We Solve Murders by Richard Osman: A review

Having previously read and enjoyed two Richard Osman mysteries - The Thursday Murder Club and The Last Devil to Die - I couldn't resist when I saw he had a new one out. So, once again, I abandoned my planned reading list and jumped right on it.

In We Solve Murders, Osman introduces us to some new characters:

Amy Wheeler is a private security guard who works at protecting VIPs. She is married to Adam, a man who she almost never sees. At the time that we meet them, they are on opposite side sides of the world. Strangely enough, it is a very happy marriage. (Or maybe that isn't so strange.) Her closest relationship seems to be with her father-in-law, Steve Wheeler.

Steve is a widower who is still grieving for his beloved wife and still talks to her every day, telling her about the events of that day. He is a retired cop and presently a private investigator. He is known at his local pub as a quiz and puzzle expert. He is a lover of cats, especially his own, named Trouble, and he can't resist a stray. And, of course, he is devoted to Amy.

Rosie D'Antonio is the VIP that Amy is presently charged with protecting. She is probably in her 80s, although her actual age is unknown, but she lives like a much younger person. Rosie is a successful and very famous writer. In her latest book, she has a character who seems a bit too close in description to a Russian oligarch named Vasiliy Karpin. That has earned her the unwanted attention of said oligarch and is the reason she needs protection.

Amy and Rosie, along with a former Navy Seal named Kevin who is now a chef, take refuge on a private South Carolina island. When an "influencer" named Andrew Fairbanks is found murdered on a yacht near the island, Amy realizes it is time to move on. She enlists Steve's help and together they drag Rosie with them as they embark on a heart-stopping adventure always just one step ahead of the hitmen who have been sent to eliminate Rosie.

And who is the person sending those hitmen? His name is François Loubet. He is a powerful money smuggler whose modus operandi is sending influencers on fake jobs and using them to move his money around the world. Will Amy and Steve be able to outsmart Loubet and elude his hitmen long enough to ensure Rosie's safety? You can probably guess the answer to that question.

Osman is adept at drawing each of these characters. We feel that we know them all very well and we certainly know who to root for and who to boo! The plot itself is carefully explicated with nothing left to guess at. And there is plenty of action to keep us turning the pages, making for a very enjoyable and quick read.

This, apparently, was the first in what Osman plans as a series. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next adventure featuring Amy and Steve.

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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