Liars and Saints

 Richard Osman's plots tend to fly over my head, but Osman is so clearly enjoying himself, I just keep reading. Osman's special talent is to exaggerate certain qualities we all have--while still making his characters recognizably human. In Osman's new novel, "We Solve Murders," Rosie, a ninety-year-old novelist with an insatiable appetite for sex, seduces various handymen while defending her own life against an assassin (and while, also, investigating a mystery). Rosie's sole moment of weakness seems to occur at an airport bookstore; if you watch closely, you might spot her hiding a Lee Child novel behind a title of her own. Elsewhere, Bonnie, a young woman, dreams of a career as "an influencer." She sees an opportunity: She could sit poolside, in swimwear, while advertising the virtues of "organic paint." ("I hadn't even known that paint could be inorganic ...") Bonnie rehearses her lines, in private: "Color brings happi...

  Richard Osman writes unusual "journey" stories: Something bizarre happens, and we follow the consequences, and yet, simultaneously, very "relatable" tales unfold (on the sidelines). In "The Last Devil to Die," an antiques dealer becomes involved in a heroin operation. This seems to lead to his murder. An investigation points to a colleague named Samantha, who once pissed away her life by mourning the loss of her husband, but who discovered a second wind when she realized she loved committing crimes. (She sold a fake antique to a man who later threatened to kill her, then the two bonded over a spur-of-the-moment plan to pursue a career in art forgery.) While the insane heroin story unfolds, Osman also tells us about dementia. A loving marriage is disrupted when the husband, Stephen, begins to lose his mind. He writes a letter to himself--detailing the facts of his case--and he receives the letter in the mail. "You are in great pain, even if you don...