We Chase Shadows
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Author: Richard Osman
Published: 2026
Genre: Other Genre
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IBC Editorial Rating: 4/5
This book is handpicked by the IBC Editorial Team. If you are an author, publisher, or reader and would like to have a book reviewed by IBC, you may reach us at editorial@indianbookclub.com — we’ll be happy to review it.
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Editorial Review:
Back together. Back on the case. Back to solving murders. At sunrise high in the Italian hills, a body turns up on the steps of a beautiful private villa, a threatening note tucked into its pocket, signed by a mystery man. Back at We Solve Murders HQ, Amy, Rosie, and Steve finally get their first proper case, never mind that their new client seems to have his own reasons for staying well clear of the police. All they need to do is find out who left the note, then find the person who wrote it. Simple, in theory. But the suspects keep multiplying: a notorious Swedish criminal, a sharp-eyed ex-wife, a ruthless business rival, and a killer who stays maddeningly out of reach. As the trio chases a villain through the shadows, danger starts creeping uncomfortably close to home. Richard Osman delivers another warm, witty caper built on his gift for characters you don’t want to leave.
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Book Summary:
Six months into running their detective agency, Amy, Rosie, and Steve have yet to actually solve a murder, a gap that becomes impossible to ignore once Rosie’s TV appearance to promote her latest book catches the eye of Vern Blackwood. Vern, whose business dealings sit somewhere on the shadier side of legal, has just discovered his bodyguard’s body on the doorstep of his Italian villa, along with a note warning that he is next. Unwilling to bring in local police, he turns to We Solve Murders instead. What follows is a case that spans continents, from England to Italy, Palm Springs to Stockholm, and on to Spain, as the team works to untangle who wanted the bodyguard dead and why. Suspicion lands first on a rival businessman, but as with any Osman mystery, the list of people with something to hide only grows longer the deeper the trio digs. Along the way, Rosie leans on a new Interpol contact, old supporting characters resurface, and the team’s personal lives continue quietly unspooling alongside the investigation, including fresh insight into why Amy keeps even the people closest to her at arm’s length. Osman balances the mechanics of a globe-trotting whodunit with his real strength: the relationships, humor, and specific, lived-in personalities of everyone caught up in the case, making the mystery itself almost secondary to the pleasure of spending time with these characters again.
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Key Takeaways:
“Found family built through shared work”: Amy, Rosie, and Steve’s dynamic deepens with this first real case together, and Osman uses their investigation to explore how people with very different backgrounds and temperaments can build genuine loyalty through simply showing up for one another. “Keeping people at a safe distance”: Amy’s reluctance to let anyone get too close, including her own husband, becomes a quieter thread running beneath the caper’s surface, offering real insight into how a guarded person protects herself even within a loving marriage. “Danger that blurs professional and personal lines”: As the investigation widens, the threat the team is chasing begins creeping closer to their own lives, and Osman uses this escalation to raise the emotional stakes beyond simply solving the case at hand. “Humor as the connective tissue of found community”: Osman’s signature wit runs through nearly every relationship in the book, from Rosie’s exchanges with her agent to Steve’s new friendship abroad, suggesting that shared laughter is as much the glue holding this group together as the work itself.
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Iconic Lines, Scenes & Characters:
Rosie’s TV appearance. The chance encounter that lands the agency its first real client sets the entire case in motion, a reminder of how often this group’s biggest breaks arrive through happenstance rather than design. Vern Blackwood’s villa and the note. The unsettling discovery that opens the novel, a body, a threat, and a client too wary of the law to seek official help, establishes the case’s stakes immediately and sends the team traveling across several countries to chase it down. Steve’s new Interpol friendship. A budding bromance with one of Rosie’s contacts abroad adds warmth and comic texture to the investigation, becoming one of the book’s most entertaining relationship threads. Amy and Adam’s long-distance marriage. The ongoing, careful navigation of Amy’s marriage, and the deeper reasons behind her emotional guardedness, give the novel real heart beneath its caper plotting.
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Who Should Read This:
Readers who love cozy, character-driven mysteries where the relationships matter as much as the whodunit will find this globe-trotting caper a genuinely entertaining, warm read from start to finish. Anyone already familiar with Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club books will enjoy spotting connections between his two series, along with his signature humor and knack for building unforgettable supporting characters. Fans of mysteries that travel across unexpected locations, layering international intrigue with genuine wit, will appreciate how deftly Osman balances globe-hopping plot mechanics with his real strength in character work. A note for readers: this is the second installment in the We Solve Murders series, and while it can be enjoyed on its own, readers may get even more out of it having met these characters in the first book. Those looking for a light, funny mystery with real emotional depth underneath will find plenty to enjoy here.
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IBC Editorial Note:
This review is part of the Indian Book Club’s editorial initiative to spotlight books that inspire, inform, and leave a lasting impact on readers. Every title featured is carefully handpicked and reviewed by the IBC Editorial Team to maintain quality, authenticity, and literary value. If you are an author, publisher, or reader and would like to submit a book for review, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please write to us at: editorial@indianbookclub.com Our team personally evaluates each submission, and selected books are featured as official IBC Editorial Reviews on our platform.