A review by whathillarygraceread
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

emotional funny mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Ok, I am sort of reluctantly giving this four starts. First, I absolutely love this series, love the characters and feel like the mystery in this fourth addition to the series is a lot better than the mystery in the third book. So why four stars instead of five? (spoilers galore from here on out)

As someone with a disability who has spent a long time in the disability rights movement, I was really disturbed by how the subplot around Stephen's assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is, in general, a tough, really fraught topic for our community and discussion around Stephen's death was really idealized and, frankly, pretty irresponsibly without nuance. The topic of whether or not someone with dementia can truly consent to assisted suicide was wholly glossed over and much too easily explained away by giving him a moment of clarity. Nearly anyone who has ever lived with someone who has dementia can tell you that the kind of clarity portrayed in this book is almost never present. Instead of dealing with the thorny issue of consent, Osman waived away any moral ambiguity with his writer's magic wand. I was just really disappointed with the lack of care this issue was treated with.