We Solve Murders

We Solve Murders (2024) is the first novel in a mystery thriller series by British author Richard Osman. The story revolves around Amy Wheeler, a private security agent, her father-in-law Steve Wheeler, a retired police officer, and best-selling author Rosie D’Antonio. Readers are transported from South Carolina to England, St. Lucia, Ireland, and Dubai as the trio investigates murder cases around the globe. Osman is also known for his internationally bestselling Thursday Murder Club novel series, which features a blend of empathetic characterization, humor, and suspense. We Solve Murders shares these literary characteristics while introducing new characters and international settings.

This guide refers to the 2024 Penguin Random House eBook edition.

Plot Summary

Private security officer Amy Wheeler is guarding bestselling author Rosie D’Antonio in South Carolina. Rosie has received death threats from Russian oligarch Vasiliy Karpin after satirizing him in her latest novel.

Amy’s father-in-law, Steve Wheeler, is a former London Metropolitan Police Officer turned private investigator. He lives in a quiet English village, investigating minor crimes and lost pets. Since his wife, Debbie, died, he has maintained a rigid routine revolving around the local pub’s quiz night. Steve is intrigued by reports of the murder of Andrew Fairbanks, an Instagram influencer. Fairbanks was shot in the head on a yacht in South Carolina, and his body was found half-eaten by sharks. A leather holdall full of money was found at the scene.

Jeff Nolan is Amy’s boss and CEO of the personal security business Maximum Impact Solutions. Three of Jeff’s influencer clients have recently been murdered: Bella Sanchez, Mark Gooch, and Andrew Fairbanks. The famous actor Max Highfield received a fee for referring the victims to Maximum Impact Solutions. Max complains that their murders reflect poorly on him and threatens to use Henk van Veen’s bodyguards in the future. Henk was formerly Jeff’s business partner and best friend. Jeff believes that the money smuggler, François Loubet, is responsible for the murders. No one knows Loubet’s true identity.

François Loubet has been working with a contact at Maximum Impact Solutions called “Joe Blow.” Joe Blow supplied the details of influencer clients, and Loubet set up a bogus company, Vivid Viral Media Agency, to represent them. On the pretext of sending them on promotion assignments, each influencer was given a locked bag of money to unwittingly smuggle into another country. After several clients were caught and arrested, Loubet received a threatening email from Jeff Nolan, who guessed that he was behind the crimes. Loubet responded by having three of the couriers murdered. He intends to have Amy Wheeler killed and then framed for the murders.

Amy realizes that someone is trying to frame her. Kevin, an ex-Navy SEAL hired by Loubet, tries to kill her. However, her client Rosie knocks Kevin unconscious and locks him in her panic room. The women begin to investigate Andrew Fairbanks’s murder. Breaking into the home of the investigating officer, Sheriff Scroggie, they find he has also been murdered. The sheriff’s emails reveal he was paid to kill Andrew Fairbanks and leave an incriminating blood sample at the scene. Amy calls Susan Knox, the head of Human Resources at Maximum Impact Solutions. Susan confirms that, a few months earlier, Amy’s blood sample disappeared from the freezer.

Jeff survives an attempt by armed men to kill him. He then contacts Steve Wheeler, asking to meet at a campsite. When Steve arrives, he finds Jeff’s car abandoned and the driver’s seat drenched in blood.

In Dubai, Loubet’s murder broker, Rob Kenna, learns that Kevin failed to kill Amy Wheeler. He contacts Eddie Flood, who accepts the job but has a hidden motive for doing so. Amy calls Steve, asking for help and ignoring his insistence that he does not solve murders. She tells him that Rosie’s private plane is waiting to fly him to the United States. When Steve arrives in South Carolina, he persuades Carlos Moss, the airport security guard, to show him CCTV from the day that Andrew Fairbanks arrived. He discovers that a red-haired woman greeted Fairbanks and took his leather holdall.

