Tuesday, 23 December 2025

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

Description from Amazon:

Solving murders. It’s a family business.

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers the pub quiz and afternoons at home with his cat Trouble. His days of adventure are over – that’s his daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul, which makes being a private security officer to billionaires the perfect job. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Then a dead body, a bag of money and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending Steve an SOS...

As a breakneck race around the world begins, can they stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy?

 

Richard Osman has started a new series of murders to be solved with this one. The Thursday Murder Club was more clever than this, but this new series has some great bones to it. Although you need a sense of British humour to get all the quirks within and you must be prepared to suspend disbelief!

Steve and Amy have a much better relationship than Steve and his son, Adam, so Steve is quite happy to leave his village and the upcoming quiz at the drop of a hat in order to help Amy. It seems Amy has found herself in quite the pickle as an influencer seems to drop dead near her when protecting clients. This leads to an investigation where money smuggler, François Loubet, is using small-time influencers to move his money and Amy seems to be the one set to take the fall.

The host of characters work brilliantly together in this book, and so many are portrayed as doing an action deemed stupid only to have the end goal in mind and being rather smart about it. The dynamics between certain relationships and the witty and dry banter show how clever things are “under the surface”.

Rosie was a standout character. I loved her indeterminate age but youthful spirit and her street smarts really come to the fore here. Amy is a badass in so many ways and her relationship with her “quiet and boring” financial husband works for them. Steve is one of those guys who thinks he should never be in the limelight as he has nothing to add but get a few pints into him and he will have stories aplenty to tell. Including about Van Halen.

The premise of the story is great and the execution is where you need to suspend belief a bit. However, the writing is so humorous and the style so flowing that you just find yourself nodding your head along with the antics.

The last chapter sets it up for the next book, and based on the characters (yes, there were a lot, and sometimes it took a while to remember who was who) introduced in this one, it’s going to be a wild ride.



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