The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

I just logged The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman as my current read. This is a cosy mystery that feels like everyone and their mother read and loved it. The only reason I picked it up is that my sister got it for me for Christmas. It has similar vibes to a series (I forgot its name and spent the last hour looking for it, but I can’t find it). It’s a good thing I wasn’t fond of it, so I won’t continue reading the following books in the series.

At least now I’m wasting time looking at books instead of YouTube, so that’s a silver lining. Anyway, let’s go back to the reason behind writing this. I made my yearly Goodreads goal of 100 books, to which I already added the four books I read yesterday, but Goodreads is telling me I’m 96 books behind, which doesn’t make sense to me, so can someone explain? In the meantime, I finished listening to The Last Devil to Die so I can share my thoughts about it.

Now, before I share my thoughts, which I feel some people are going to be annoyed with me about, am I the only one who feels more pressure to like a book when it is gifted to me? I came into it thinking it could be read as a standalone, which might not be the case since, during some scenes, I had the sense that I was missing something.

First, let’s talk about what I enjoyed: the small-town trope was done well here. The chapters are short, so it feels like a quick read, and there are some great discussions linked to everyday life. As a reader who enjoys character-driven storylines, I couldn’t care less for Elizabeth. Another point that might have made me think differently about this novel was very hyped to me, so I was expecting a lot from it. I would rate it 2.5, but since on Goodreads, you can’t mark half stars, it will be three stars.

(I have read some reviews, and from what I gathered, it’s a series that is best read in order. Of course, everything I said here is based on my opinion and reading taste.)

Alex