We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

MysteryHumor

Dec 23

Synopsis

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life in the New Forest. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he likes his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favourite bench, his cat waiting for him when he gets home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul: she doesn’t stay still long enough for a habit or routine. She’s currently on a private island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy mean an end to Steve’s quiet life. As an iconic new detective duo is born, a breakneck race around the world begins. But can they stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy?

*Blurb taken from the StoryGraph

Review

This review contains spoilers.

Characters: We get a large cast of characters with a wide array of POVS. It makes for some confusion at the beginning, but ultimately became one of my favorite parts of the novel. The personality of each individual is distinct, and they all play off one another well. Steve (POV character) is terrified of most everything, though he’s willing to help Amy, his daughter-in-law, no matter the danger. Amy (POV character) lives a no-nonsense bodyguard life and makes decisions almost purely based on logic, not emotion. Rosie (POV character) is an author (and Amy’s client) who tags along for the ride and is happy to help via sassy quips and massive amounts of money. And the list goes on and on. I especially loved Rosie because her one-liners are spot on and hilarious. Truly, all of these characters are so unserious in their responses to life-threatening events, while simultaneously being serious enough to attempt to solve the murders and not be murdered themselves. Osman hits the punchline every time in this, and I had plenty of moments where laughter was shocked right out of me.

Some characters fell flat, like Felicity, Bonnie, Adam, etc. And in a cast this big, that’s inevitable. But these were still noticeable lags due to their amount of page time. Overall, though, this was a cast built right.

Plot: Once I started to get a feel for who was who, things got rolling pretty well. That being said, the first few chapters were dense and slow as I acclimated to the cast and the multiple moving storylines. Osman expertly weaves these plotlines together, and each of them has a character driving the conflict forward through personal, sometimes unidentifiable, motivations. Like Eddie, for instance, who gets wrapped up in one plotline, but whose true goal we don’t find out until he finally gets Rosie alone in her hotel room. His true purpose? To ask if she’ll read his novel. Rosie’s response had me rolling. I paused my audio, I laughed so hard.

Many moments pan out like this, and characters who should have no connection to one another actually have a thread worth entertaining. There are points where the storyline seems to drag, mainly towards the first 25%, as I was still getting my footing with the abundance of information. Felicity’s and Bonnie’s chapters, while necessary, are bit lackluster. For the most part, though, I was engaged and guessing, switching up my thoughts continuously as more evidence came to light. At one point, I did think Susan was involved, then promptly talked myself out of her culpability, and that was brilliant as well. Things are tied up just a tiny bit too neat at the end, but this leans towards cozy murder-mystery (if that can be a thing?), so it was fine in the long run.

Predictability: I thought I had this figured out halfway through (with some minor switches), and was disappointed but still invested because the characters are grand. I was horribly, beautifully wrong in my prediction. If you manage to guess the outcome of this correctly, you’re a murder-mystery aficionado! Otherwise, I bet this will keep you guessing until the end!

Craft: The writing was done in such an elegant manner that I didn’t truly appreciate it until I finished the book. It is the dialogue and internal monologues that stand out here. Osman’s more perfunctory writing style made the blunt snipes and snarky comments from the cast hilarious. It was a simple, gratifying voice that took a moment to adjust to, but once I did, made for an enjoyable read.

Audiobook: If you enjoy audiobooks, I highly recommend this one! Walker does a phenomenal job narrating a novel with such a wide cast. Rather than relying on voice changes, a distinction is instead placed on the emphasis of how each character speaks: fast and emphatic, slow and to meandering, crisp and to the point, etc.

Overall Thoughts: I was overwhelmed at the beginning of this due to the large cast, but once I became more familiar with the characters, I was locked in. Osman has a direct writing style that focuses less on imagery and details, and more on dialogue and internal monologue. It is the perfect choice in a novel like this, where connection to the varying individual’s personalities is what solidifies reader engagement and emphasizes the humor. And let me tell you, there were moments in this where I outright cackled. Especially with Rosie. She was my favorite character, hands down. There are many subplots happening beneath the main murder-mystery, but they tie in beautifully with it and create depth in the novel. I will absolutely follow these characters as they continue on to solve more murders. This is the first Osman I’ve picked up, and I already have The Thursday Night Murder Club on hold while I wait on the rest of this series! A great mix of murder and humor, I definitely recommend this one.