We Solve Murders

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman: a new crime-solving family

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman introduces Steve Wheeler and his daughter-in-law Amy, two people with very different ideas about an enjoyable day. Steve has retired into a reassuring routine of familiar places, pub quizzes and a cat waiting at home. He still takes on occasional investigative work, but a life of constant danger belongs firmly in the past. Amy works in private security and thrives on the movement and pressure that Steve would rather avoid.

Their contrasting habits become unexpectedly useful when Amy’s latest assignment goes wrong. She is protecting the famous novelist Rosie D’Antonio on a remote island, a job that should be manageable for someone with her experience. Then a body, a bag of money and an enemy targeting Amy transform the situation. She sends a call for help to the person she trusts, pulling Steve away from the quiet life he has carefully arranged.

Steve and Amy Wheeler follow a case beyond their comfort zones

The result is a crime novel driven by both a mystery and a family partnership. Amy brings professional alertness and a taste for action; Steve brings the perspective of someone who has seen enough to prefer calm. Neither approach can simply replace the other. Their relationship gives the investigation a different rhythm from a conventional team of colleagues, because affection, exasperation and confidence in each other travel alongside the practical problem of staying alive.

Osman places that partnership inside an international pursuit. The widening geography makes Steve’s familiar routine feel increasingly distant, while Amy must work out why a seemingly straightforward protection job has become so dangerous. Humour comes from the collision of personalities and expectations rather than from removing the seriousness of the case.

An English paperback mystery with humour and international stakes

This is the opening novel of a separate series from the author of The Thursday Murder Club. Readers can begin here without knowing the retirement-village detectives from those books. The appeal lies in meeting a fresh set of characters and watching their different kinds of resourcefulness develop under pressure. Rosie’s presence adds another distinctive voice to the group, while the family connection between Steve and Amy supplies an emotional reason to persist when caution might suggest stepping away.

Buy this English paperback book if you enjoy contemporary mysteries with an engaging cast, an intricate danger to unravel and room for warmth between the alarming developments. We Solve Murders offers the pleasure of an investigation that grows beyond its original setting without losing sight of the people carrying it forward. For Steve, answering Amy’s request means surrendering the security of habit. For Amy, accepting help means finding out how much an apparently uneventful retirement can still contribute to a very active crisis.