We Chase Shadows

We Solve Murders #2

by Richard Osman

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, Contemporary

432 pages, Paperback

Expected publication September 10, 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

[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!

[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!

[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!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Jayme C (Brunetteslikebookstoo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a big fan of Richard Osman’s “Thursday Murder Club” books ”, I was so excited to get a copy of the second installment to his “We Solve Murders” series that I moved it straight to the top of my toppling TBR pile! 📚

Quick recap without spoilers for book one’s case:

When we left off, in the first story, Steve Wheeler, a former cop who was doing investigations in his spare time, had teamed up with his daughter-in-law Amy Wheeler, who had been most recently employed as a Private Security officer protecting World Famous, best-selling author Rosie D’ Antonio, to form a new investigation agency called “We Solve Murders”, bankrolled by Rosie.

Now:

The name of the agency “We Solve Murders” is a bit misleading, as they had not solved any murders in the SIX MONTHS since they opened their doors, but surely it’s just a matter of time.

Fortunately, an appearance for Rosie on Graham Norton’s TV show-to promote her latest book-will lead to their first official case.

A “soft” Criminal, Vern Blackwood, has just found the corpse of his bodyguard, Esteban on the doorstep of his Italian Villa. But the corpse isn’t the worst of it-the note in Esteban’s pocket informing Vern that he will be next is what is really concerning, but he doesn’t want to involve local Police for obvious reasons.

So he hires “We Solve Murders” after seeing Rosie on TV, to find out who killed Esteban and who wants him dead.

The case will take the team (and us) around the globe-from England to Italy, Palm Springs to Stockholm, and to Malaga (Spain).

We will be reunited with some other supporting characters from the first book, and Rosie will enlist help from a new character, a friend from Interpol-Ernesto Manuelo Santiago de Sousa de Cuellar.

We won’t get to know Steve’s son (and Amy’s husband) Adam much better but we get some insight into how their marriage survives despite the two rarely being in the same place and why Amy doesn’t let anyone get TOO close to her, including her husband Adam.

Filled with Richard Osman’s trademark HUMOR and plenty of pop culture references to our favorite TV shows, (and even a well known author) we know that these characters are living in our current World and close to Cooper’s Chase, and we are promised at least a cameo from a character in this story in the next Thursday Murder Club book, which will be released next-but to tell you WHO it is would be a spoiler! 🤐

Entertaining from start to finish, I enjoyed this COZY caper, and I look forward to getting to know these characters better in future installments, as I don’t find myself quite as attached to them as I am to the residents of our favorite Retirement Community (YET!)

Review for We Solve Murders: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Available September 15, 2026

Thank You to Richard Osman and Penguin for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you watch hardly any British television (excuse me... telly), you have probably encountered the work of Richard Osman. He has created many programs and appeared on even more shows like Pointless, QI, Would I Lie to You, and the second season/series of Taskmaster. After writing several non-fiction books based on some of his game shows, he branched out and started writing fiction.

His first series of books are The Thursday Murder Club which revolves around four residents of a upscale retirement community who originally get together to read about cold cases and eventually begin to solve them. The books have been hugely successful and the first one was made into a movie on Netflix in 2025.

His second series are the We Solve Murders books. We Chase Shadows is the second book in this series and is scheduled to be published September 15th. The protagonists are Amy Wheeler (a bodyguard or "close-protection officer" to the rich and famous), Steve Wheeler (Amy's father-in-law, a recently widowed retired police officer who lives for the weekly pub quiz), and Rosie D'Antonio (a world famous novelist who is used to getting whatever she wants and one of Amy's former clients).

In this second book, the newly formed We Solve Murders detective agency lands their first official case. After seeing Rosie on The Graham Norton Show, a high stakes criminal who makes his money selling fake wellness supplements and devices hires them to find out who killed one of his bodyguards.

The case takes them to Italy, Sweden, Palm Springs, Málaga, and back to Steve's hometown in southern England. Besides Vern (the criminal with the dead bodyguard), we also meet Ernesto, a former footballer turned Interpol agent based in Spain. There is also a new relationship to explore as Steve's pub buddy Tony Taylor is now seeing Felicity, the former theatrical agent who is now the office manager for the We Solve Murders agency.

