We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (book review)

 GENRE: Adult Thriller

LENGTH: 381 pages

PLOT

Private security officer Amy Wheeler teams up with her father-in-law and a famous author to solve murders while dodging death at every turn.

CHARACTERS

There are three main characters we follow on their globe-trotting adventure to escape a hitman and solve murders. They are Amy Wheeler who works as a body guard for Maximum Impact Solutions, her father-in-law Steve Wheeler, a retired cop, and Rosie D’Antonio, a famous, best-selling author. Rosie is the one who stands out the most with her bubbly personality. She's always eager to hop on a private plane or find a new lover. She is the comic relief character.

Amy and Steve have a very close relationship. Amy is implied multiple times throughout the novel to have had an abusive childhood (though nothing specific ever gets revealed). Steve, meanwhile, is still grieving his late wife Debbie and has a distant relationship with his son, Amy’s husband, Adam. On the one hand, I liked Amy and Steve’s relationship. I think they both gave each other something the other one was missing. Steve really felt more like Amy's dad than a father-in-law. Both of their relationships with Adam were strange. Amy barely sees her husband and they honestly don’t really seem compatible. Most children who go so little contact with their parents have good reason, but it didn’t really seem like there was any fallout between Steve and Adam. So, I wonder why Steve and his son are such strangers to each other?

I struggled to connect with Amy’s character, which is unfortunate given she’s the main protagonist. I think it had to do with her being so serious and stern. It also seemed like we never really got to know her – just what’s on the surface. Steve, by contrast, is a lot more vulnerable.

There are a number of antagonistic characters. The main one is François Loubet, a money smuggler whose real identity is the main mystery of the novel. Then there’s his hired middleman Rob Kenna who hires the hitman Eddie Flood. I managed to figure out who Loubet is before the big reveal, which was a tad disappointing. Eddie Flood never really felt like a threat himself, but Loubet and Kenna were more intimidating.

Outside of them, other main players include Amy’s boss Jeff Nolan and his former business partner Henk van Veen, and their HR person Susan Knox. There’s also the pretentious movie star Max Highfield (whose chapters were eye roll worthy). Finally, there’s Felicity Woollaston who works at Vivid Viral Media. It's unknown for much of the story whether Felicity is on Loubet or our protagonists’ side.

I confess, I struggled to keep track of all of the characters for a while. There was just a fair number of names and companies to keep track of. I eventually got a handle on it, but up until then it did make some scenes confusing. I’ve started to put sticky notes in my books, so I used those to go back and reference when I couldn’t remember who someone was. If you have trouble keeping track of large amounts of characters like me, then I recommend that method! It's also a good method if you don't want to permanently mark up your book.

 

WRITING

The novel is told from the POVs of pretty much all the characters mentioned above. I liked having the antagonistic characters’ perspectives too. That’s something I don’t read a lot and it’s fascinating to be inside the heads of twisted characters like that and see how their cogs turn. I do wonder if having them all be POV characters contributed somewhat to me struggling to juggle them all in my head, however.

The novel is a globe-trotting thriller. There are private planes, multiple countries, shootouts, and assassination attempts. Then there’s also pub trivia games and flirting. It’s a good mix of intense and comical scenes. I’d define this as a cozy thriller. It’s definitely not for those who only read darker thrillers.

If you’ve read Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series and were a fan of those books, then you’re likely to enjoy this book as well. I’d say the style is very similar – just a different set of characters. I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as a found family story, but it’s definitely found friends.

I figured out pretty much all the reveals before they happened. Even so, I still enjoyed the book. I love when I can be on my couch or cozied up in my bed and feel like I’m in foreign countries on wild, dangerous missions. Whether I figure out the twits or not – just being along for the ride is fun.

There is a quote I had a problem with on page 127: “Resilience is an underrated quality in Steve’s mind, and so grief counseling was never for him.” I actually find this quote to be harmful as it portrays counseling as something unhelpful and only for weak people. If anything, counseling can help one become resilient and it is people who are the strongest who reach out to get help.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I wasn't necessarily drawn in by this book's synopsis. I decided to give it a chance because I am such a big fan of The Thursday Murder Club series. I can’t lie and say I liked it as much as the Thursday Murder Club books. However, if you take away that inevitable comparison, I did like this book. It’s for sure worth the read if you’re looking for a fun thriller.

Trigger warnings for gun violence, drug use, and implied childhood abuse, as well as grief.

 

FINAL RATING: 4⭐️