READERS GUIDE
AN INTRODUCTION TO WE SOLVE MURDERSRichard Osman brings his signature wit and heart to We Solve Murders, the first in a brilliant new series from the bestselling author of the Thursday Murder Club novels.
We Solve Murders begins in South Carolina, on the private island of Rosie D’Antonio, the world’s bestselling author (“if you don’t count Lee Child”). Under the bright southern sun, Rosie floats in her swan-shaped swimming pool, grilling her new bodyguard, Amy Wheeler, on her fashion choices and bone structure. Rosie is brash and incendiary, and has a penchant for drama. For Amy, remaining calm in the face of danger is paramount, yet adrenaline runs in her veins—it’s why she loves her job, where danger abounds.
Amy’s father-in-law, Steve Wheeler, wants nothing more than a peaceful, quiet life. Steve is mostly retired from his work in investigation, and he takes pleasure in the small comforts of his routine, which largely involve the local pub quiz. But when a dead body washes up at Rosie’s feet, Amy realizes she’s being framed for murder. She’s in deep trouble, with an unwieldy author in tow, and Steve is the only person she can call for help.
We Solve Murders follows our unlikely trio across oceans, on planes, trains, and automobiles, through Dubai, the Caribbean, and Ireland. Will they manage to evade the killer on the loose? Only Richard Osman can make murder this much fun.
A CONVERSATION WITH RICHARD OSMAN
We Solve Murders is the first novel in a new mystery series, introducing the dynamic detective duo Steve and Amy Wheeler. What inspired you to write We Solve Murders?
I was in a bookshop looking for something that’s a high-stakes international thriller but that also tells some truths about the world we live in now and makes you laugh in the way that The Thursday Murder Club does. I couldn’t quite find one, so I thought I should write one myself. A sort of Thursday Murder Club meets The Da Vinci Code, written by Lee Child. It changed a lot from that initial thought, but that’s where it all started!
Steve is retired from the police force, thoroughly enjoying his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat. His daughter-in-law, Amy, thinks adrenaline is good for the soul and works as a private security officer for billionaires, traveling around the globe in search of her next adventure. How did you craft this mismatched duo?
Amy is the sort of person who wants to go everywhere and experience everything. To live every minute of every day, and always be on the move. You know the type! Whereas Steve, very much like me, just wants to stay safely at home and, very happily, do nothing. I think a lot of humor comes from pairing characters together who are very different but who also really love each other, and that’s Amy and Steve.
When you take two people who want very different things from life and then send a murderer after them, you’re always going to have fun!
One of the characters in We Solve Murders is a bestselling author, Rosie D’Antonio. What was it like to write a writer? Did any of your own writing habits make it into the novel?
Rosie was only ever intended to be a minor character but kept barging in with her leopard skin and shoulder pads, to become a major part of the novel. I describe her as the Jackie Collins of crime, having sold hundreds of millions of copies, and with a lifestyle that wouldn’t be out of place in one of her books. I’m afraid to say I don’t own a helicopter or a private jet (Rosie has “eighties money”) but I like to think we have a similar sense of humor.
The cover art for We Solve Murders harkens back to classic thrillers of the 1970s and ’80s. Do you have any favorite reads from that time period? Are you paying homage to any of them in We Solve Murders?
The designer, Richard Bravery, pulled an absolute blinder with the cover. My mum would always have the big ’70s and ’80s airport blockbuster novels in the house, and the covers seemed so impossibly glamorous to me, so that was the design brief—Len Deighton, Arthur Hailey, Jackie Collins, but with a Thursday Murder Club twist. A cute cat sitting on a gun pretty much sums up my writing too!
The Thursday Murder Club series has amassed an incredible following of dedicated readers since it debuted in 2020. Why did you decide now was the right time to launch a new one?
The Thursday Murder Club gang have had an extremely busy few years, and it felt right to let them have a few months off to rest and recuperate. The events of The Last Devil to Die were pretty momentous, and it felt the right time to give them a break and for me to come up with something new. And I really wanted to write a heroine who can jump out of planes and attack bad guys, in a way I don’t think we’d see Joyce doing!
Our favorite senior sleuths will be back soon, though, in print and on the silver screen. What can you share about what’s next for The Thursday Murder Club?
I’ve just finished writing the fifth Thursday Murder Club novel and it’s great to be back with the old gang: more murders, more mysteries, more lemon drizzle cake. Filming of The Thursday Murder Club film adaptation began in summer 2024 and we’ve got a great cast, Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, Sir Ben Kingsley—just incredible. I think Ron would be delighted to know that he’s being played by James Bond.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Steve’s lifestyle is quiet, routine, and contained; Rosie’s is wild and unpredictable; and Amy’s falls somewhere in between. Which approach to the world most appeals to you? Which seems best suited in the face of danger?
2. Several characters—Andrew, Bonnie, Max, Rosie herself—have pursued or found fame, wielding influence on the big screen, social media, or in the literary world. How do their elevated profiles endanger or protect these characters? If you were to be famous for something, what would it be?
3. How do you see the theme of loyalty, both expected (between Steve and Amy) and unexpected (between Rosie and Carlos, the border patrol agent), playing out in the book?
4. On the lam, Amy takes a moment to observe Steve, and she notices that “there is something in his eyes she hasn’t seen for a long time. . . . He and Rosie are singing along. Rosie is up and dancing, and Amy gets the feeling that Steve would get up and join her if the seat belt lights weren’t still on.” Do you have friends who inspire similar contentment and joy in you, who enable you to feel wholly yourself? When do you feel most joyful?
5. If you were to play a round of pub trivia at the Brass Monkey, what category would you hope for?
6. In an uncharacteristic moment of thoughtfulness, Rosie reflects that “it’s funny, across a lifetime, the people you pick up. It’s often the most unexpected ones who stick around. There are friendships forged in fire, which end up disappearing like smoke, and other casual, nodding friendships, which will stay with you for the rest of your life.” Of the friendships in We Solve Murders, which do you expect are for the long haul? Might any of the friendships “forged in fire” turn out to have staying power?
7. If you could befriend one character from We Solve Murders, who would it be and why?
