We Chase Shadows

We Solve Murders #2

by Richard Osman

#1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Osman’s globe-trotting series “We Solve Murders” returns with the thrilling new mystery, We Chase Shadows.

Back together.
Back on the case.
And back to solving murders . . .

At sunrise, high in the Italian hills, a body is found on the steps of a beautiful private villa. On the body is a threatening note, signed by a mystery man.

Back at We Solve Murders HQ, Amy, Rosie, and Steve leap at the chance to take on their first proper case. So what if their new client seems to have his own reasons for avoiding the police? All they need to do is uncover who left the note, and then find them. Simple.

But once they start digging, the suspects keep piling up: there’s Sweden’s most-wanted criminal, a canny ex-wife and a fierce business rival – yet the murderer keeps evading them. And as the trio chase a villain through the shadows, danger travels closer to home . . .

Between Italy and Palm Springs, via Barcelona and Steve’s village pub, can the team catch an elusive killer who knows EXACTLY where to hide?

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Cozy

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2026

About the author

Richard Osman is an author and television presenter. His novels, The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed, and The Last Devil to Die, were number one, million-copy international bestsellers as well as New York Times bestsellers. He lives in London with his wife, Ingrid, and Liesl the cat.

Reviews

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh this was fun! I do love reading Richard Osmans books, be it the Thursday Murder Club or this follow up We Solve Murders. I feel quite attached to all of his characters now, getting to know them better in each book.

In We Chase Shadows, Amy, Steve and Rosie finally have a murder to solve with their agency. A very rich criminal in Italy has hired them to find out who shot one of his bodyguards, and left a menacing note behind. The case takes them to Palm Springs to Sweden, to Italy to Spain and back again, much to Steve’s annoyance. There are some familiar faces from the previous book which was lovely.

You know that the body count is going to rise, it is a shady world they are working in. I loved getting more inside these characters heads and what they are thinking in this book. Amy, Rosie and Steve are an unlikely trio but somehow it works. They do have their loyalty to each other in common and I just loved it.

I do read a lot of crime fiction and I love how Richard Osman makes a dark subject somehow feel like a cozy mystery, full of loveable characters and humour, I laughed out loud so many times, wanting to read parts to my husband but couldn’t as he will want to enjoy this book for himself.

Thank you so much to Penguin Books Australia for my early copy of this delightful book to read.

[V]

i've got the arc. WE'RE SO BACKKKK

My 'We Solve Murders' review.

[Miss✧Pickypants ᓚᘏᗢ]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The We Solve Murders gang returns as bona fide detectives. This time around I was slightly less enchanted with everyone. Still enjoyed the writing and the great murder mysteries that I did not solve ahead of their reveals. The author continues to do a fantastic job of evoking empathy for his characters, even with the ones who were borderline annoying. If you enjoy this author's other books, you will also enjoy this one. Reading the Acknowledgements, as one should always do, learned there will be a new The Thursday Murder Club book next year, yay!

Posting this review as Marked as Read without a star rating and will add GR stars once the book is published and use my own in the meantime.

Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book through NetGalley from Pamela Dorman Books/Viking/Penguin Random House (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.

[Manon (mysterymanon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

You all know how much I love Richard Osman—WE CHASE SHADOWS brings back this cast of characters, including Rosie, whom I’ve grown quite fond of. I adore Osman’s trademark wit and humor, with a touch of emotion, and I’m happy to report that this book includes all of the above.

I hate to say it, but it was the plot that dragged for me. Usually I read his books very quickly but for some reason this one just didn’t grab me the same way. It picked up at the end and the conclusion was certainly satisfying, so that was nice.

Overall, a good opportunity to reconnect with Rosie, Amy, and Steve, and a mystery that sagged in the middle but still ended nicely.

