The Bullet That Missed, by Richard Osman (Pamela Dorman: Viking), is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

The four retirees of the Thursday Murder Club—Ron, Joyce, Elizabeth, and Ibrahim—are back to investigate the cold case of a TV reporter, Bethany Waites, who disappeared 10 years earlier. Bethany had been reporting on a big fraud case the night her car went over a cliff; her body has never been found. Heather Garbutt went to prison for the fraud Bethany was investigating, but she refuses to confess to murder. As the Thursday Murder Club digs into the case, former MI6 spy Elizabeth harbors private worries about text messages she’s been receiving, that order her to kill an aging KGB agent to save Joyce’s life. Osman’s novel is a convoluted story with investigations into fraud, murder, and threats in a case that takes the group into prisons, TV studios, and danger; romance, humor, and a clever trap to catch a villain fill out the plot. VERDICT Although the third in Osman’s series (after The Man Who Died Twice) is confusing at times, it’s a character-rich mystery that will be eagerly received by fans of the Thursday Murder Club.—Lesa Holstine

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz (Harper)

Appeared on the June 2018 LibraryReads list

“A playful commentary on the mystery genre itself and the first in a promising new series. The author, Horowitz, plays the part of the narrator, and gets caught up in solving a murder with Daniel Hawthorne, an out-of-work detective.”—Amy Whitfield, Wake County Public Libraries, Cary, NC

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (Berkley: LJ starred review)

Appeared on the September 2022 LibraryReads list

“Celebrating their retirement with a luxury cruise after four decades working for the same organization, four assassins discover they are now targets. This page turner offers the unique thrill of seeing women in their 60s as intelligent action heroes who can outmaneuver top assassins from an organization possessing limitless resources. For fans of What Rose Forgot and the Thursday Murder Club series.”—Di Herald, Mesa County Libraries, Grand Junction, CO

The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo (Hanover Square: Harlequin)

At 65, Hornclaw is slowing down at work and content to live quietly in a small apartment with her rescue dog. She should be cashing out her share of the company, but she’s made the mistake of growing close to a doctor and his family after an emergency visit. Such connections are dangerous stuff in her business—actually, she’s an assassin routinely hired to do in cheating spouses, corporate enemies, and the like—and there are repercussions. From an award-winning, internationally best-selling South Korean author making her English-language debut; with a 50,000-copy first printing.—Barbara Hoffert