Book Marks reviews We Solve Murders by Richard Osman Book Marks

Editor

Books by Pamela Dorman

Steve Wheeler is enjoying his retirement. He still does some investigating, but he prefers his usual routines: the pub quiz, his favourite bench, his cat waiting for him at home. His adventurous days are over. Adrenaline is now his daughter-in-law Amy’s job. Amy Wheeler believes adrenaline is good for the soul. Working in private security, every day is dangerous. She’s currently on a remote island protecting bestselling author Rosie D’Antonio, until a dead body and a bag of money land her in trouble in paradise. So she sends an SOS to the one person she trusts… As a thrilling race around the world begins, can Amy and Steve outrun and outwit a killer?

What the critics say

A bigger series… But Osman hasn’t completely strayed from his winning formula. While offering more breadth and scope, the British author continues to play to his considerable strengths by delivering a devilish mystery and a wild adventure infused with warmth and wit… A busy book… As the cast expands and one plot line gives way to another, we begin to worry that the book might collapse under its own weight. But Osman knows exactly what he’s doing. His multiple characters and many layers bring variety and liveliness to the events… Both an auspicious start to an entertaining new series and a perfect stopgap to tide us over until Joyce and her friends seduce us again.

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Osman sends his team on a globe-trotting investigation, livening up his narrative with deadpan humor, crisp dialogue, well-drawn characters and a pinch or three of sentiment.

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The seller of cozy contemporary detective novels becomes a seller of cozy airport thrillers… I read We solve murders In a few sips of pleasure. It’s amusing rather than downright funny, involved rather than genuinely tense: everyone here is too ready to make a scathing remark or a clever retort for their safety to feel like too pressing a concern… Even if my heart rate never increased, I was always interested in what was coming next. Osman doesn’t cheat on his plot, even if he can be too quick to explain his characters rather than let them be, sometimes by introducing a sense of force… Osman writes exactly the dense, highly accessible book he wants. One character’s diatribe, about poached eggs, is structured with a punchline like a stand-up comedy number. Osman could be funnier if he wanted, could be meaner if he wanted, but he knows he’ll be leaving people behind along the way.

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