As usual, Osman takes us on a journey that leaves you guessing most of the time. Yes, there are many twists in the story, but the author deftly sets them up so that they are both surprising and believable. I swear every time I thought, "What about..." that question was answered on the next page or in the next chapter.

I was already a fan of Richard Osman as a very tall, super smart, and slightly geeky television personality. But I've become a huge fan of Richard Osman, the cozy mystery author who gently leads on paths of murder and mayhem, all seasoned with humor and warmth.

5 lattes out of 5

[Maine Colonial · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the We Solve Murders series, and I recommend you read the first book in the series before this one. Our three main characters all return: PI Steve, his former-special-forces daughter-in-law Amy, and longtime romance/thriller writer Rosie.

After their adventures in the first book, Rosie has built them an ultra-modern and expensive HQ for their new agency. But, whereas Steve’s small-time PI business used to get plenty of lost-cat and similar cases, there doesn’t seem to be much demand for an exclusively murder-solving business. But when Rosie, flogging her new book, mentions the agency in an interview, they’re contacted by Vern, a dealer in dodgy vitamins and supplements, who wants them to find out who murdered one of his two bodyguards and left a threatening note in the victim’s pocket. The case has the team once again using Rosie’s private jet to zip all over, this time including Malaga, Lucca, Palm Springs, Stockholm, and back to England. The body count keeps rising, and our team wonders whether they’ll solve the case before losing the client—or themselves.

The pattern in this book follows the first, with the chasing clues and suspects all over the globe on Rosie’s jet. This time around, while the plot is more intricate, the action is less frenetic. Still, it’s a quick read, even if you may want to read the last chapter or two a couple of times to understand the twisty plot, as I did.

Like most readers, I found Richard Osman through the Thursday Murder Club books and have become very attached to its characters. While Steve, Amy, and Rosie are appealing, they lack the depth and spark of the Thursday Murder Club members and those books’ regular side characters. I’m also wondering if Osman is stretched a little thin, because this one just doesn’t have quite the oomph of his other books, and it includes oddities like having two secondary Spanish characters with confusingly similar names. (I’m sure Spanish speakers won’t find the names at all similar, but for an English speaker, two three-syllable Spanish names starting with E seems like not the greatest choice for secondary characters.) I will certainly read the next We Solve Murders book, but I’m most excited that Osman says there will be a new Thursday Murder Club book for 2027.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

[Emily Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh I do enjoy a Richard Osman jaunt! When We Solve Murders was introduced, I immediately fell in love with each of our characters - Amy, Steve and Rosie (and especially Amy) are such fun. Each have their own distinct personalities and way of interacting with the world, all with Osman's distinct humor. This latest escapade is no exception.

We open with the gang now established as a murder solving group - We Solve Murders isn't just the name of the series, it is also their detective outfit. It's short, pithy, and fits perfectly with all of their personalities. I really enjoy how they all get along. Each of our protagonists brings something special to the table - Steve and his trivia, precision, and history as a cop, Rosie with her scads of money, connections, and imagination, and Amy with her ruthless efficiency, effectiveness and deep love for Steve and Rosie. They make a great trio - especially since they don't represent typical connections that you see. Steve and Amy are father-in-law and daughter-in-law, and I love their bond!

From a story-telling perspective, I like the multiple points of view. We not only are in the minds of our main three, but plenty of side characters, including the rotating cast of bad guys. Osman has a very deft hand in keeping all of their POVs separate and distinct. It's a great storytelling technique, and it's used to great effect here.

As for the murder itself - this one was a bit rambly. Usually with a Richard Osman story, I am guessing til the very end. I had my suppositions about 55% of the way through, and was ultimately proven right. I was happy that it ended so neatly, however, I felt like it was losing itself about 75% of the way through, and being a bit twisty just for the sake of it.

Ultimately, that didn't stop me from enjoying book two of We Solve Murders. While We Chase Shadows didn't have the same punch as the first book, I am still so very excited for the next one in this series. I really want to learn more about Amy (and I adore her relationship with Adam).

Big thank you to NetGalley, Viking Penguin and Pamela Dorman Books for access to this e-ARC to read and provide my review!

