We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman

We Chase Shadows is the second book in the We Solve Murders series – the series by Richard Osman which isn’t The Thursday Murder Club. It was published in September 2026 and I had to wait several days until my birthday to get a copy! It was worth the wait, because I absolutely loved it.

I enjoyed We Solve Murders, but for me it wasn’t quite as good as The Thursday Murder Club series. But Richard Osman’s trademark gentle humour is there as ever in We Chase Shadows. I read this line on the third page and I was already hooked: The local corner shop is run by a murderer from Cardiff, and he always makes sure to stock Marmite and cornflakes and PG Tips. It’s a real community like that.

In We Chase Shadows, Amy, her father-in-law Steve, and famous author, Rosie, have set up their own detective agency – We Solve Murders – complete with office manager, Felicity, the partner of Steve’s best friend, Tony Taylor.

The gang are getting bored of waiting for a murder to solve. It has been six months.

But, after Rosie appears on The Graham Norton Show, they are contacted by a criminal ‘but not a bad one’ because one of his bodyguards has been murdered. A note on the body suggests who the murderer might be, but he is adamant it was someone else. Maybe his ex-wife? Or maybe a business rival?

There’s a lot of travel around the world on a private jet, a lot of business contacts and a lot of murders, as Amy, Steve and Rosie edge closer to the truth.

Amongst the humour and the guns, there’s also some really moving bits to the story – we find out more about Amy’s childhood and Steve is still grieving for his wife, Debbie. There are also some lovely scenes between Steve and his friends, and also Tony and Felicity – who really remind me of Ron and Pauline from the Thursday Murder Club books.

There are lots and lots of characters in this one, to the point where it almost gets confusing. I get the impression that some of them will keep coming back in later novels, just as they do in Thursday Murder Club.

But if you like your murders to be lighthearted, with added references to Waitrose and which roads to avoid when driving through the New Forest, you will love We Chase Shadows.