Description
Title – Eight Perfect Murders
Author – Peter Swanson
Publication – March 3rd, 2020 by William Morrow
Genre – Mystery, Thriller
Pages – 270
Rating – ★★★★/5
Links – Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Blurb
A chilling tale of psychological suspense and a homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the centre of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.
Review
“It’s nice to think I’ll leave a mystery in my wake.”
Eight Perfect Murders promises to be a “chilling tale of psychological suspense”. I’m not sure whether I would call it ‘chilling’, but it definitely was dark, grim, and absolutely gripping.
With an unreliable narrator, an obsessed serial killer, and a hearty discussion of the crime genre, it was an extremely rewarding read. And after the trainwreck that was my experience reading Stephen King’s The Outsider, this book felt godsend.
The book begins with Malcolm Kershaw (the narrator), a 30-something mystery aficionado, and the owner of the Old Devils bookstore that specializes in mystery and thriller books.
Central to the plotline is an old blog post he wrote, titled “Eight Perfect Murders”, featuring some of the best mystery books to ever exist – The Red House Mystery, Malice Afterthought, TheA.B.C Murders, Double Indemnity, Strangers On A Train, The Drowner, Deathtrap, and The Secret History. These books contain, in Malcolm’s opinion, the most “perfect”, unsolvable, uncatchably brilliant murders.
And now, years later, an anonymous quasi-vigilante is on a mission to commit murders that seem eerily similar to the murders featured in Malcolm’s list.
Soon, an observant FBI agent pays him a visit, and Malcolm gets embroiled in the investigation as part suspect, and part aid. But as the story progresses and Malcolm tries to piece together the puzzle, we come to learn all the dark secrets that he himself is hiding and how all this might just have begun because of him.
“Books are time travel. True readers all know this.”
Peter Swanson