Last Updated on April 22, 2026
All credit to Richard Osman. In a time when he is riding high on the mega success of The Thursday Murder Club, it would have been incredibly easy for him to simply knock out book five and keep all of his fans happy.
Instead, he chose to start a brand new series, the first of which is We Solve Murders.
To say anticipation was high is an understatement with plenty of us (myself included) pre-ordering it. Though finding it on half price sale the day it came out, after paying full price, was a bit of a downer!
Anyway, I digress, because as expected, it has been a roaring success selling over 150,000 copies in the first days of its release.
It went straight into the number one spot on the best sellers list and stayed there for two weeks before being dethroned by Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo.
So was all the hype worth it? Has Osman shot himself in the foot or has added another cracking crime saga to his cv?
Meet Amy and Steve Wheeler
Amy Wheeler is a bodyguard. She’s tough, fearless and at the top of her game. She’s also in charge of keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive.
The company she works for, Maximum Impact Solutions, has plenty of customers however, one of them happens to be Francois Loubet, a pseudonym as nobody actually knows his real name.
Loubet is a world class money launderer and he is not happy, proving this by having three small time influencers murdered. Worse though is that Amy, despite being nowhere near any them, is implicated and, for reasons unknown, he is now coming for her.
So, trusting nobody, Amy calls her father-in-law, Steve Wheeler, for help.
Steve is a widower and an ex-detective who has retired to a sleepy village in Hampshire, a world away from the high-stakes life that Amy leads.
He knows something fishy is going on with the recent spate of murders which have made headlines and he knows Amy is in trouble.
Doing what all good father-in-law do, he duly heads to America to help Amy solve the crime which he knows will also save her life.
With would-be assassins on their heals, the unlikely trio must out-run and out-wit their enemy and unravel the complicated murderous web of Francois Loubet.
Is It Your Next Binge Read?
The synopsis above just lays the ground work for the story and as I’m not one for spoilers, I’ll leave you to figure out the rest.
But, what I can say is that We Solve Murders has all of the wit and charm I’ve come to expect from Osman with plenty of funny quips and references to bring a smile to your face.
Not only is Steve the most normal, every-day man you have met – he loves the pub quiz, his cat and worried about how long it would take to re-arrange a parcel delivery – but Amy is also a formidable and fierce woman who has no problem diving head-long into danger.
It’s the juxtaposition between the two characters that make the book so good. But for the fact that Amy is married to Steve’s son, these two, in any other circumstance would never even know each other but together they make up a brilliantly fun crime fighting duo.
Between them, the easy-going but smart Steve and the adrenaline junkie Amy, alongside the hilarious Rosie, bring everything needed to solve the murders.
In terms of plot it is completely different to The Thursday Murder Club and tends to move along at a faster pace – which is really what all good page-turners are expected to do.
There are plenty of twists and turns, identities to be revealed and a central mystery of the who and why to keep you guessing until the end.
It has all of Richard Osman’s trade mark style and humour and I for one, absolutely loved it.
I really hope that he expands the series and look forward to more adventures with Amy and Steve – and maybe even a movie or tv show!!
Now that has me thinking…who would play Amy and Steve?? For some reason I have legendary British actor, Phil Davis, in my head for Steve but my mind can be changed if any of you have a better suggestion…
This book was amazing!!!