[Chelsea Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

WE CHASE SHADOWS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Release Date 9/15/26. Richard Osman continues to write in a way that leaves me laughing, crying and unable to put down the book, eagerly awaiting the next twist and turn. His books I never devour to simply finish, I just HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. Steve, Rosie and Amy are at it again. Resolve Murders agency has been, well lacking any murders to solve. But, when Rosie makes a very public appearance a longtime criminal reaches out for some assistance the police simply shouldn’t be involved with.

I absolutely loved it, did not guess the ending, and there was a connection in the end that just made me so happy. Witty, adventure, twisty, emotional all my favorite feelings in 368 pages.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

effortlessly charming and lovely, as usual. i had the best time with this one!

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Osman brings an irresistible comic sensibility to what would otherwise be somewhat rough-and-tough crime plots. I normally err on the side of cozy when it comes to choosing a mystery novel, and his books are far from stereotypically cozy, but they have a heart and they manage to make you care, as well as chuckle quite a lot.
Osman pulls this off again in the second installment of the We Solve Murders series, where the unlikely trio of Steve (retired policeman who loves his cat and hates hot places), Amy (his daughter-in-law who'd easily choose chasing down an armed crime boss over talking about her feelings), and Rosie (a best-selling crime novelist whose real age is anyone's guess and who has her calculating eye on every man she meets) takes on the case of a murdered bodyguard.

Short chapters and lots of zany juxtaposition between the mundane and the atrocious make the pages fly by. I really enjoy Osman's style.

Thanks to Viking Penguin & Pamela Dorman Books for this advance review copy via Netgalley! All opinions are my own.

[Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for the review copy, PRH!

So delighted to be back in the We Solve Murders world!! Amy, Rosie, and Steve are so great. I won’t lie, I barely remember the first book and I didn’t write a review because my brother was in the hospital and it was a bad time! BUT I don’t think it really mattered, this book recapped enough of the first one where I just dove back into this world and these characters.

I loved getting to learn a bit more of Amy’s background (her childhood!!! 😭), and her relationship with Adam. Steve’s friendship with Tony was so heartwarming, and Rosie’s publishing side quest was so interesting as she grappled with how the industry has changed in 25 years.

The gang once again flew all over the world (we love a private jet, wow!!) to Italy and Palm Springs and Sweden and Malaga and back to the UK. I found the core mystery to be a little convoluted but I mostly managed to follow.

Parts that resonated with me (non-spoiler quotes!) are here:

✨ “So you solve murders," says Graham. "And what's the agency called?"

“We Solve Murders."

“Fairly on the nose, then?" says Graham. Rosie smiles.

"Says the man hosting the Graham Norton Show." (Chapter 5) LOL

✨ "I just think what's the harm? No one ever died from having too much money, and millions die from not having enough." "Have you ever thought," says Steve, "that the reason so many people die from not having enough money is that some people have too much?" (Chapter 26)

✨ "I know it's murder that's brought us all together," says Amy, as more laughs drift through to the kitchen.
"But I was just thinking this must be what family feels like." Steve puts his arm around her. This wonderful woman who has known such trouble and keeps it all locked up inside. "Ames, this isn't what family feels like," he says. "This is family." (Chapter 26) 🥹🥹🥹

✨ “What he'd like to do most of all is go home, have a glass of whisky, curl up on the bed with Trouble and never wake up. That's the dream. He could never tell anyone that of course. No one would understand, and no one would forgive him. Debbie understands it, but she would also never forgive it. And that's why Steve wakes up day after day. Living is impossible, dying is frowned upon, and those are his only two options.”
….
“Is it just for Debbie that he wakes up every day? It's for Amy too, he guesses. She'd be furious if he died. Adam would be too, no one wants to be an orphan, but Amy would be worse. Actually, as would Rosie. If there was ever anyone who held life dear, it's Rosie. Perhaps he's staying alive for her too? They couldn't really run We Solve Murders without him, could they? If any one of them died, the thing would fall apart. People need him for now, and perhaps that's enough? Life itself isn't enough to hold you captive, but love is.” (Chapter 44) THIS IS SO RELATABLE!!!!!!!

