"We Chase Shadows" by Richard Osman

Like Richard Osman's other books, "We Chase Shadows" was hard to put down. It's a follow-up to "We Solve Murders" (which I read last year -- twice! -- and reviewed here and here), the first volume in a new series outside of his popular Thursday Murder Club books.  

Retired cop Steve, his professional bodyguard daughter-in-law Amy, and famous mystery author Rosie formed a detective agency (called We Solve Murders) at the end of the first book -- but in the six months since then, they haven't had one case. That's about to change: a new client hires them to find out who killed one of his bodyguards -- and left the body on the steps of his Italian villa with a threatening note. But the more our trio digs into the case, the more suspects they find. Travelling aboard Rosie's private jet, their search takes them from Italy to Palm Springs, Barcelona and Malaga, Rosie's castle in the New Forest and back to Steve's village pub. (A few familiar faces from "We Solve Murders" pitch in to help too.)    

This book was everything I've come to expect from Osman:  quirky characters, a fast-moving, convoluted plot with lots of twists and turns and red herrings and dead bodies, and lots of laughs. In short, it's a lot of fun. I actually guessed the identity of the killer (one of them!)(yay!), and also the source of the background noises that Amy hears over the phone, near the end of the book.  

There's an extended lunch scene in a restaurant in Chapter 55, involving talk of murder and a hapless waiter with a bread basket that had me in stitches. And there's the hint of future crossovers with that other Osman series in the Epilogue that made me smile. And look forward impatiently for the next books in (both) these series.  

If I had one quibble about the book (and Osman's writing in general), it's that he sometimes stuffs the pages with long, rambling introspective passages inside the minds of his characters (both major and minor) -- which may or may not be relevant to the plot. But this is also part of the charm that makes his books what they are. 

Bring on the next Osman book (soon, please!). 

4.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 5 on Goodreads.  

This was Book #30 read to date in 2026 (and Book #1 finished in October), bringing me to 75% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently back on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."