The Bullet That Missed

“Ron pretends he is not touched. Last time he had a gang of friends like these, they were being hospitalized by police riot shields at the Wapping print-workers’ strike. Happy days.”

This passage develops the character of Ron and the theme of The Importance of Friendship. Ron’s background working for the trade union aids him with investigating murders. Both in the past and present, he values working alongside friends for justice.

“I like questions you can answer.”

This passage is from Joyce’s first diary entry, establishing it as a structural feature. She is the only character who uses first-person pronouns, and she is considered the central protagonist.

“He writes novels in his spare time too, under a pen-name. The Chief Constable publishes the books himself, and you can get them only on Kindle.”

This quote establishes the central antagonist of the novel: Andrew. Clues to his involvement in the VAT fraud are found in these self-published novels.

“She has read enough detective novels to know you must never trust a murder without a corpse. To be fair, she has also faked a number of deaths herself over the years.”

This thought by Elizabeth, a retired spy, foreshadows that Bethany faked her death. It also develops the theme of The Importance of Books. Detective fiction informs Elizabeth’s thinking.

“The rival who became her friend. The enemy who became…her lover? Had they? Elizabeth doesn’t recall, but she wouldn’t put it past herself.”

Elizabeth’s character is developed in this quote. The fact that she doesn’t recall if she and Viktor slept together establishes her as someone who has had many lovers. Viktor, on the other hand, vividly describes their sexual encounter to Ron.

“It absolutely infuriates Connie when people are resistant to her charms.”

Connie is an antagonist from the previous novel in the series, The Man Who Died Twice, and in The Bullet That Missed. In this quote, she tries to win over Heather, but Heather’s resistance to Connie’s overtures upsets Connie. Connie uses Heather’s suicide as a way to make it seem like she is helping Ibrahim solve a murder.

“It can be quite hard for two men to have a conversation together, but snooker, or golf, or darts, always seemed to make it easier. Men didn’t really meet for a coffee. Perhaps they did these days?”

This is a thought that Ron has while playing snooker with Jack. It is part of the motif of masculinity that develops the theme of The Importance of Friendship. Ron, as a senior, admits he may not understand how young men interact. He needs an activity in order to bond with other men.

“Lots of famous people are murderers.”

This is from one of Joyce’s diary entries and develops the theme of The Role of Television and Other Media. She partially convinced the club to investigate Bethany’s disappearance so she could meet Mike, who is famous from South East Tonight. Joyce also wants to meet Fiona, who is even more famous than Mike, even if she is a murderer.

“‘The new generation clean all their money through cryptocurrency.’”

While Bethany’s mystery is about VAT fraud, the second mystery focuses on cryptocurrency. Henrik, whose business is cryptocurrency, wants Viktor killed because he advises people against using cryptocurrency. A common feature of mystery novels is having two mysteries that intersect.

“But now every old friend is a miracle.”

Viktor thinks this while lying in a grave so the Thursday Murder Club can fake a picture of his corpse. This quote develops the theme of The Importance of Friendship. Viktor is happy to reconnect with Elizabeth and meet her new friends from Coopers Chase.

“They see it as a red herring.”

While Ibrahim attempts to find a code in Heather’s poetry, the other members of the Thursday Murder Club dismiss it as a clue. They are both correct—the poems reveal that Connie, not Heather, wrote the suicide note found with her. There is no code in the poems, but they are a clue after all. The term red herring refers to a feature of many detective novels, developing The Importance of Books.

“Ibrahim recognizes, not for the first time, that he is given to over-complicating things at times.”

This quote develops Ibrahim’s character. His self-awareness and tendency toward overcomplication relate to his career in psychiatry. Overall, the novel creates likable characters, ones that the reader wants to be friends with, as part of the theme of The Importance of Friendship.

“The bullet. The bullet that missed.”

This is a text message from Henrik to Elizabeth in reference to her putting a bullet in the ceiling rather than in Viktor. The bullet symbolizes that Henrik knows Elizabeth faked Viktor’s death. This is only one of two bullets that miss, the other being the one Andrew sends to Bethany.

“Bogdan is in love.”

Bogdan’s romance with Donna is just beginning in the previous installment of the series and develops in The Bullet That Missed. He is surprised that he is quickly developing strong feelings for her. Donna becomes concerned when he does not show up for her medal ceremony but forgives him when she realizes he was helping with Andrew’s confession.

“I was once called to give evidence to the Defense Select Committee […] but, legally, they had to blur my face. And I was once in a hostage video.”

This is Elizabeth’s answer to Joyce’s question about being on television before. They are heading into a filming of Stop the Clock at this point in the plot. While Joyce is excited about seeing the show and Fiona, Elizabeth is unimpressed by television shows. Their contrasting opinions develop the theme of The Role of Television and Other Media, as well as their characters.

“The three men are sitting on Jack Mason’s veranda in the moonlight, with a strip heater and a tumbler of whiskey each, keeping them warm. Lights blink out at sea.”

The second time Ron meets with Jack he brings Viktor. This moment of bonding between the men is a bittersweet example of The Importance of Friendship. Jack is murdered shortly after this night and no longer able to join the others in moments like these.

“Bethany refused to let Mike feel shame.”

This passage also highlights The Importance of Friendship. Mike was able to come out as gay to his friends with Bethany’s help. Their intergenerational friendship changed both their lives because Bethany had to fake her death when Andrew threatened Mike’s life.

“And the lovely thing about investigating a murder is that you can be nosy and call it work.”

Joyce thinks this as she wanders around Heather’s house. While she and Elizabeth are different in many ways, their desire to know secrets is similar. Joyce is motivated by knowing about people and their private lives.

“‘Love writing books more than reading them, if I’m honest.’”

Andrew makes this admission when the Viking shows him the library that impressed Stephen. Andrew writes because he desires fame and fortune, not because he loves reading and the craft of writing. He can be contrasted with Joyce, who loves to read and write.

“‘I can’t think of a finer tribute you could have paid to Bethany.’”

Mike says this in reference to using Fiona’s Instagram to broadcast the livestream of Andrew’s confession. It develops both the theme of The Importance of Friendship and The Role of Television and Other Media because his friendship with Bethany motivated him to use social media to break the story she was working on when she disappeared.

“Designed to scare her, no doubt, but a bullet that ultimately cost him ten million pounds.”

This develops the symbol of the bullet from the title. Bethany thinks back on the bullet Andrew sent her with Mike’s name scratched into it. Sending it resulted in her stealing the VAT money that Andrew illegally obtained and disappearing to Dubai.

“Life was not a book.”

After he is arrested, Andrew regrets sending Bethany the bullet and becoming involved in VAT fraud. These were originally ideas for a book, and, in retrospect, he realizes the ideas should never have been anything more than that because reality is not the same as fiction.

“‘I remember looking up at everybody, and wondering if this might be the life for me. Coopers Chase. The tea, and the cake, and the birds and the dogs, and the friends. If it might be where I belong.’”

At the end of the novel, Viktor fondly recalls the moment he lay in the grave with the Thursday Murder Club above him. Developing the theme of The Importance of Friendship, faking his death is a happy memory of new and old friendships.