✨ “That's what makes them a great team. Rosie will sleep with you, Amy will hit you, Steve will tell you a fact about public transport. They've got all angles covered.” (Chapter 64)

✨ "There's a place I fancy. It's got allotments, and you get to keep the gardens nice. That would suit me…Just across the border, in Kent. A retirement village. They say it's good fun." (epilogue) 👀👀👀 will [redacted] have a cameo in the next Thursday Murder Club book?! Yay!

[Dayle (the literary llama) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I binged this one in a single day on the beach and it was a brilliant way to relax and be entertained. Richard Osman delivers another great adventure and mystery for these characters, solidifying the series.

It doesn’t take off quite as quickly as book one, takes a second to get back in the swing, but the style and short chapters, the mix of POVs, keep everything flowing really well. The individual emotional struggles of Amy, Steve, and Rosie neatly balance the murder, mayhem, and globetrotting. It’s humorous and dangerous for everyone involved. Absolutely entertaining.

I can’t wait for more!

* I received a free early copy from the publisher

[Kait · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t let my 3 stars get’cha down! I liked Osman’s writing style and how he focuses on old people getting a second wind in their later years, gallivanting ‘round the globe and solving murders while making witty remarks and/or having a philosophical ponder. But this hit me like a sophomore slump (just not as good as the first) with the modern references (it takes me out of a story when a released within the last 6 months TV show is referenced by name), one of the characters contemplating death, and a plot that sort of meandered all over the place. I would absolutely love to see what happens next because I do like the core trio (Steve, Rosie, and Amy), but this one disappointed me just a smidge. Got an ARC from the publisher!

[MrsHarvieReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books for an advanced reader copy of We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

We Chase Shadows is the second book in the We Solve Murders series. I had such fun catching up with the We Solve Murders crew: Steve, Amy, and Rosie, as well as their adorable sidekicks, and following along with the latest series of murders to solve. In this latest novel, the team travels between Italy, Sweden, Barcelona, Palm Springs, and Steve’s hometown to catch an elusive killer and drug dealer.

I’ve now read all seven of Mr. Osman’s novels, and am blown away by his ability to consistently deliver smart and entertaining stories. I adore his combination of suspense, dry British humor, and endearingly odd friendships. As with his previous novels, it’s best read them in order, as the characters are given more layered backstories and become even more charming. This book was a fantastic reminder of how talented this author is and how truly enjoyable reading can be. 4.5/5⭐️

[Andie Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Osman can do no wrong in my eyes, his murder mysteries are so much fun, and unexpectedly heartwarming. I’m so attached to all the characters it’s ridiculous. I also genuinely laughed out loud at some parts so the man has jokes fr

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this sequel to ‘We Solve Murders’ Rosie, Steve and Amy are hired to investigate their first murder for their fledgling Detective Agency. A bodyguard has been murdered in a Tuscan villa with a note left in his pocket threatening his employer, Vern Blackwood. Vern is involved in some shady business and has lots of rivals who would be happy to see him out of their way so Rosie and co. have their work cut out solving this murder.

This was fun and I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but I’m just not warming to the characters yet as much as Osman’s ‘Thursday Murder Club’ series where Elizabeth, Joyce and Ron make a perfect combination (maybe they’re just a hard act to follow!). However, there is plenty of action, including a lot of jet setting around the world and also lots of Osman’s trademark humour and overall, it’s a very entertaining read with a good sprinkling of clever twists.

This was a buddy read with Dorie from Witches Words

[Paige Carder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Viking Penguin, Pamela Dorman Books & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The We Solve Murders gang is back and better than ever! Amy, Steve & Rosie team up once again to solve the murder of a bodyguard, but that’s just the beginning. The then dive deep into the world of illegal, but not illegal vitamin dealing, a group of criminals who made a pact years ago, one kooky ex wife and a load of other characters along the way.

