We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is a hilarious international mystery that marks the start of a new series. The book is pretty unique. It is written like a cozy mystery, but it is an international mystery. The mystery visits, South Carolina, Dublin, London, and Dubai. The first murders are a little more vicious than I was expecting, but it does not go into great detail. The mystery has so many twists and a lot of side characters. I will say the book does not have throwaway characters. Most of the characters introduced come back at some point in the novel. There was one scene where they had to land at a private airport of a guy. Steve acts like he knows him. I should know who he is. He was one of the first characters we meet. He was involved in the first establishing mystery. I like when characters come back, didn’t think the father of one of the girls bullying another would. The mystery is good and will keep you guessing until the end. The novel doesn’t provide any help for the reader to solve it, but it was still fun. The characters are what make this novel fun. They are written very zany, fun, and not annoying. Rosie is a bored mystery writer who is up for anything. Steve is a retired detective who likes his structured, boring life. They are very fun characters that made me love this novel. Richard Osman, writing for this book, reminds me of Dave Barry meets Elmore Leonard. Eddie Flood, the assassin, is written so quirky that he could fit into Get Shorty. This is my first Richard Osman book and will not be my last. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman was published on September 17, 2024.

Plot Summary: Amy is a hired security guard for Maximum Impact Solutions’ high-value clients. She is with a world-famous mystery writer, Rosie D’Antonio. She is under 24-hour protection since she depicted a Russian oligarch harshly and put a hit on her. Amy is on a private island off the coast of South Carolina when she reads of three murders that are all clients of Maximum Impact Solutions. The murders took place all across the world, but they are all places where Amy has just been, with the last murder taking place in South Carolina. She calls her boss Jeff who is freaking out and believes it is Franois Loubet a money smuggler working with his ex-partner Henk. Max, a famous movie star, is switching to his ex-partner because of all the deaths. Jeff does believe Amy is being set up. Amy calls her father-in-law, Steve, who is an ex-detective in London and still moonlights as an investigator of small crimes. He has heard about the murders as well. Loubet makes a call to his assassin arranger and puts a hit on Amy. Steve, who has a very structured life, is recruited into Amy’s troubles and has an international adventure as they search for Loubet.

What I Liked: The characters are great. I loved Steve and Rosie. I love that Steve named his cat Trouble. The running joke that the group keeps saying when reacting to things would make a good novel. This scenario happens at least 7 times. I liked that the characters jinx themselves by saying it at the same time. I loved the dynamic between Steve and Rosie; they are opposites and had fun scenes. I learned that Rosie got Steve to the party and started living. This novel had so many twists and turns. You will think one person is the bad guy, then realize they are the patsy. The writing style was fun. The pace of the novel is very fast thanks to the small chapters. The mystery solved was smart, I wish it had given the reader the tattoo clue, but still smart and fun. The end of the book did make me want to have more adventures with the team. I did like the use of influencers as the perfect smuggler. I like how the title was used in the story, and that it is the new agency’s name.

What I Disliked: Amy and her husband’s relationship, I don’t get at all. I hope the next book explains it more. The plot did take me a little while to get into. I think Gary should have been more memorable. His character is at the beginning. Then he gets brought back at the 75% mark.

Recommendation: We Solve Murders is a fun fast paced read. The characters are well written, and most of them would be fun to hang out with. The plot took a little time to get into. By the end, I was desperate to find out who Loubet was. I recommend We Solve Murders to all my followers.

Rating: We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. I rated 4.2 out of 5.