Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson @HarperCollinsCa

Lindsay and I have been teaming up together to get to some of those titles we have been meaning to for awhile now. Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson was on the top of our list and we are so glad we read it. It was the right one that we were looking for right now with the something different to it. We highly recommend this unique and clever story that might just be a different pace from what you are used to.

Lindsay’s review

A refreshingly unique, suspenseful, clever and addictive mystery!

This was my first Peter Swanson book and I loved it! I connected with the writing, characters and storyline immediately and that connection remained strong throughout.

Malcolm owns a small bookstore with a loyal customer base. Years ago, he started a blog for the store and his first blog post outlined his list of eight of the most cleverly written murder mysteries. Years later, Malcolm is approached by the FBI who are investigating a string of murders that seem to be copying the murders within his list of eight books. These eight books do not appear together so concisely anywhere else.

There is a lot of reference to this list of eight murder mystery books, some of which are, Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders and Patrica Highsmith’s Strangers On A Train. Though I hadn’t read any of the books listed, the story outlines the theories and outcomes in each book — some might consider these spoilers, but for me with my terrible memory, it didn’t bother me. I’ll be able to read those books down the road and be shocked and surprised at who the murderer is.

There is something so very refreshing about the way this novel is written. None of the plot was filler. I hung onto every word and felt the tension and suspense in every chapter. The narration was one of my favourite parts of this novel – I adored Malcolm who guides us through the story. There was a secretive side to him that kept my curiosity building from start to finish. Malcolm was an extremely likeable character.

I adored the bookstore setting! And Nero the bookstore cat. The pace and flow were perfect. I did find it slightly confusing at times to remember which book or murder was being referred to but nothing that I couldn’t sort through quickly.

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes murder mysteries with a classic feel.

Brenda’s review

Lately, it’s has been all about the characters for me, and I find myself drawn to characters with something a little different from them. Eight Perfect Murders is all about the way it’s narrated through our lone narrator Malcolm (Mal). He is compelling odd, exciting and entertaining with his unique voice, and I enjoyed being drawn into his unique voice. At times he is unreliable, at other times, he gives us information and then second guesses himself. This kept me on my toes and had me asking questions that created some excellent suspense for me.

Peter Swanson delves into some classics here, and there are some spoilers to them. This is the center of the plot here, but for me, it lagged in places and slowed down the story for me. I am sure I missed some important clues to the story. An exciting game of cat and mouse develops between Mal and the killer, and I do love a good one. Even though I saw some of those reveals coming, I was left surprised in the end.

I highly recommend to readers who love an exciting narrator to their stories.

We received copies for the publisher on Edelweiss