I love Richard Osman’s writing, a cheeky British mystery and this gang of misfits. I laughed out loud, was on the edge of my seat and enjoyed every bit of this. If you have not already read the first one, start reading it ASAP and get this when it publishes on the 15th!

[Kari Ann Sweeney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book continues to deliver what I’ve come to expect from Richard Osman. A fun mystery blended with humor and adventure, a twisty plot and a cast of well-developed characters. The short chapters helped propel the story and made it the perfect book to pick up for quick 5 to 10 minute bursts of reading. Or in my case- listening over the course of one day.

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first in the series, 𝘞𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, but I'm already jonesin' for the next book for the cozy aspects, loveable characters and unpredictable storylines that get me everytime. Plus- any book that makes me laugh out loud becomes an auto-read author.

READ: Audio. The narration was just too good.

[IngallsTurnsThePage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have discovered my love for Richard Osman may be fueled by my childhood reading of Lemony Snicket. The tongue-in-cheek charm of the writing, the reader's view into the characters' inner worlds, and the blending of cheeky commentary and serious-as-murder circumstances continue to be a winning recipe. Since I fell in love with The Thursday Murder Club, I have anxiously awaited each new Osman release. I was pleasantly surprised when his We Solve Murders series was just as delightful as the TMC - including a cast of characters that are complex enough to be real, but caricature enough to be wildly entertaining. The same themes of chosen family run through this book as with the first in the series and the TMC books.

We Chase Shadows finds our cast of characters moving between countries and continents searching for a murderer - along the way finding their abilities were underestimated, their humanity remains intact, and Rosie will always make time for a lover and a cocktail. The team is hired by a very rich Englishman living in Italy after his bodyguard is murdered. The team, who hasn't yet solved a murder since starting their business officially, is more than excited to take a crack at it. They discover, of course, there's much more to the story and much more to each person they meet along the way to solving it.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. The pacing always moves quickly in Osman's books. The story development is rich while the lighthearted narrative can only be described as delightful. It was easy to keep coming back to each moment I had to myself to read. I was invested in the characters even more than before as I learned news things about their pasts, quirks, and current experience of the world around them.

Osman says in the acknowledgments he'll be working on the next installment of the TMC - I will be first in line!

[Me, My Shelf, & I]

This was... fine. Just fine.

Idk, I really, really loved The Thursday Murder Club series and have recommended it to loads of people. I always let folks know that the first book is decent, but the series really doesn't find its footing until book 2. So I figured when I didn't immediately love We Solve Murders that it's okay, it'll get better in the next book and I just have to be patient.

Well, I can't say that patience paid off. I re-read the first book and think I'd lower my rating to a 2.5-3/5, and this sequel held my attention even less, I reckon. Don't get me wrong, it still has all the characteristics of Osman's writing style; I just think maybe I'm over it? I don't love these characters and I think the mystery elements are as strong as they ever were (which is to say not all that interesting and really just part of the formula of writing a mystery novel).

I also noticed a lot more little pro-copaganda throwaway lines, and I feel like AI is mentioned way too often in both of these WSM books. It's not a huge amount, just kinda exhausting and makes me grumpy when I'm already not feeling immersed in/enjoying the book.

TMC will always be a series that I love, but I think this might be the last Osman that I read ouside of TMC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for granting me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Paige Bussey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Osman is one of my favorite writers. His ability to combine quick witted humor with the suspense of solving murders and crimes is unmatched.

While The Thursday Murder Club gang is unmatched in my book, I have to say it was really fun reading another book with Rosie, Amy, Steve and the rest of the crew. Getting to explore their characters more in depth and their quirks and nuances was a joy. I think we all want to be Rosie when we grow up and Tony Taylor is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

This story took a little longer to hook me in but once the pieces started coming together, I couldn’t put the book down!

Also, if you read the acknowledgments the end, you’ll notice Richard says we are getting another Thursday Murder Club book next year (eeeeeek!!!!) then we’ll be revisiting the world of We Solve Murders for book 3!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! Getting to read an ARC for one of my top 5 favorite authors goes on the highlight reel for the year.