Steve joins Amy and Rosie at the Eternal Glade Wellness Retreat. Meanwhile, Carlos calls, revealing that Eddie Flood is asking questions about Rosie. Following Steve’s instructions, Carlos tells Eddie that Rosie and her companion flew to Hawaii. Meanwhile, Steve, Rosie, and Amy travel to St. Lucia to investigate Bella Sanchez’s murder.

In St. Lucia, Amy, Rosie, and Steve arrange to meet Nelson Nunez, a drug dealer who knows who killed Bella Sanchez, one of the murdered influencers. Meanwhile, Rob contacts Nelson Nunez, asking him to kill Amy Wheeler if he gets the chance. When Amy, Steve, and Rosie arrive at Nelson Nunez’s home, they are tied up at gunpoint. However, Steve gets free, shooting Nelson and his nephew to incapacitate rather than kill them. Nunez reveals that a local policeman was paid to kill Bella Sanchez and plant blood at the scene.

Steve’s friend, Tony Taylor, investigates Vivid Viral Media Agency on Steve’s behalf. He meets the owner, Felicity Woollaston, who admits she knows nothing about how her company works. She is paid a large sum to forward mail to various addresses and never meets her clients.

Amy, Rosie, and Steve fly to Dublin to investigate the murder of Mark Gooch at an Irish vineyard. At the airport, Amy narrowly escapes being shot by Eddie Flood. The next day, Rosie appears on a breakfast television show, claiming a man recently saved her from drowning. Showing a photograph of Eddie Flood, she offers a reward for locating him. Eddie calls Rob Kenna, revealing that since Rosie’s interview, strangers have continually stopped him in the street. Rob agrees that Eddie can no longer proceed with the job. Meanwhile, Henk van Veen intercepts Amy at Rockgrove Vineyard. He explains that he left Maximum Impact Solutions because he believed that Jeff was involved with money smuggling.

Steve insists they return to England for the pub quiz night, where they discover that his substitute on the pub quiz team is Jeff Nolan. Jeff explains he faked his death by drenching the car seat with blood samples from the office freezer. Jeff and Henk accuse one another of being Joe Blow, while Steve suspects Max Highfield. Steve has discovered that Joe Blow is the name of a character Max played in a movie.

As the police search for Amy, she travels to London with Jeff. Meanwhile, Steve and Rosie fly to Dubai to locate Max Highfield and Loubet’s murder broker, Rob Kenna. Rosie realizes that Eddie Flood is still following her and assumes he is the assassin hired by Vasiliy Karpin. However, when Eddie finally confronts Rosie, he reveals he is an aspiring writer and wants her opinion on his novel.

Loubet has tricked influencer Bonnie Gregor into a money-smuggling assignment in São Paulo, Brazil. However, at Heathrow airport, she feels anxious about the contents of the locked leather holdall she has been asked to take. She emails Felicity, who stops Bonnie before she checks in her luggage.

Amy and Jeff meet Susan Knox at the offices of Maximum Impact Solutions. Amy accuses Jeff of being Joe Blow and shoots him in the leg, lulling Susan into a false sense of security. She then overhears Susan call Loubet, confirming that she is Joe Blow.

In Dubai, Steve and Rosie speak to Max Highfield and realize he does not have the intelligence to be involved in a money laundering scheme. Steve hopes to learn more about Rob Kenna from Rob’s regular golfing partner, Mickey Moody. Joining Mickey in the golf club’s sauna, he notices he has the names of his grandmothers, Lou and Bet, tattooed on his shoulders. Shortly afterward, Rob Kenna is fatally shot by Loubet while playing golf. Steve acquires footage from Mickey Moody’s doorbell camera. Mickey is shown returning home with the gun he used to kill Rob Kenna, proving he is François Loubet.

Following Mickey Moody and Susan Knox’s arrests, Amy announces she is founding a detective agency to investigate unsolved murders. Rosie will be a key investor, and she persuades Steve to be her partner. Steve suggests they call themselves “We Solve Murders.”