We solve murders (by Richard Osman)

(Amazon UK link)

On the whole, I enjoyed the first three books I read by Richard Osman, in the ‘Thursday murder club’ series. However, I didn’t plan on getting the fourth, and wasn’t even aware that he had written a book in a different series until it was chosen for the December read in our local book group.

‘We solve murders’ has a large cast of characters, and I found it quite confusing at first. The chapters are short, and at the start of the book, new people are introduced every few pages. The main character is a young woman called Amy who is the bodyguard to a well-known writer called Rosie. Rosie’s life has been threatened, so she and Amy are staying on a remote island, along with another bodyguard called Kevin.

But the prologue of the book introduces, in italics, a rather detailed way of staying anonymous and hidden online, and mentions the name of Francoise Loubet. And the first chapter is rather gruesome, telling us about Andrew Fairbanks, who was a low-key influencer who finally becomes internationally known after being murdered at sea. 

And then, after a chapter involving Amy and Rosie, we meet Steve. He is probably my favourite character in the book. He’s a retired policeman who still observes (and notes down) everything he sees. He’s quite comfortable living a routine life, knowing what’s coming, and looking after his cat. He still talks to his late wife, whom he misses very much. And he’s Amy’s father-in-law. His son Adam (ie Amy’s husband) works abroad and doesn’t communicate much with his father. But Amy calls Steve to chat, every week. 

Then yet more characters are introduced: Jeff, the CEO of the company that Amy works for, and his PA Susan. Henk, Jeff’s former close friend and associate, who now works for a rival company. And they’re not all. While I mostly remembered these folk who we meet early in the book, I found it hard to keep track of many of the others. 

We soon learn that two other influencers, in other parts of the world, were also murdered… and there are clear similarities, suggesting one person behind them all. But different people were involved, although Amy was not far away from any of them. And then Amy’s life is in danger, and the plot follows a lot of flying around the world, hiding in different locations, foiling potential assassins and more. It’s a tad confusing at times, and feels a bit caricatured, with cartoon-like escapes. 

I felt a bit tense once or twice, with no idea who Amy is supposed to trust - suspicion falls on just about everyone other than her father-in-law. But there were times when I really didn’t know what was going on - viewpoints switch so rapidly that there’s no chance to get to know anyone in depth.

It’s not unusual for thrillers and murder mysteries to have rather two-dimensional characters, but there are usually hints making it clear who can be trusted. In this book, I couldn’t work anything out myself; instead I was told what Amy was thinking, or what other characters elsewhere were doing. The only person who seems to use any real deduction is Steve, and even then we don’t know what he’s seen or thought until he expresses it to someone. I didn’t much like Amy, who is tough and violent, and quite coercive too. 

I realise that this is probably supposed to be a caricature of the rich and wealthy, with money-laundering and other criminal activities going on unseen and uncaught. But a lot of it doesn’t ring true. Perhaps I’m too sheltered; I’ve never met anyone like any of the people in this book, as far as I know. And (other than, perhaps, Steve) I don’t think I want to. I also felt that, while the money-laundering aspect might be realistic, the number of shootings was too high. I never really worked out the motivation for any of the deaths. 

The threads of the story gradually come together as we are told who is genuine, who is pretending to be someone else, and who really can be trusted. There’s a good pace to the writing, and it’s not a difficult read. I quite like the author’s turn of phrase, but I didn’t find any of the humour that his other series displayed. 

I’m glad I read this book. It’s certainly different from my normal genre of fiction, and part of the reason for our book group is encouraging us to read books outside our comfort zone. But I don't think I will be looking for others in this series. 

Review copyright 2025 Sue's Book Reviews