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OK, I’ll get this out of the way right now: was this as good as Osman’s Thursday Murder Club books? Did I like it as well? No, not quite. I do adore the octogenarians of TMC. I love how they are able to do so much undetected because too many people overlook them thanks to their age.
In this start of a new crime series, Osman shows the same light touch and style but with a new group of characters. By the end of We Solve Murders, I’d come to appreciate them (Rosie in particular; she’s a hoot!). But I do prefer the Club.
Here, readers meet retired policeman Steve Wheeler, who lives quietly in a small town. He enjoys his pub quiz nights with friends, regularly eats the same pub shepherd’s pie, shares his home with a cat named Trouble, and speaks into a Dictaphone as he roams around town. There’s a gaping hole in his life in the shape of his beloved late wife.
Steve has one son, with whom he’s not particularly close. But he is close to his daughter-in-law, Amy. Both Steve’s son and Amy lead very busy lives with professions that take them all around the world and largely away from each other. But Amy and Steve check in with each other all the time and have good chats, no matter where she is.
Amy is a bodyguard. She finds it satisfying and is very good at it. As our story opens, she’s just been assigned to protect a celebrity author who’s been writing bestselling crime books for decades. Rosie D’Antonio is of indeterminate age (she’s worked hard to keep her exact age a secret). She’s lived a pretty high-flying, fabulous life. Amy comes to watch over her on her private island in South Carolina.
Soon enough, however, Amy starts to realize she herself is the one in danger. It appears she is being linked to various killings, and she has to figure out who the culprit is and expose them to save herself.
She ends up going on a wild search for clues, accompanied not just by Rosie but by Steve. This unlikely group makes for a fun trio of sleuths. Each uses their particular skills and connections to work together to stay safe and solve the mystery. It’s entertaining.
Yes, I enjoyed We Solve Murders, and yes, I’ll read more. But I’m eagerly awaiting more stories about my Thursday Murder Club protagonists.
Rated: Mild. (Could be a bit closer to moderate.) Profanity includes two instances of moderate profanity, fewer than 10 uses of mild language, about 25 instances of the name of Deity in vain, and about 10 uses of British profanity. Sexual content includes references to sex and one or two “closed-door” scenes. References to drinking and some drug use. Violence includes several murders, attempted killings, and some injuries by shooting or fighting. It’s all mild.
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