We Solve Murders by Richard Osman was one of my quickest reads so far this year, and I love it! It is everything a crime mystery should be: funny, easy to read, and completely lag-free.
We Solve Murders follows Amy Wheeler, a private bodyguard who seems to leave a pile of bodies in any city she is guarding a VIP client, except she isn’t the one killing them.
When she becomes the next target, she calls on the only person she could trust to help her: her father-in-law and retired London detective Steve Wheeler, who ironically doesn’t like to leave the safety of his house in Axley, England.
Yet travel he must if he is to prove that Amy had nothing to do with the dead bodies and keep her safe from the raining bullets coming her way. Coming along for the mission is bestselling and world-renowned author Rosie D’Antonio, who will allow nothing to stand in her way of having an adventure.
The first thing that caught me was the witty humour. We are talking about deaths, dead bodies, hired killers here, yet you can’t help but laugh in some places. The adaptation of current trends in the book was another plus for it.
The villain, François Loubet, is a globe-trotting, charming but ruthless smuggler and money launderer who is always one step ahead of everyone.
The guy is ruthless, but he does have some great quotes. One of them being:
A lot of very good criminals are in prison right now because a nerd with a laptop had too much time on their hands. So you must hide as well as you can.
And as we follow this high-end chase, laugh out loud, and applaud some moves made by both sides, we still learn a life lesson from Steve:
Anytime you feel your unhappiness turning into bitterness, you can live with unhappiness, but bitterness will kill you.
One thing Richard does so well is the way he layers his characters. You’d think that Amy is bottled up, but you later realise she is just vulnerable.
Rosie comes off as a 60-year-old diva, and Steve refuses to leave his safe zone, but both are more complex than they appear. The more we get to know them, the more we understand why they initially seem that way.
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is my first book by this author, and I can say that he has a staunch new fan in me. I look forward to the next installment next year, while I stay entertained with the Thursday Murder Club series.