[Martin Baggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy, Rosie, and Steve are back, and this time it's their case from the jump: a body on the steps of an Italian villa, a threatening note, and a client who very much does not want the police involved. What starts as a straightforward "find the note-writer" job spirals fast, pulling in Sweden's most-wanted, a sharp-elbowed ex-wife, and a business rival with plenty to hide—and the trail doesn't stay in Italy for long, bouncing from Barcelona to Palm Springs to, of all places, Steve's local pub.

The characters are, as ever, the real draw. The trio's dynamic has settled into something warmer and funnier than book one—Steve, the retired policeman still grieving, his bodyguard daughter-in-law Amy, and the wonderfully unfiltered older writer, Rosie, with an oversized appetite for life. The office manager, a former actor's agent with a negotiator's instincts, steals more scenes than a supporting player has any right to. Osman's British humor is in fine form throughout—tongue-in-cheek even in the tensest moments, like two m
ates casually griping about speeding tickets while one's mid-murder-investigation and the other's recovering in hospital from a beating. And yes, this might be the only book I've ever read to deploy "jibber-jabbering" completely unironically.

The mystery itself earns its keep. One murder becomes several, suspects multiply, and just when I was sure I'd cracked it, Osman pulled the rug out—a few times, actually. The soundtrack of 70s British rock references running underneath it all is a nice touch, giving the book a lived-in, needle-drop feel even without an actual soundtrack. And amid all the plotting, there's a line that stopped me cold: "Life itself isn't enough to hold you captive, but love is." Osman can write a punchy mystery and still land a gut-punch of a sentence when he wants to.
You don't strictly need to have read the first book, but it'll help you clock the trio's habits and rhythms faster. Either way, this is a hugely satisfying return, and I'm already impatient for whatever's next.

#NetGalley #VikingPenguin

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are authors whose books you enjoy... and then there's Richard Osman, whose books make you forget basic survival skills. I had been counting the days until I could reunite with Steve, Amy, and Rosie, and the second I started We Chase Shadows, I knew this adventure was going to be something special. Somehow, Osman has pulled off the impossible—this sequel is even better than the already outstanding first book.

I actually began reading it during my beach vacation at South Pointe, convinced I would only sneak in a few chapters between swims. Instead, I became completely possessed by this mystery. I was so determined to solve the case alongside my favorite investigative trio that I forgot one tiny detail: sunscreen. Several hours later, I resembled a very expensive Red Lobster entrée. Painful? Absolutely. Worth it? Every single sunburned inch.

Richard Osman has mastered the art of writing mysteries that are both brilliantly clever and outrageously entertaining. The plot never stands still. Every time I confidently thought I had figured everything out, another perfectly timed twist sent my theories flying into the ocean. The pacing is flawless, the action sequences carry genuine tension, and the investigation grows more fascinating with every new clue.

But what truly elevates this series is its unforgettable cast. Steve remains the quiet heart of the group, Amy continues to amaze me with her strength and vulnerability, and Rosie is simply a force of nature. Their chemistry is effortless. Their conversations are packed with razor-sharp wit, intelligent observations, dry humor, and sarcastic exchanges that had me smiling throughout the entire novel. Even the supporting characters feel vibrant and memorable.

I also loved how much larger this adventure feels. From picturesque Italian hills to Barcelona, Sweden, Palm Springs, and cozy English pubs, every destination adds another layer to the mystery without ever overshadowing the characters. Osman somehow balances international intrigue with deeply personal moments, making you care just as much about the people as the puzzle itself.

One of my favorite things about Richard Osman is that he never relies solely on shocking twists. He builds mysteries with precision, but he also fills them with warmth, humanity, kindness, and laugh-out-loud moments that make spending time with these characters feel like catching up with old friends. I found myself laughing one moment, completely invested in the danger the next, and unexpectedly emotional shortly after.

The ending was spectacular. Every loose thread tied together beautifully, every reveal felt earned, and I closed the book with the biggest smile on my face... followed immediately by the crushing realization that now I have to wait for the next installment.

This series has officially become one of my all-time favorite modern mystery franchises. If Richard Osman keeps writing adventures for Steve, Amy, and Rosie, I will happily follow them anywhere in the world—even if it costs me another beach vacation and another spectacular sunburn.

