Marilyn's Mystery Reads

These days everyone wants to be famous.  Not for developing a vaccine to fight a pandemic sweeping the world or for writing a novel that wins the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.  Honestly, anyone can do those things.

No, people want to be famous as an Influencer, someone with thousands, if not millions, of followers on TikTok or Instagram.  And the people with rather small followings but who believe they should have thousands more are very vulnerable to an agency promising that they can make that happen.

Rosie D’Antonio doesn’t need an agency to bump up her profile.  She’s a best-selling author and a noted media personality.  But she does need a bodyguard because a character in one of her books is obviously based on Vasiliy Karpin, a Russian billionaire, and he took exception to the way he was portrayed and has twice attempted to kill Rosie. 

That’s why she and Amy Wheeler, a bodyguard who works for Maximum Impact Solutions, are on Rosie’s private island in the waters off South Carolina.  Until MIS can neutralize this threat, Amy and Rosie need to stay out of the public eye.

Jeff Nolan, CEO of MIS, is clearly taking no chances with Rosie’s safety.  He has already “lost” three influencer clients to unexplained deaths, and he certainly doesn’t want to lose any more.  He’s not in doubt about who is behind these deaths.  It’s François Lubet, a former client and money-smuggler, and Jeff is writing to him to let him know that he will take steps to stop this threat to his business if Loubet doesn’t cease and desist.  But who is François Lubet?

As it happens, in each case where a client was murdered, Amy Wheeler was in the vicinity.  Now her father-in-law Steve wants to talk to her about the latest murder victim, Andrew Fairchild.  Andrew was just beginning his career as an influencer when his body was found.  He’d been shot, tied to a rope, and thrown from a boat into the Atlantic.

Jeff wants Amy to come back to London to help him solve these murders, and she’s about to leave Rosie on her South Carolina island with a second bodyguard, an ex-Navy SEAL named Kevin, when Kevin comes into the room and points a gun at her.  He tells her to handcuff herself behind her back, which she does, and starts to lead her to the panic room that Rosie had installed.  Suddenly he’s hit on the head with a golden statue held by Rosie, and then the two women manage to put Kevin in the panic room.  His gun is useless there, Rosie tells Amy.  “He’s in there for the long run.”

And thus the Rosie and Amy begin their trip around the world, stopping only to bring Steve to America to join them, and the three of them start to work together to solve these murders.  Their stops include Dubai and Dublin and then back to Dubai, ending up in London.  There are murders along the way, suspicious influences, money-laundering criminals, and murderers.  All in all, it’s a fabulous trip.

Richard Osman continues the winning streak he started with The Thursday Murder Club, creating another group of characters who are utterly charming and beguiling, funny and determined.  I imagine We Solve Murders is only the first in the author’s new series; all I can say is that I hope so.

You can read more about Richard Osman at various sites on the web.

Check out the complete Marilyn’s Mystery Reads at her website.  In addition to book review posts, there are sections featuring Golden Oldies, Past Masters and Mistresses, and an About Marilyn column that features her opinions about everything to do with mystery novels.

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