[moonshines library · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend Richard Osman’s books enough — I find them so entertaining! I’m so glad he has written the We Solve Murders series because this trio is quickly becoming a favourite.

In We Chase Shadows, the trio are tasked with finding a killer who has murdered the bodyguard of a vitamin-drug criminal. What follows is a brilliant journey filled with twists, humour and plenty of suspects to keep you guessing.

This book had me laughing throughout while constantly trying to work out who had done it. Osman has such a talent for creating fun, clever mysteries with characters you can’t help but enjoy. Another fantastic read!

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is based on an advanced reader copy I received for free on the NetGalley platform in exchange for an honest review.

Delightful. That is the first word that comes to mind when I think about the feeling I get every time I read a Richard Osman book. And I realize how contradictory that may sound when we’re talking about murder mysteries, but I just love the characters he creates. Continuing the journey with Steve, Amy, and Rosie in We Chase Shadows was yet another delightful experience.

The characters feel so tangible to me while also being unbelievably likeable, flaws and all. The gang lives up to everything I loved about the first book while introducing us to new faces who are just as colorful and memorable. And this international investigative trio gets to explore some wonderfully vibrant settings. Rosie’s private jet takes poor Steve to a whole host of new places this time around. 😂

We Chase Shadows is just a really fun adventure from start to finish. I was on the edge of my seat as the story unfolded, chuckling to myself time and again, and emotionally invested in all of the separate experiences our characters were having. Osman’s ability to balance murder, humor, warmth, and genuine emotional connection is truly unmatched.

I won’t say too much about the mystery itself, other than to say I was a little unsatisfied with the eventual resolution. I suspect that may be one of those things that can only really be understood once you’ve solved the crime alongside the gang.

But honestly, that didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the book. I love spending time with these characters, and I’ll happily follow them wherever they go next.

3.5 out of 5 stars for me.

[Kate Gullett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okayyyy I somehow loved this one even MORE than We Solve Murders. I was hooked literally from page 1.

Richard Osman’s writing just scratches an itch in my brain that no other author quite does. The humor, the characters, the dialogue, the mystery, the little observations about people that are somehow both hilarious and profound… I could read these books forever.

This book confirmed once again that he’s my favorite author. No pressure Richard but you do actually have to keep writing these books for the rest of your life, thanks!!!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun installment with Steve, Amy, and Rosie. They spend quite of bit of time traveling to various places to interview suspects. There’s many diversions and more questions than answers along the way. I will say that nearly each chapter is a different perspective or jumps between characters, which kinda got confusing (and I got a little weary of it). Overall, I can’t wait for the next one!

Quote: “Funny what the brain will do if you tell it a story. The gaps fill in by itself.”

Thank you to Viking Penguin through Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

*Expected publication is September 2026.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Try and convince me that I’m not Richard Osman’s target demographic 👵🏼 I do very much enjoy his trademark humour in these whodunit books, and whilst The Thursday Murder Club crew will always have my heart, I may just be able to make room for the We Solve Murder gang (and a hint of a crossover to come perhaps?) 4⭐️s

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75⭐️

[Cathy Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Richard Osman book yet!

[bluerose · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a longtime fan of The Thursday Murder Club series and a recent fan of the first book in this We Solve Murders series, I was very excited to get an ARC of this second title. I read a fair amount of mysteries and while I do like an intriguing puzzle to solve that is less important to me than a cast of colorful characters that I'm interested in following around to observe their shenanigans. We Chase Shadows Delivers both. I will admit a slight preference for the first book but I'm already looking forward to the third!

My thanks to NetGalley for the free copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Beth Menendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious. Full of Britishness and I kept lounging out loud. Love this crew.

