"We Solve Murders" by Richard Osman (re-read)

It doesn't seem like that long ago that I read "We Solve Murders" by Richard Osman -- maybe because it wasn't (it was in mid-June, 3+ months ago -- my review here).  It's the November book for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club, and I decided a re-read was in order to refresh my memory -- especially since I'll be leading the discussion! (Osman's latest Thursday Murder Club book, which just came out -- "The Impossible Fortune" -- has had to wait...!)  

"We Solve Murders" is the first volume in a new series from Osman (he promises there will be more). It's a lot faster-paced/action-oriented than the Thursday Murder Club books -- but still a lot of fun.  The main characters are Amy Wheeler, a professional bodyguard for the rich and famous;  Rosie D'Antonio, an eccentric, best-selling author, and Amy's latest client;  and Amy's father-in-law Steve Wheeler, a widowed, retired police detective, a homebody and creature of habit whose idea of excitement is the weekly quiz night at the local pub and who dotes on a cat named Trouble. (I'll admit that, since a cat -- presumably Trouble -- appears on the book's cover, I expected it to be more of a presence in the book than it was. But, a minor quibble.) 

Amy is holed up on an island off the coast of South Carolina with Rosie, who's been receiving death threats from a Russian oligarch she wrote into one of her latest books.  But now someone is trying to kill Amy too, and implicate her in the murders of several small-scale social media influencers. The only person Amy trusts to help her is Steve. Reluctantly, Steve joins Amy and Rosie in America -- and together, they hop around the globe on Rosie's private jet (!), to St. Lucia, Ireland, England and Dubai (where Amy's husband/Steve's son, Adam, is working), with their mysterious enemies in hot pursuit. 

Even on second reading, knowing the outcome of the story and who was behind the murders, this was a fast, fun read with a lot of memorable major and minor characters, and I still laughed out loud, a lot. It's slightly ridiculous/over-the-top, perhaps, but if you enjoy TTMC, you will likely enjoy this one too.   

(One detail I hadn't noticed, on first reading: Rosie reveals she's English, in the first few pages of the chapter where we meet her. I had pictured her as an American, and had to completely reimagine how I envisioned her, especially her voice...!) 

The TTMC books have been consistent 5 star reads for me. I originally gave this one 4.5 stars on StoryGraph. As I said in my original review, "I debated whether that should be rounded up or down, and decided that while TTMC is still my favourite, this wound up being too irresistible not to give it full props. So, 5 stars on Goodreads." Those ratings still stand.   

ALI/CNBC notes:  Amy & Adam are childfree by choice. Grief/loss is also a theme here (widowed Steve holds regular conversations with his dead wife Debbie). 

This was Book #28 read to date in 2025 (and Book #1 finished in October), bringing me to 62% of  my 2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 6 books behind  schedule to meet my goal.  :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2025 tagged as "2025 books."