Richard Osman is a British author, producer, and television presenter. Born in Essex, he studied Politics and Sociology at Trinity College, Cambridge. Osman stated that being raised in a female-dominated household (his father left when he was nine years old) influenced his desire to create strong women in his fiction. Coopers Chase, the setting of the Thursday Murder Club novels, was inspired by the retirement village where his mother now lives.

Osman’s interest in popular culture and background as a television producer is evident in his fiction. The Thursday Murder Club novels contain frequent references to British daytime TV programs such as Bargain Hunt and Homes Under the Hammer. Meanwhile, the characters who comprise the club were inspired by the 1980s television show The A-Team. Like the TV series, Osman aimed to bring together a contrasting group of characters whose skills complement one another. Osman’s writing style is also influenced by the format of TV dramas, incorporating short snappy scenes that jump from one character and location to another.

While The Man Who Died Twice can be read as a standalone book, events from the first novel in the series inform and set the stage for the sequel.