Summary

Eight perfect murders.

One diabolical killer.

Everyone is a suspect.

It’s a simple list. The most brilliant murders in fiction:

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie

Double Indemnity by James M. Cain

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

The Drowner by John D. MacDonald

The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne

Malice Aforethought by Anthony Berkeley Cox

Deathtrap by Ira Levin

The Secret History by Donna Tartt 

Now, someone is using the list to leave a trail of corpses across New England, and the man who created it – bookseller Malcolm Kershaw – may be next. But Mal isn’t going to let that happen. The mystery expert is going to use his knowledge to find his shadow first…

Eight Perfect Murders is a brilliant tale of death and deception from the new master of mystery, Peter Swanson.

Why I chose to read this book
I love a good murder mystery book; this one looked like it could fit the bill. The premise is intriguing –  murders inspired by a list of the most perfect murders in literature.

Thoughts & Opinions

Fair warning before reading this book: there are major spoilers about all 8 books mentioned in the summary so if you haven’t read them and are planning on doing so, and don’t want to be spoiled, then don’t read this book. I haven’t read any of them but didn’t mind being spoiled. It was more of a positive discovery experience for me and made me want to read a few of the books listed.

When I started reading Eight Perfect Murders, I wasn’t sure where the story was going but I eventually deduced it based on clues and was excited once the plot revealed itself. The FBI is investigating a string of murders and they refer to Malcolm, a bookshop owner, as their “consultant” on the cases. As someone who’s read so many mystery novels, Malcolm should have figured out they were looking at him more as a suspect than an expert in the field.

Although Malcolm is hiding a major secret, he is cool calm, and collected, which makes you wonder when he’s going to snap. He likes to live dangerously but doesn’t let that show on the outside. I don’t know how he goes about his days without breaking down or freaking out. I found his inner dialogue to be quite interesting throughout.