My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Viking Penguin | Pamela Dorman Books for sharing the digital reviewer copy of this highly anticipated sequel with me in exchange for my honest thoughts. I already can't wait for the next case!

[Nat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit disappointing, as I typically really enjoy Richard Osman's books and really liked the character dynamics in the first book of this series.

The mystery here was a bit of a dud and somewhat predictable given the few characters on the page, besides our main trio. It's pretty forgettable.

We didn't get the depth of insights into the characters as we did in the first book, and where we did, we didn't get the later payoff. For instance, a side plot for Amy is that she and her husband (Steve's son) are approaching their seven-year anniversary and she's feeling a bit of anxiety given her neglected childhood. Yet once we get to the payoff moment, we don't ever really get her insights on this again. It's like her anxiety was the set-up for a red herring in the main mystery plot, and once that was revealed to be a false alarm, we never really touched on that part of her character arc again. Steve, meanwhile, still misses his dead wife dearly (enough where he himself thinks it would be okay to no longer be alive), yet he goes on a strange non-date-but-maybe-date with a maybe suspect? It just didn't make a lot of sense. Another plot point relies on someone being incapable of serving in the military or shooting a gun anymore—yet they are also obsessed with a shoot-em-up action film that they watch repeatedly. Again, it didn't make sense, and was only there because the gunshots from the action film were a necessary plot point.

All that said, there were funny moments throughout, and some touching ones as well. That's especially true with Rosie, who's facing obsolescence in her career and the inevitable decline of age (not that she'd admit to being old). Those character vulnerabilities redeemed the story at times.

Even though this wasn't my favorite, I like this author and will continue to read this and the Thursday Murder Club series.

I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

[Pam Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite Cozy mystery trio are back with Amy, Rosie and Steve in Richard Osman’s We Chase Shadows. If you read the first of the series, We Solve Murders, you know that this unlikely group has formed a PI firm. And now in book two, they have a body in an Italian villa and a client who does not want the police involved because the client is himself a crook.
The characters in Osman’s novels are the reason we keep coming back – Rosie, the unfiltered mystery writer who now is facing the prospect of not being popular anymore; Steve, the morose ex-cop missing his late wife to the point of not being sure he wants to go on; and my favorite Amy, the ex-soldier bodyguard who is also Steve’s daughter-in-law and the real brawns of the bunch.
I always anticipate Osman’s novels – whether this series or the Thursday Murder Club series. This outing, however, was a bit of a let-down from the first novel as I felt the plot tended toward rambling. The characters show their usual witty, funny personalities, and we even fly all over the world with the trio to solve the murders (as they pile up), but the plot was bulky and I think not as clever as I have come to expect from Osman.
We Chase Shadows has a bit of a serious streak in it with Steve’s touching depression about his late wife and Rosie starting to feel her age finally. These further looks into our hero’s personalities only increases my joy with the novel. While laugh out loud at times, this novel was also poignant. Don’t skip the book due to my let-down about the plot. It makes sense; it just requires coincidence and a stretch of belief to get there. This is a cozy mystery after all so some elasticity in the plot is a given. But if you haven’t read the first in this series, We Solve Murders, start there.
My rating: 4 of 5
This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review.
We Chase Shadows will be published on Sept. 15, 2026.

[Lezlie The Nerdy Narrative · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the opportunity to read and review this ARC from beloved author, Richard Osman!

Richard Osman does it again. Amy, Steve, and Rosie are back, and honestly, spending time with this trio feels like catching up with old friends. This time the case takes them from the hills of Italy to Barcelona to Palm Springs (with a few detours back to Steve's beloved local pub, because of course), all to chase down a killer who seems to know exactly how to stay one step ahead.

Steve remains an absolute treasure. The man will not miss trivia night at the Brass Monkey, full stop, and I lost it every time he sized up a potential suspect/friend with a pop quiz to test their worthiness. It's such a small, specific bit of characterization, and it works every single time.

What really gets me about this series, though, is how Osman handles grief. Steve is still carrying the loss of his wife Debbie, and in this book we see him take the smallest, most tentative step toward opening himself back up to the idea of love. It's not rushed. It's not neat. It felt true to how healing actually works, two steps forward, one step back, and never quite in a straight line.

