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When a body and a cryptic warning appear inside a fortified Italian villa, Amy, Rosie, and Steve pursue an elusive killer across continents—only to discover that danger has already followed them home in the latest twisting whodunit from #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Osman.
More than anything, Richard Osman’s remarkable career has proven that laughter is the perfect cover for murder. And once again, while readers are busy laughing, he’s quietly hiding the biggest clues in plain sight.
Now that they've officially opened their detective agency, the trio—last seen in We Solve Murders (2024)—is ready for its first proper case. The only problem? Nobody seems particularly interested in hiring them. That changes when Vern Blackwood calls from his heavily fortified Italian villa after one of his bodyguards is murdered, and the killer leaves behind a threatening note bearing the name of Jacob Erikson, Vern’s longtime rival and one of Sweden’s most wanted criminals.
Vern’s request is suspiciously specific. He doesn’t want the police involved, and he isn’t especially concerned with helping them solve the bodyguard’s murder. He simply wants Amy, Rosie, and Steve to determine whether Erikson really wrote the note.
Nothing strange about that, right?
Their seemingly straightforward assignment quickly expands into an international maze populated by criminals, former spouses, business rivals, and people whose polished stories begin cracking under scrutiny. Before long, the investigation is bouncing between the Italian hills, Palm Springs, Barcelona, Sweden, and even Steve’s village pub, with each destination producing another suspect, contradiction, or reason to question the man who hired them.
Much like the first book in his new series, Osman structures We Chase Shadows less like a traditional cozy mystery and more like a caper with a murder buried at its center. The private planes, glamorous villas, international criminals, and shifting locations give the story a much larger canvas than his Thursday Murder Club novels, but the real appeal remains refreshingly intimate.
It’s the people.
Amy, a highly capable security specialist, approaches every situation as a potential threat. Rosie, an internationally famous crime novelist, treats danger as equal parts inconvenience, entertainment, and possible material for her next book. Then there’s Steve, the retired police officer who would generally prefer to stay near his favorite pub but has a quiet understanding of human behavior that repeatedly proves more valuable than force. Separately, they shouldn’t work.
Together, though, they’re fantastic. (And impossible to put down.)
The first book carried the burden of introducing this unconventional trio while inevitably inviting comparisons to Osman’s wildly popular other series. This time, the characters feel more comfortable with one another—and Osman appears more confident in what makes this series different. Amy, Rosie, and Steve are no longer simply three likable people thrown together by circumstance. They are becoming a genuine investigative team, complete with complementary skills, familiar rhythms, and the kind of shorthand that makes their conversations some of the book’s funniest moments.
Yet the humor never completely crowds out the emotional stakes. Questions involving grief, marriage, aging, and changing identities quietly accompany the investigation. Steve continues carrying his love for his late wife, Amy considers what her unusual upbringing has taught her about relationships, and Rosie confronts a publishing industry that no longer looks quite like the one she once dominated.
That combination of comedy and tenderness remains Osman’s greatest strength. (If I’m honest, Osman does what James Patterson and Brian Sitts are trying to do with their Holmes, Margaret, and Poe series—but hasn’t quite nailed. Osman has, and he does it masterfully.) He understands that kindness, friendship, and seemingly irrelevant conversations are not distractions from the mystery. They’re how readers come to care about the people caught inside it. Few writers can interrupt a murder investigation with a discussion about village life, publishing trends, or transportation routes without draining the suspense. Osman somehow uses those moments to make the characters—and the danger surrounding them—feel more real.
As for the mystery itself, things occasionally get tangled beneath the weight of its suspects and competing motives, and experienced crime readers may recognize the broad outline of the solution before the detectives do. Even so, identifying part of the answer is not the same as untangling the entire scheme, and to be sure, Osman keeps enough information concealed to make the final accounting satisfying, even when explaining it requires more machinery than the cleanest Golden Age puzzles.
Honestly, though, the destination is only part of the pleasure. The greater joy comes from following these characters as they interrogate suspects, trade observations, stumble into danger, and somehow remain thoroughly themselves as they travel through an increasingly absurd criminal world.
Funny, clever, and unexpectedly tender, We Chase Shadows confirms that Amy, Rosie, and Steve are not just keeping the stage warm between Thursday Murder Club novels. They’ve become one of crime fiction’s most entertaining investigative teams—and wherever they travel next, readers should happily follow.
Richard Osman sends his detectives around the world, but his greatest trick remains the same—making readers feel completely at home in the company of murder.
Book Details
Author: Richard Osman
Series: We Solve Murders #2
Pages: 352 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 979-8217060399
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Release Date: September 15, 2026
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). In addition to running TRBS, he is the author of FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” LETHAL RANGE, OUT FOR BLOOD, GONE DARK, TED BELL’S MONARCH, and other books. For more information, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and BookBub. For even more content and book news, subscribe to The Real Book Spy Substack!