’ says Ron.”

Joyce later contemplates her role, within the group, “Some women make history, and some women make tea.” Later thinking, “Life isn’t all about solving murders, fun though it is. Sometimes you have to help people before they’re dead. I will never be Elizabeth. But, then, she will never be me. Perhaps I have my own job to do. Let Alan wag his tail, and let Ibrahim crack the code instead.”

This mystery series isn’t just about solving murders, there’s a lot of poignant reflections about living that involve friendships and love, loneliness, and grief, extending to other family members as well, including a group member’s grandson, “Kendrick puts his head on Tia’s shoulder as they read. How much longer does he have as a child, this clever boy? How much longer before life makes him an adult? Until his shoes have laces and his heart has scars? Until his shame deepens alongside his voice and he no longer wants to lie on the floor and color in the planets?“

The book keeps you reading to see who can crack the code required to retrieve bitcoin account information needed in order to sell it, and to find out if missing persons associated with the case are ever heard from again.