I also love how Osman writes relationships in general. He's so good at showing dynamics that might look strange from the outside but make complete sense to the two people living inside them. No judgment, just understanding. That's a hard thing to pull off on the page and he makes it look effortless.

One more thing: there's a small moment, barely a line, that hints at a possible future crossover with The Thursday Murder Club universe. I would absolutely die for this to happen. Osman, if you're reading this, please.

Who this is for: anyone who wants a mystery with real heart behind it. If you loved the found family energy of the first book, or if you're already a Thursday Murder Club fan, this one will feel like coming home.

[Tom Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world's most unlikely trio of detectives are back and ready to solve their first real murder case as the newly branded detective agency We Solve Murders. Unfortunately for our heroes, the case could turn out to be far more complicated than expected.

Steve Wheeler, former police detective and proprietor of Steve Investigates, craves the quiet routine of time with his cat and the weekly pub quiz. He's still not accustomed to flying all over the world in the private jet owned by his business partner and crime writer Rosie d'Antonio. But at least he gets to work with his daughter finals Amy, the former private security guard turned fellow detective.

This case which comes to the agency thanks to Rosie's plug for the business during an appearance on a the Graham Norton Show will take the crew all around the globe while they try to unravel the mystery.

If all this sound a little farfetched it is and that's exactly what makes these books so much fun.At the heart of the novel is a puzzling mystery but it's really the three detectives that are the most interesting part of these books. Only with each person using their skills and strengths can they form a formidable detective trio.

Richard Osman may have made his mark on mystery fiction with his Thursday Murder Club series but I find this series to be even better. It's great to have Steve, Amy, and Rosie back in action and We Chase Shadows is a great installment as good as their first adventure. With it's mix of gentle humor and fantastic settings, it is the perfect escapist fiction.

Special thanks to Viking Penguin and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book. No other consideration was received in exchange for this book apart from the digital advance copy.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve, Amy and Rosie are back! After months of waiting for a new case to investigate, sort-of criminal, Vern, has found one of his bodyguards dead at his Italian villa, with a menacing note from a rival. Keen to get to the bottom of the problem, he recruits We Solve Murders!

But as they start digging, the mysteries and suspects just keep piling up. Just who is the man behind the threatening note?

I was sooooo happy to be back in with the We Solve Murders gang, and I loved this every bit as much as the first book!

It was so incredibly funny. When Georgie was musing about kitchen islands, I was roaring with laughter in the middle of Carlisle Costa! It’s just the perfect amount of cosy in cosy crime. Not too cute, just witty, clever and enough violence to maintain an edge!

In We Chase Shadows, we get to know the main characters Steve, Amy and Rosie on a deeper level, and I felt a lot of empathy for them all. We also meet some excellent new characters - Ernesto, Vern, Georgie and Tommy. All brilliant! And I am definitely sure now that I am a Steve - the character quiz I took at Harrogate was accurate! 🤣 (not least because he has excellent taste in 70s and 80s rock and metal! 🤘)

The plot itself was flawless - clever, intricate and exciting, and taking in some fabulous settings from Palm Springs to Malaga and Rosie’s double-moated castle! It was an absolute eye opener around people selling vitamins and beauty products etc on the internet as well. Hilarious, but maybe more horrifying than anything!

I just love Richard Osman’s writing style, I cannot get his books into my eyeballs quickly enough, and I hope we won’t have to wait too long for book 3 of this amazing series!

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I don't typically foray into the mystery genre, Richard Osman's novels have quickly become one of my favorite reads - and with the success of The Thursday Murder Club, the latest We Solve Murders series has been an exciting continuation of his writing. Book 2 of the series picks up where we left off, with father-daughter duo Steve and Amy officially working with writer Rose in their new detective agency...

The latest plot begins when Vern Blackwood, a wealthy entrepreneur in the shady supplement business, calls We Solve Murders requesting their help - one of his bodyguards has been shot and killed at his home in Italy. The trio fly out to investigate and uncover a ring of business partners that Vern was a part of - many of whom have already been killed and with one of the remaining survivors the likely culprit. Simultaneously, their friends back home are put in jeopardy, making the risks of the case even greater.

