We Solve Murders (#1 in series) by Richard Osman

 

                                                      

Audiobook:  10 hours  33 minutes

Narrator: Nicola Walker

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Humour, Crime

Publisher: Penguin Audio September 2024

Source:  Audible Membership

First Sentence:  It had finally happened. 

Review Quote: ''The thing that shines through in Osman’s writing is that he really likes people and revels in all their foibles and eccentricities. All of which makes for a delightful read – and another little slice of warmth in time for autumn' THE OBSERVER

My Opinion:

As a fan of  'The Thursday Murder Club' series despite it not being a favourite genre I decided to listen to the first book in Richard Osman's new series 'We Solve Murders' via my Audible Membership.

The protagonists of this series are Amy Wheeler and her father-in-law Steve Wheeler. They are joined by a vast cast of characters, good and bad amongst them. Amy is currently working as a security officer for a famous novelist, when chaos kicks off with Amy discovering she has not only become a target for a hit man but that there is a murder that needs solving.

Unfortunately this novel has not given me the same vibes as 'The Thursday Murder Club' so doubt I will be reading/listening to any more adventures of the Wheeler duo. Don't get me wrong the characterisation and humour are as appealing as all the author's writing, this one just did not get me excited. It took me weeks to listen to the full book which is not a good sign, just lack of enthusiasm.  Still I can recommend to true fans of the genre and those who enjoy humour in a thriller.

My Reviews 

The Thursday Murder Club   The Man Who Died Twice. The Bullet That Missed

The Last Devil To Die

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of  Goodreads

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Richard Osman was born in Billericay, Essex, England on  November 28, 1970. He is now well known as an author, producer and television presenter. The Thursday Murder Club was his first novel. He is well known for TV shows including Pointless and Richard Osman’s House of Games. As the creative director of Endemol UK, Richard has worked as an executive producer on numerous shows including Deal Or No Deal and 8 Out of 10 Cats. He is also a regular on panel and game shows such as Have I Got News For You, Would I Lie To You and Taskmaster.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads Author Profile  Twitter - Richard Osman

The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club 4)by Richard Osman

                                                         

Audiobook:  10 hours 55 minutes

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Humour, Crime

Publisher: Penguin Audio 14 Sept 2023

Source:  Audible Membership

First Sentences: Kuldesh Sharma hopes he's in the right place. He parks up at the end of the dirt track, hemmed in on all sides by trees, ghoulish in the darkness.

Review Quote: 'Deeply moving... some of his best writing yet' Telegraph

My Opinion:

I was wary of reading Richard Osman’s first novel in 2021, as it was not really a genre of choice. His wit had me laughing out loud though and I have throughly enjoyed it in the now four novels I have read in ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ series.  All the characters are first rate as the author writes in a very character driven style and the reader really feels they are getting to know their personalities. 

In the ‘The Last Devil to Die’ Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, Ibrahim and the rest of the quirky cast of characters are investigating the death of an antique dealer friend and the subsequent disappearance of a box that was in his possession. Sub plots around a romance scam and end of life decisions are sensitively woven into the story line which is overall definitely entertaining with plenty of chaos ensuing from these elderly characters growing old disgracefully.

This was for me a moving Audio Book listen and the experience was lifted to another level by Fiona Shaw who did a brilliant job of the narration. Personally I would recommend that you read or listen to the earlier books in the series before this one, to fully appreciate the characters. 

My Reviews The Thursday Murder Club   The Man Who Died Twice. The Bullet That Missed

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Shocking news reaches the Thursday Murder Club.

An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.

As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home.

With the body count rising, the package still missing and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die?

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of  Goodreads

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Richard Osman was born in Billericay, Essex, England on  November 28, 1970. He is now well known as an author, producer and television presenter. The Thursday Murder Club was his first novel. He is well known for TV shows including Pointless and Richard Osman’s House of Games. As the creative director of Endemol UK, Richard has worked as an executive producer on numerous shows including Deal Or No Deal and 8 Out of 10 Cats. He is also a regular on panel and game shows such as Have I Got News For You, Would I Lie To You and Taskmaster.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads Author Profile  Twitter - Richard Osman

The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey

                                                   

Ebook:  326 pages Kindle edition

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Fiction 

Publisher: June 11, 2024 by Boldwood Books

Source: My Kindle Library

First Sentences: Nina poured herself another cup of coffee from the expensive percolator and sighed as the rich aroma of her new favourite blend hit her nostrils.

Setting: France

Review Quote: ‘Wonderfully warm and enchanting… With empathy, insight, and humour… Will delight readers seeking their own escape.’ Natalie Jenner, author

My Opinion: 

Gillian Harvey is a prolific and popular author who writes escapist stories often set in France, where she lived for fourteen years. This is the first novel of hers that I have read and I doubt it will be the last.

