We Solve Murders
by Richard Osman
Contents
Chapter 2
Overview
Chapter 2 introduces Amy Wheeler, the armed bodyguard protecting bestselling novelist Rosie D’Antonio on a private island while a murder threat hangs over her client. Through their sharp, intimate conversation, Amy’s guarded personality, traumatic resilience, and reluctant admiration for Rosie come into focus. The chapter also reveals that Rosie is in hiding because Russian oligarch Vasiliy Karpin reacted violently to a fictional portrait of himself, establishing the active danger and the uneasy waiting period that now defines Amy’s assignment.
Summary
Amy Wheeler, a close-protection officer for Maximum Impact Solutions, watches over novelist Rosie D’Antonio at Rosie’s private island home off South Carolina. As Rosie lounges in the pool, the two talk about insecurity, appearance, and personality. Amy reluctantly admits the things she dislikes about herself, then names loyalty and fighting ability as qualities she values, while Rosie’s teasing but direct questions begin to draw Amy out.
The conversation establishes Amy’s current situation and mindset. Although the job is quieter and more luxurious than Amy’s past assignments, Amy remains alert, armed, and uncomfortable with relaxation because it leaves room for unwanted thoughts. Amy privately reflects on her hard past, her admiration for strong women like Rosie, and her determination that Rosie will not be killed while under her protection.
As Rosie questions Amy about England, marriage, and work, Amy thinks about her husband Adam and her daily habit of calling her father-in-law Steve. Amy reveals little outwardly, but Rosie’s probing exposes pieces of Amy’s emotional life: Adam worries about her dangerous job, and Amy has trained herself not to cry. Rosie also catches Amy lying about not having read her books, and Amy is forced to admit that she has been reading Death Pulls the Trigger, showing that Amy has long admired Rosie’s glamorous, violent fiction.
Later, the chapter explains why Rosie is hiding on the island. In Rosie’s latest novel, Dead Men & Diamonds, she included a character clearly based on Russian chemicals oligarch Vasiliy Karpin. In response, Rosie received a bullet in the mail and survived a botched abduction attempt at a Nashville signing, leading her to hire Maximum Impact Solutions.
Amy explains that her boss, Jeff Nolan, is trying to resolve the situation through contacts connected to Vasiliy, and Amy expects some accommodation will eventually be reached. Until then, Rosie is effectively confined to the island with Amy and Kevin, a former Navy SEAL filling in as chef. Rosie wants to escape the boredom and go to the mainland, but Amy refuses because the murder threat is still active. The chapter ends with both women sharing the feeling that boredom can be almost as unbearable as danger.
Who Appears
- Amy WheelerMaximum Impact bodyguard; protects Rosie, reflects on her past, and resists relaxing while danger remains.
- Rosie D’AntonioBestselling novelist in hiding after threats; chats candidly with Amy and chafes against protective confinement.
- Vasiliy KarpinRussian chemicals oligarch angered by Rosie’s novel; source of the bullet threat and attempted abduction.
- KevinFormer Navy SEAL temporarily serving as chef on Rosie’s island during the lockdown.
- Jeff NolanAmy’s boss at Maximum Impact; working contacts to persuade Karpin to abandon his vendetta.
- AdamAmy’s husband; worries about her dangerous work and appears in Amy’s private thoughts.
- SteveAmy’s father-in-law; someone she tries to call daily and thinks about while on assignment.