I wasn’t sure if cozy crime could go international. I was suspicious of a cop retiree and bad ass private security operative duo. Honestly, the whole set up seemed dubious but Richard Osman is one of the most successful authors to enter the cozy crime space with the smash success of Thursday Murder Club. Such a success it bagged acting powerhouses like Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren in the upcoming movie.

So I gave it a shot and I was pleasantly surprised!

We Solve Murders maintains whimsy, comedy and ridiculousness in a high stakes murder case that takes its characters on a global race against shadowy evil forces.

The two main characters are Steve and Amy Wheeler. Amy, the wife of Steve’s son, has a close relationship with her father in law, speaking almost every day and chatting about their respective work. When it appears that Amy has become the target of a mysterious villain, she calls the only person she can really trust - Steve, all the way in his sleepy town and away from his park bench and pub quizzes. Not something he’s at all pleased about but he would do anything for his daughter in law - even take a whirlwind trip around the world with an eccentric author, dodging gun wielding hit men and dusting off his investigative skills.

Penguin Random House - We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

I am a huge fan of Osmond’s writing style. It’s good natured, funny and light in the most easy and entertaining way. I found myself floating through the pages, along for the ride just like the characters. It also made me miss living in England. The story is rich with English culture and humor capturing some stereotypes in a charming lighthearted way. Especially Steve’s dedication to his pub quizzes. Can totally relate. Felt the same about the local pub quiz every other Wednesday in this little pub in Bath just up the street from my job. I attended religiously with my coworkers. We even won a couple times - usually on the nights heavy with American Movie questions. A lot of great memories were made with even better friends.

I liked Steve as a main character. He is smart and practical but he has a gentle streak that makes him endearing. He clearly loves his daughter in law but what was most lovely to read was his love for his late wife. Osmond’s treatment of grief is emotional but wonderful in that he adds levity without making light of the gravity of losing a loved one. (That was very punny - unintentional I promise.)

I absolutely loved Rosie. She was wild and dramatic but in the most fun way, bringing lightness and humor to some of the heavier moments in the story. I look forward to her antics in future books.

Because there will be future books within this series. It is very clearly written that way. There were A LOT of characters introduced without much development in story. Some with little morsels of information that we can only assume will be revealed in future books. Which is unfortunately a bit of a downfall for this book. By holding so much back it kind of makes it a lot more fluffy that it was probably meant to be.

Which was likely the reason many members of my book club - Did I mention I joined a book club? Result of a new years resolution to be more sociable which is going pretty well I think! - didn’t enjoy this book. It was picked on the grand success of Thursday Murder Club and to many in the group it fell short of its ‘first in series’ predecessor.

Most found the story boring, fragmented and the plot a bit muddled. They felt there were too many characters introduced to keep up with and it made it difficult to follow. This is likely a result of it being the set up for a new series, a lot of players to set up and not enough pages to do it in.

Which leads me to my only real gripe with this book. Beyond the plot not standing up to real scrutiny - why were the influencers murdered? I couldn’t tell you. Why did the supposedly best of the best not sniff out the true culprits? Anyone’s guess. - it was one of the main character’s that bothered me the most.

Amy Wheeler.

The bonafide kick ass girl wonder who fights in covert missions in jungles and jumps out of helicopters. Martial artist extraordinaire and master marksman.

All this is basically rumor since she doesn’t actually do anything remotely bad ass. I began actively looking for moments when she displayed this supposed badassery and didn’t find one till page 345. 36 pages from the end!

Which really bothers me. What is the point of having a strong and skilled character that doesn’t do anything strong or skilled? It makes her feel like an empty plot device to facilitate Steve and Rosie’s glamorous murder solving adventure. Which is only more infuriating because the tidbits about Amy Wheeler, the small hints about her past and her unorthodox relationship with her husband are super interesting! I just feel it’s a bit of a disservice to what’s supposed to be a main character.

Overall, it was a very very fun read. I flew through it very quickly and it was a story so entertainingly spun that I didn’t really care about the gaps in the plot or the barrage of characters. I’ll likely read the next one in the series, even if only for more of Rosie D’Antonio and Osmond’s witty writing.

ttfn,

sunday | book review

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