BEST AUTHOR BEST : RICHARD OSMAN

 

'' We Solve Murders '' launches a new series with '' more globe-trotting thrills,'' but he promises not to kill off the beloved Thursday Murder Club, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim remain immortal,'' he says.

.-  What books are on your night stand?

Can I first say how much I like term '' night stand '' ? In the U.K. we call them '' beside tables,'' which is so much more prosaic. 1-0 to the Americans there. 

All that said, on my beside table I currently have Chris Whitaker's '' All the Colors of the Dark '' and Kate Atkinson's '' Death at the Sign of the Rook.'' Both brilliant, though neither will help you get to sleep.

.-  What's the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

Don't trust John Grisham.

.-  What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?

I finally got around to reading '' Middle-march''  this year [ review - not bad at all, an author to keep an eye on ] so my next big gap is '' Great Expectations.''

.-  You take great pains to tell readers you're not done with the Thursday Murder Club quartet. Do you already sense their anger or disappointment?

As I was writing the very first pages of this very first book, the characters became very, very real to me, and it quickly became apparent that readers felt the same. So I am always at pains to say that I can't and won't kill them off. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim remain immortal.

.-  What's the last book you read that made you laugh?

I love books that make me laugh without taking me outside the truth of a story.

That's a thin line to tread, and I can't think of  any author that does it better than Michael Frayn [ I particularly recommend '' Towards the End of the Morning ''].

The last book I read that danced along this line was Jonny Sweet's '' The Kellerby Code.'' I would describe him as a funny Patricia Highsmith. I am not sure there is any finer praise for an author.

.-  You're organizing a literary dinner party.  Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?

After a great deal of soul searching and recipe planning, I have settled on Agatha Christie, Patricia Highsmith and P.G. Wodehouse. I also wish I could have found a place for John Grisham, because, well, I have a bone to pick with him.

The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.