[Jessica]

#1 We Solve Murders - ★★★★⯪

[The Bookish Elf · Rating 5 out of 5]

In August 2001 a man on a Spanish beach folds his clothes, leaves a note he has taken some care to make look sincere, and walks out of his own life. Twenty-five years later, a detective agency with a perfect record of solving nothing at all is trying to work out what he did next. That distance is the shape of We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman, and the joke buried inside it is how little anybody in the book can actually confirm about the man they are all so frightened of.

Six Months Trading, Zero Murders Solved

We Solve Murders is Rosie D'Antonio's idea and Rosie D'Antonio's money. She is the world's bestselling novelist, she says, if you do not count Freida McFadden. The staff are Steve Wheeler, twenty-five years in the Met and now retired to the New Forest with a cat and a bench by a duck pond, and his daughter-in-law Amy, a close-protection officer with a resting heart rate of thirty-two. There is also an office manager, Felicity Woollaston, on a hundred and twenty thousand a year to answer a phone that never rings. Half a year in, they have solved precisely no murders, which Steve compares to Kentucky Fried Chicken selling no chicken.

The work arrives, as these things do, through the Graham Norton sofa. Vern Blackwood sells vitamins that are not vitamins from a fifteen-million-euro villa outside Lucca, and one morning he finds one of his three bodyguards shot through the back of the head on the doorstep with a note pinned to him. The note is misspelled. It is signed by Jakob Eriksson, a Swedish operator in the same trade who has reportedly killed a great many people. Vern's position, held with a calm that gets more interesting the longer you look at it, is that Eriksson did not write it.

The Trick at the Heart of We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman

What follows is not a whodunnit so much as a who-is-it. Interpol has Eriksson at three airports on three days when three rivals died. Vern calls him a friend. The most dangerous woman in Sweden, interviewed on a Stockholm roof terrace in a fur coat, says flatly that she knows every criminal in the country and has never heard of him. An American in Palm Springs who once split the world with him over dinner will bet a testicle that the man is English.

Osman is doing something structurally sly here. Every witness hands over a fragment, and every fragment contradicts the last, so the investigation is really a slow argument about whether a person can be assembled out of other people's fear of him. The novel breaks twice for a first-person chapter dated Málaga, 2001, and both are placed with real precision. The industry underneath all of it is genuine, incidentally, and readers who want the scale of it will find the World Health Organization's figures on falsified medical products more alarming than anything in the plot.

What Works

Four things make We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman the better of the two books so far.

Steve and Tony. Tony Taylor times journeys to the minute, cannot say which animal bacon comes from, and derails an entire hospital visit by calculating that Steve must have driven at eighty-three miles an hour. Their friendship is the warmest thing Osman has written.
Ernesto Manuelo Santiago de Sousa de Cuellar. Interpol, Bilbao, a backfiring SEAT Ibiza with a wing mirror that falls off in his hand, and an unshakeable belief that Led Zeppelin II is the greatest album ever recorded. He walks in on page fifty and takes the book with him.
Amy. Her past arrives in slivers, always during phone calls to a husband in the Gulf, always about a nine-year-old on a staircase with beige carpet and small blue flowers. It is the most controlled writing in the novel.
Rosie's other plot. Her new book enters the charts at five, then falls to fourteen, and her twenty-six-year-old stand-in manager suggests a YouTube show involving hot wings. The publishing satire is merciless and it is not only satire.
Where It Drags

Four things stop We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman short of flawless.

The world tour is thinner than it looks. Stockholm is one conversation. Barcelona is one conversation. The jet lands, somebody says something useful, the jet leaves.
The middle third eliminates rather than advances. For a long stretch the team is confirming that suspects did not do things, which is honest detective work and slow reading.
Vern Blackwood stays a cipher too long. He is deliberately opaque, and the payoff justifies it, but he is a hole in the middle of two hundred pages.
The riffing sometimes wins. A pub-quiz digression, a walk-in-bath advert, an extended debate about invisibility and trousers. All funny. All brakes.
Content, and Who This Is For
A Word on Content Warnings

Moderate. Several shootings and one knifing, none dwelt on. A sustained assault on an older man and its aftermath, including nightmares and flashbacks. One quiet passage in which a widower describes wanting to go to sleep and not wake up, written without alarm and without comfort. Grief throughout.

