Below is the complete list of Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders books in publication order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
We Solve Murders Books in Publication Order
- We Solve Murders (2024)
We Solve Murders was published in 2024 and is listed as book #1 in the We Solve Murders series. - We Chase Shadows (2026)
Published in 2026, We Chase Shadows is listed as book #2 in the We Solve Murders series.
About We Solve Murders
Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders series introduces a new crime-solving partnership after the success of the Thursday Murder Club books, but it has a different shape, pace, and emotional center. Instead of a retirement village in rural England, this series begins with a father-in-law and daughter-in-law pairing: Steve Wheeler, a retired police officer who prefers routine, pub quizzes, familiar places, and his cat Trouble; and Amy Wheeler, a private security officer whose work sends her into a much more dangerous and international world.
The first book, We Solve Murders, sets up that contrast very clearly. Steve is not looking for adventure. He has built a quiet life after policing, and his instincts are those of a man who has seen enough trouble to know the value of staying home. Amy is the opposite in motion if not in temperament. Her job places her close to wealthy and high-profile clients, and when people connected to her security work begin dying, she is forced onto the run with Rosie D’Antonio, a bestselling novelist with a flair for drama and a talent for making already dangerous situations more complicated.
That three-character dynamic is the heart of the series. Steve brings old-school police experience, patience, and a grounded way of reading people. Amy brings professional alertness, physical courage, and the ability to operate in a world of private security, money, travel, and threat. Rosie adds comic energy, unpredictability, and a celebrity perspective that makes the story livelier than a straight thriller. Osman uses them together to create a mystery series that is broader in geography than the Thursday Murder Club books, but still driven by warmth, wit, and character rather than grim procedural detail.
The series also shows Osman adjusting his crime-fiction formula without abandoning what made his earlier books so popular. His mysteries still depend on likable characters, quick dialogue, clever turns, and a strong sense that ordinary decency matters even when the plot involves murder, money, and professional criminals. The difference is that We Solve Murders has more of an international caper-thriller feel. Private jets, bodyguards, famous writers, and global danger sit alongside Steve’s very English desire to get back to his local comforts.
Steve Wheeler is especially important because he prevents the series from becoming too glossy. His reluctance gives the story its emotional balance. He is capable, but he is not hungry for danger. He loves the smallness of his life, and Osman treats that as a strength rather than a joke. Amy’s world may be faster and more glamorous, but Steve’s steadiness, memory, and quiet intelligence are what make him valuable. Their relationship gives the series a family thread that is affectionate without becoming sentimental.
The announced second book, We Chase Shadows, continues the series and suggests that Osman intends Steve and Amy to carry a separate long-running mystery line alongside the Thursday Murder Club universe. That is useful context because the two series should not be treated as interchangeable. We Solve Murders is still funny and humane, but its engine is different: a retired policeman pulled out of his comfort zone, a security professional caught in escalating danger, and a partnership shaped by family, trust, and the awkward business of solving murders together when one of them would much rather be at home.