What follows is a puzzling whodunit as even more characters are pulled into the case, all the while our protagonists come to terms with their own personal challenges - Steve is still mourning the loss of his wife Debbie, Amy questions her marriage with Adam and the distance and time spent apart, and Rose has to accept the reality of her own age and mortality. In classic Osman fashion, the story is one flecked with both humor and poignancy, and while the plot requires some suspension of belief in reality, it is one that takes our characters on both a physical and personal journey.

Very much a fun and quick read, and one I'm sure many other Osman fans will enjoy when "We Chase Shadows" is published in

[Christina W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the ARC of ‘We Chase Shadows’ by Richard Osman.

Every time I pick up a Richard Osman book I am reminded of how much I love his very specific writing style! His dry humor and conversational style of writing is so refreshing, and I frequently find myself chuckling at the wry turns of phrase on page after page.

The second installment of the ‘We Solve Murders’ series is another triumph, with a fun murder plot with enough twists and turns to keep even the most seasoned sleuths among us guessing! As always with Osman’s stories, there are lots of diverting subplots along the way, some comical, and others surprisingly touching and heartfelt.

It was a joy to get to know Steve, Amy and Rosie better throughout this story! In the first book, we spent a lot of time from Steve’s point of view, and learned a lot of his backstory, but I felt that we didn’t know much about Amy or Rosie. This time around, we really get an insight into what makes all of them tick and get some startling insights into their histories and why they are the way they are. Their characters felt much more fleshed out, and I really just wanted to give all three of our main protagonists a big cuddle by the end of the story! I loved seeing more of the side characters as well, like Tony Taylor, Felicity and Adam (although this is a bit more brief).

Overall, this was a rip-roaring good time from start to finish! I am excited to see where the next story in this series might take us, perhaps we’ll get to see more of the mysterious Adam? No matter what, I can’t wait to read book three when the time comes!

4.5 stars, rounded up for the Goodreads/NetGalley rating systems.

[Siobhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Osman has a gift for showing how the world we live in affects the choices we make. And his bad guys make doozies. But Osman cares about the psychology of the characters he writes—even when they're hired killers, or grifters living on the edge. In We Chase Shadows, the second in a series, Osman brings together three amateur sleuths who appear wildly different at first glance. But we soon learn that they share a dogged commitment to justice, as well as a fascination with society's shadows. Steve is a widowed, retired detective; his daughter-in-law Amy a private security officer; and Rosie writes bodice rippers that have made her fabulously rich.

In this outing, Amy, Steve, and Rosie are on the tail of a hired killer who's taking out the competition one by one. There are glamorous locations; literal cross-country journeys on Rosie's private jet; and close calls and coincidences galore. Along the way, secrets are revealed; the trio grow and bond and face their demons; and readers are treated to several hours of immersive bliss. I learned more about Steve and his frozen, widower grief; saw nonagenarian Rosie face and surmount ageism and poor book sales (for the first time ever); and witnessed hardboiled Amy, survivor of childhood horrors, work through abandonment and trust issues in a very touching way. Although the killer's reveal and storyline is meh, the locations, observations, main character growth and deliciously oddball cast of characters more than make up for a somewhat underwhelming main plot..

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books/Penguin Random House for an ARC.

[Kimberly Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

By the end of the first chapter I couldn't stop smiling. This felt like spending a Saturday afternoon with my oldest friends, catching up over coffee.

Rosie, Amy, and Steve are back to solve another murder. After Rosie's appearance on Graham Norton's chat show to promote her new book, the gang is hired by a "maybe shady" businessman who needs help solving the murder of one of his body guards. He doesn't know who did it, but he seems to know who didn't. Clues aren't making sense and the bodies start piling up, sending the group jet-setting around the globe following leads and tapping old contacts for help.

The murder mystery is so much fun, but the real genius of Richard Osman is his characters. We learn more about Amy and her childhood in this book, a scene that brought me to actual tears. Side characters Felicity, the office manager for We Solve Murders, and Tony, Steve's best friend and now boyfrienf of Felicity, played a bigger part in this second book and I adored both of them. Every character is so well written, with quirks and personalities that make them real and relatable. Whether they are heros or villains, they are human and their motives make sense.

It might be strange to say this about a murder mystery, but the warmth, kindness, humor, and love at the heart of this book, and all the other books by this author, make this a must-read for me. I will be recommending this to everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.