The female heroine Nina recently divorced and forty has decided that her life is somewhat dull and predictable. She decides it is time for her to do something spontaneous, which for her is unknown. A decision to do a house swap in France for a month and see if she can reconnect with her first love, leads to a journey of self discovery.

Humour with a touch of romance that I found a quick dose of escapism. Recommended if that is what you are looking for at the moment.

With thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and the author for the opportunity to read and review.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Would you swap houses with a stranger? Nina has always played it safe. But when her divorce papers come through on her fortieth birthday she decides enough is enough.

She’s always chosen the sensible route, staying in her stable job and marrying her rather boring ex. In fact – she realises – she’s chosen security over excitement for years. Ever since she refused to elope with her first beautiful, poetic, thoughtful Pierre, the man she met aged 17, on her French exchange. The only man who ever made her heart race.

Maybe it’s time to take a few risks?

Impulsively she goes online and finds another kind of French exchange… a house-swap. She can’t imagine what French businessman Jean-Luc wants with her terraced home in rural England, but she can’t wait to stay in his beautiful, spacious, bougainvillea-strewn villa on the French riviera.

She’s not just there for the house though. She’s decided to find the love she missed all those years ago. But will Pierre still be the man of her dreams after all this time?

As two lives collide, will love bloom on the French riviera? A gorgeously escapist story for fans of The Holiday, from the bestselling author of A Year at the French Farmhouse.

Author Profile:         

                                                                                    

                                Courtesy of  Author Website

Gillian Harvey is a British author and freelance writer, who writes contemporary, uplifting and emotive fiction, often set in France where she lived for many years with her husband and five children.

Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Gillian Harvey - Author Website.    Goodreads Author Profile    Facebook Profile

Instagram Profile.   Twitter Profile

When We were Young by Richard Roper

 

Two young men Joel and Theo were friends through childhood and their teenage years until a traumatic event meant they did not speak for years. As adults they have an opportunity to try and reignite their friendship by doing the walk they had many years ago promised to do together.

Well it was ok but did nothing for me which was somewhat disappointing as I believe I am in the minority. Some of the events and consequences just all felt slightly ridiculous, a shame as the idea was a good one in theory but just did not work for me. Maybe my thoughts would have been otherwise had I chosen to read it for different reasons.A slow moving story about friendship which sadly did not meet my expectations. I picked it up from the library last week as the blurb drew me in mentioning that the protagonists were planning to walk The Thames Path.

Are We Nearly There Yet? by Ben Hatch

Ebook: Also published as paperback of 320 pages

Genre: Travel/Family Memoir

Publisher: Summersdale 2011

Source: Amazon purchase for my Kindle

First Sentence: The splurge of bags on the pavement is so huge and unruly it reminds me of news footage of a French baggage handlers' strike.

Review Quote: "Hatch humorously recounts his 8000 mile odyssey round Britain with his wife and two small children." -- The Times

My opinion: Worth reading but not for reason you might expect.

Are We Nearly There Yet actually turned out to be far from the funny travel memoir it is portrayed as! In fact at times I found the travel aspect a little tedious. Ben, his wife and children spent five months travelling around the UK conducting research for a family friendly guide book they had been commissioned to write. Yes it is a very funny story about the families adventures on this journey, although I would not have been happy if my children had been as badly behaved as these two. Maybe this was exaggerated for laughs but I am not altogether sure! Anyway after awhile I just found it all becoming rather repetitive with yet another embarrassing situation occurring at yet another attraction. Which yes all parents will identify with and yes it is written in an amusing manner that will make you laugh.

However the interwoven narrative was for me much more interesting, although at times an emotional read, it was much more satisfying. The author is forced to reassess  his relationship with his father during this period of travel as it is discovered that Hatch senior is terminally ill with a very short time left to him.
Without a doubt Ben Hatch has the ability to pull one in with his writing and this memoir is worth reading for the way he has written about this darker side to the story, for me it made up for the boring bits.

I did not realise that I had actually read something by Ben Hatch previously, The Lawnmower Celebrity back in 2001 until I checked my records.  It appears to be be many years since he last published a novel but I hope he does so again.

Author Profile

Photo from Twitter.

Ben Hatch was born in London and grew up there and in Manchester and Buckinghamshire, where he lived in a Windmill. 
His first comic novel, The Lawnmower Celebrity, based loosely on his time as a chicken sandwich station monitor at Darlington McDonalds, was named one of the Radio 4's eight books of the year in 2000. The International Gooseberry about a hapless backpacker with a huge ungovernable toenail was published in 2001 and described as "hysterical and surprisingly sad" by the Daily Express. Ben Hatch was on the long-list of Granta's 2003 list of the most promising 20 young authors in the UK. In association with his wife Dinah, Ben Hatch has also written three guidebooks for Frommer's. Frommer's: Scotland With Your Family, Frommer's: England With Your family, and Frommer's: Britain For Free. The guidebooks are a mixture of helpful and humorous tips on holidaying with children.

Information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites. 

Twitter - Ben Hatch      Amazon Biography