Identity and Deception in We Solve Murders: Who Are You When No One Is Watching?

The Central Thematic Claim

In We Solve Murders, Richard Osman argues that identity in the modern world is not a fixed truth but a performance—one that can be manufactured, hidden, and weaponised with digital tools and careful storytelling. Deception is no longer merely about lying; it is about erasing the self so thoroughly that only the actions remain. The novel suggests that the very technologies designed to connect us—ChatGPT, social media, encrypted messaging—also enable criminals to become ghosts, while everyday people must struggle to prove who they really are.

How the Theme Unfolds Across the Plot

1. The Architect of Erasure: François Loubet and ChatGPT

The thematic claim lands hardest in the Prologue. An unnamed narrator explains that every criminal must “leave as few clues as possible”, but language itself leaves a unique signature—a fingerprint of word choice, rhythm, and personality. François Loubet’s solution is to feed every email through ChatGPT with the prompt: “Rewrite in the style of a friendly English gentleman, please.” The AI flattens his voice, “irons your creases, washes you away, quirk by quirk, until you disappear.”

Loubet’s identity becomes a hollow construct. In his private writings (evidence Chapter 8, 12, 21, 50, 68), he uses the same ChatGPT formula, yet the reader overhears his real thoughts—arrogant, amused, ruthless. The contrast between the blandly courteous emails and the cold calculation underneath dramatises the central tension: the tool that hides him also reveals him to us, the readers. Osman shows that identity can be digitally severed from the self, but the cost is a kind of moral nullity—Loubet exists only as a name attached to deeds, not as a person.

2. The Scapegoat Trap: Amy Wheeler and the Fabricated Identity

Amy Wheeler, the bodyguard turned fugitive, never chose to be a killer. Yet Loubet deliberately constructed a false identity for her as his “handy scapegoat” (evidence Chapter 50). He sourced her blood and placed it at each murder scene. If she dies, her corpse will be the “end of the story altogether.” If she lives, her own friends and family might doubt her innocence.

This is deception at its most systemic: Amy’s identity is rewritten by evidence planted against her. The novel forces the question: if the world believes you are a murderer, does that belief become your new identity? Amy must fight not only to stay alive but to reclaim the truth of who she is—a protector, not a killer. The theme here deepens: identity is not just performed; it can be assigned by others with malicious intent.

3. The Hidden Agent: Eddie Flood and the Performance of Loyalty

Eddie Flood, a minor character whose true intentions are initially opaque, embodies the second layer of the thematic claim. In the sleepless night of Chapter 79, Eddie checks his alarm repeatedly, reads up on “undetectable poisons,” and resolves to follow Rosie D’Antonio wherever she goes. The reader knows that Rosie suspects Eddie may have been hired by a Russian billionaire to kill her. Eddie’s identity is a mask: he presents himself as a helper, but his internal monologue reveals a calculating, dangerous purpose.

Where Loubet erases his identity, Eddie hides his behind a veneer of usefulness. The contradiction is that deception can be both a shield and a weapon. The plot never fully confirms Eddie’s betrayal, leaving the reader in the same fog as the characters. Osman thus argues that in a world of layered identities, trust becomes a fragile gamble.

Character and Symbol Connections

Steve Wheeler and the Dictaphone

Steve Wheeler’s nightly conversations with his late wife Debbie via a Dictaphone are the novel’s emotional counterpoint to digital deception. He speaks honestly, recording his grief without any mask. The Dictaphone is the opposite of ChatGPT: it preserves identity rather than erasing it. When Steve finally agrees to join Amy’s detective agency, he feels Debbie telling him to live. Authenticity, the novel suggests, is possible only when we stop performing for others.

Rosie D’Antonio and the Leather Holdall

The leather holdall found on Andrew Fairbanks’s yacht, containing nearly one million dollars, is a physical symbol of deception—money that has no clear owner and passes through layers of criminal intermediaries. Rosie, a celebrity author, initially appears as a comic figure, but her investment in the detective agency is genuine. She, too, hides behind a public persona, but the holdall’s journey suggests that deception often follows money, not people.

Trouble the Cat

Trouble the cat belongs to no one fully; it sleeps on chests, chooses loyalty day by day. The cat’s name is ironic—it causes no real trouble—but it symbolises the elusiveness of true identity. Just as Trouble is hard to pin down, so are the characters’ real selves.

Krusher Energy Drink

The Krusher Energy Drink Andrew holds in his last selfie is a branding prop—a performative gesture of vitality that conceals his actual death. It represents the hollow performance of influencer culture, where identity is a product to be consumed for a day before the next scandal arrives.

Complexity and Contradiction

The novel does not present a simple morality play. Loubet’s digital erasure is brilliantly effective—he almost gets away. Yet the very technology that protects him also leaves a trail that Steve and Amy eventually follow. Deception, Osman implies, cannot be perfectly sustained because every mask requires maintenance, and every lie plants a seed of suspicion in someone.

Moreover, the characters who lean hardest on deception (Loubet, Eddie) end up isolated. Those who risk authenticity (Steve, Amy, Rosie) find community and purpose. The contradiction is that in a world where identity can be faked, honest vulnerability becomes the rarest and most powerful currency.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Loubet’s use of ChatGPT reflect the novel’s argument about identity? Answer: Loubet’s ChatGPT prompt erases his linguistic fingerprint, creating a friendly, generic persona. This shows that identity can be digitally manufactured and severed from the real self. The tool hides him from authorities but reveals his cold calculation to the reader, highlighting the gap between performed identity and inner truth.

2. Why does Loubet choose Amy Wheeler as his scapegoat? What does this reveal about the power of deception? Answer: Loubet chooses Amy because she is a trained bodyguard with access to crime scenes, making her a believable suspect. He plants her blood at each murder, constructing a false identity for her as the killer. This shows that deception can rewrite a person’s identity in the eyes of the world, even without any evidence of motive.

3. How does Steve Wheeler’s Dictaphone contrast with Loubet’s ChatGPT? Answer: Steve’s Dictaphone records honest, private grief—he is not performing for anyone. ChatGPT erases personality; the Dictaphone preserves it. The contrast reinforces the theme that authenticity requires vulnerability and that true identity emerges when we stop trying to conceal or perform.

4. In what ways does Eddie Flood embody a different kind of deception than Loubet? Answer: Eddie hides his true intentions behind a helpful, loyal facade. Unlike Loubet, who erases his identity entirely, Eddie maintains the appearance of a trustworthy ally. His deception is relational, not digital—he manipulates personal bonds rather than technological masks, proving that identity can be weaponised in everyday interactions.

5. How does the novel suggest that deception can ultimately fail? Answer: Despite Loubet’s elaborate layers—ChatGPT, aliases, a murder-broker—Steve and Amy eventually trace him through cross-referencing Max Highfield’s introduction fees. Loubet must abandon the “François Loubet” identity and start over (Chapter 80). The novel implies that every deception creates a thread, and persistent truth-seekers can eventually pull it loose.