Kirkus
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The Thursday Murder Club takes a breather while Osman’s other group of amateur investigators handles its second case. After their adventure inWe Solve Murders (2024), retired London cop Steve Wheeler, now happily retired to small-town Axley, England; his daughter-in-law, Amy, who’d been working for an international security company; and bestselling novelist Rosie D’Antonio teamed up to turn Steve’s little company, Steve Investigates—which looked into things like lost dogs and cheating spouses—into a more ambitious agency called We Solve Murders. The only problem is that there haven’t been any murders to solve. Then they get a call from Vern Blackwood, one of whose bodyguards has been killed outside his villa in Tuscany—and who saw Rosie promoting her latest book on TV, just when he needed a discreet investigator. The three friends hop on Rosie’s private jet and soon arrive at Vern’s hilltop villa, where they learn he’s involved in the shady business of selling counterfeit vitamins. The one person he’s sure didn’t kill his bodyguard is the person who signed the threatening note left on the body—Jakob Eriksson, the mysterious kingpin of the fake prescription drug business in Europe. They had an agreement, Vern says, though everyone else who’d been party to that agreement, made in Las Vegas five years ago, is now dead. Steve, Amy, and Rosie decide they’d better start looking for this Eriksson, even though their client doesn’t want them to. After getting off to a slow start, Osman sets the pieces in motion with his usual charm and deadpan humor. It’s fun to watch Amy and Steve try to fit into Rosie’s glamorous world: “Amy has never been to a book launch before—I mean, who on earth has?” As the friends zip around the world, the case becomes pleasantly complicated, and Osman wraps things up with a bang. It’s a pleasure spending time with Osman’s quirky detectives, who are much more capable than they seem. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.