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

They opened a company called We Solve Murders, then spent six months with no murders. That is not a business. That is three people sitting in an office manifesting a corpse. And then finally, FINALLY, a body appears on the steps of an Italian villa with a threatening note, and instead of reacting like normal people, Amy, Rosie, and Steve are basically thrilled to have work. Not thrilled about the death, obviously. Thrilled in the very specific way underemployed detectives are thrilled when murder remembers their email address.

Their new client, Vern, is also a criminal who does not want the police involved, which should have been the first clue that this job was going to become everyone’s full-time problem. He has a dead bodyguard on his doorstep, a note signed by someone dangerous, and enough enemies to fill a destination wedding. Sir, you do not need private investigators. You need witness protection and possibly a priest.

Also, yes, I skipped We Solve Murders and started with book two because apparently I enjoy entering established relationships through the side door. Was that smart? No. Did I still love these people almost immediately? Unfortunately, yes. I could feel that Amy, Rosie, and Steve already had history, but instead of feeling lost, I felt like the new friend at brunch who has missed six months of drama and is now begging everyone to start from the beginning.

Rosie is chaos in expensive clothing. She has the confidence of a woman who knows she can charter a plane before most people finish panicking, and she treats international murder like an inconvenient addition to her calendar. Amy is the person you want nearby when things go bad because she is actually capable, which feels rare in this genre. Steve, meanwhile, has the energy of a man who would rather be at the pub, quietly noticing the one thing everyone else missed while they were busy making speeches.

Steve was absolutely my person. Everyone is racing around Europe chasing criminals, and he is over there listening. Thinking. Being underestimated. He has no need to prove he is the smartest person in the room, which is exactly why he often is. The louder everyone else gets, the more Steve quietly becomes the one person I trust not to make things worse.

Then the suspects start piling up. A wanted Swedish criminal. A very sharp ex-wife. A business rival who clearly has thoughts. Every person enters the story carrying enough motive to make me immediately suspicious, then says one reasonable thing and I switch sides like I have no loyalty whatsoever. I was rebuilding my suspect list every five minutes like a woman trying to choose a fantasy football team made entirely of liars.

The travel in this book is also completely unhinged. Italy. Barcelona. Palm Springs. Steve’s village pub. These people cannot solve one murder without collecting passport stamps. Rosie’s private plane is basically another member of the team at this point, and honestly, it has fewer emotional issues than most of the humans.

And somehow, under all of this, they are becoming a family. Not in a sentimental group-hug way. In the real way. The way where everybody roasts you, steals your snacks, knows when you are lying about being fine, and will still cross an ocean when things go wrong. That part got me. I was laughing, and then suddenly I had feelings, which was deeply disrespectful.

The ending absolutely caught me looking in the wrong direction. I had theories. I had confidence. I had nothing. Richard Osman let me feel clever just long enough to make the reveal more humiliating. And the worst part is that once everything clicked, it made complete sense, which is so much ruder than a random twist because now I have to admit the clues were there.

I came into We Chase Shadows without reading We Solve Murders, which was reckless, but this book still pulled me all the way in. The mystery was clever, the banter had actual rhythm, and I got attached to this weird little murder-solving family against my better judgment. A strong 4 stars, and yes, I will now go read book one like someone returning to the scene of her own bad decision.

Whodunity Award: For Turning One Dead Body in Italy Into an International Crime Tour Featuring a Private Plane, Several Professional Liars, and One Man Who Would Really Rather Be at the Pub

And thank you to Viking Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC. I arrived late, skipped the first meeting, and somehow still ended up emotionally adopted by a detective agency that spent six months waiting for a murder and then immediately made it everybody’s problem.