Eight Perfect Murders

Bookstore owner Malcolm Kershaw once made a list of what he considered perfect murders in mystery novels for a mostly unread blog several years ago. Now, years later, he's contacted by FBI agent Gwen Mulvey who believes that someone is using his list as a guide for murder. He is able to provide an alibi for some of the murders but she asks him to look at other crimes to see if any of them resemble others on his list. He is willing to help mostly to try to keep his own secrets hidden. However, when he is forced to admit he knows at least one of the victims, the stakes are quickly raised for Malcolm and he sets out to find the real murderer to save himself.

Rules for Perfect Murders is the latest novel by author Peter Swanson and it is the show more perfect novel for fans of classic mysteries. Sure it's implausible and no doubt it asks a great deal of your willing suspension of disbelief but, damn, it's a whole lot of fun. Malcolm makes for a sympathetic protagonist despite being a clearly unreliable narrator and I was kept glued to the page guessing right up to the end and I gotta say I loved every minute of it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

A bookish mystery full of references to classic noir novels. I was completely engrossed by the story, but even more than that, I loved all of the backlist books it referenced. I kept adding notes about other murder mysteries to check out. A bookstore owner is surprised when the FBI contacts him about a pattern in some local killings. Our unreliable narrator gives us answers slowly, which makes it all the more enthralling.

“Books are time travel. True readers all know this. But books don’t just take you back to the time in which they were written; they can take it back to different versions of yourself.”

I haven't had a five star read for two months but thankfully the spell was broken when I picked up Rules For Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson. (Published under the title Eight Perfect Murders in other countries).

Here's the premise. Bookshop owner Malcolm Kershaw wrote a blog post several years ago about perfect murders in fiction. He lists his choices for the 'cleverest, the most ingenious, the most foolproof murders in crime fiction history'. The resulting blog post is titled Eight Perfect Murders.

Years later he's tracked down by an FBI agent who believes a killer is currently making their way through Malcolm's list and re-enacting the murders.

Located in Boston, Malcolm's Old Devils Bookstore predominantly sells mystery books and there show more are plenty of characters who could be the killer. This feels like a real cosy mystery as Malcolm tries to work out who could be behind the murders.

There are plenty of books referenced and lots of bookish content throughout this that I just adored. You don't need to have read any of the books on Malcolm's list however the murders in each book are discussed so there are plenty of spoilers if that's something that worries you.

Rules For Perfect Murders is a thinking reader's cosy mystery with a literary tilt that will appeal to all booklovers in my opinion. Highly recommended!

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin * show less

Catnip for the classic mystery fan, Peter Swanson’s sixth book Eight Perfect Murders pays homage to some treasured works from the genre by incorporating them into his tale of a copycat killer. Swanson employs the main character Malcom Krenshaw as a guide to the original stories and as the singular point-of-view into a few mysteries of his own. As a niche bookstore owner whose intelligence and knowledge of the literature are extensive, Malcolm is approached by an FBI agent who is following a hunch about some recent murders. In one of his blogs, Malcolm had written about some famous fictional murders so cleverly crafted that they would be virtually unsolvable if they were to be committed in real life. Agent Gwen Mulvey discovered show more Malcolm’s list during her investigation, and she wants to verify her hypothesis that his list was used as a serial killer’s guide. She also seeks to eliminate him as a suspect or potential next target. Together they retrace the evidence to figure out who might want to send Malcolm a macabre message. Meanwhile, the reader learns that Malcolm’s past is riddled with secrets that he is concealing from Mulvey as he trails along. These are slowly revealed as he narrates his past actions and hidden connections to the serial murders. Swanson does a good job portraying a multidimensional character who tantalizingly divulges the truth—but only on his own terms. The reader must rely on Krenshaw to relate the tale, and he is by turns charming and detestable as he admits his attempts at deception. Eight Perfect Murders is an intriguing story on its own, and Swanson’s inclusion of the most beloved stories from the mystery/suspense canon acts as both an enrichment and a detriment to his novel. Devotees will delight to be in on all the allusions and the esoteric knowledge they share. Those who have the titular books (and other well-known works described as well) still on their TBR lists will despair at having their major plot twists spoiled before experiencing them firsthand. Swanson’s heavy reliance on the merits of the masters also invites scrutiny of his own novel. Calling them to mind serves to demonstrate that, although it is a quite enjoyable read, Swanson’s own efforts cannot help but suffer from such a comparison.

Thanks to the author and William Morrow for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. show less

This is a clever book on a number of levels, starting with the basic premise: A bookstore owner, Mal, has written a blog listing 8 more-or-less classic mysteries featuring murders that Mal considers "perfect". The books aren't perfect, just the conception and execution of the murders. It now appears that someone is using the blog as a map to commit a series of 8 real life murders.

Given that premise, the narration has the potential for metafiction, ala Anthony Horowitz's Hawthorne series. Given the ways in which elements of those 8 mysteries, not to mention the blog, echo through the plot, there is definitely a metafictional quality built in.

But it gradually emerges that Mal is a decidedly unreliable narrator, and that becomes the show more driving force of the plot. Can't say more about that without spoilers.

Swanson does a particularly good job in this book with two qualities of a well-wrought mystery. One is that oh-so-gradual reveal of Mal's backstory. The other is the number of characters who had the potential to be responsible for following through on the 8 murders. Not too many to be confusing, but enough to keep you guessing.

FWIW, I've read comments to the effect that the book should serve as a caution to bloggers, but the admonition, if one is intended, is probably best directed to exploring the darker places on the internet, not the sunny business of reviewing mysteries.

With all that said, I didn't feel as gripped by this book as I have in other Swanson novels, but since I think that may have more to do with my reading circumstances than the book itself, I'm rating this a 4. I haven't had much time for sitting and reading print books lately, so my reading experience for this book was chopped up into many small chunks, which undoubtedly interfered with the narrative flow.

Note: I received an ARC in a giveaway. show less

"books don’t just take you back to the time in which they were written; they can take you back to different versions of yourself"

I loved this one! I enjoyed as an audio book and was completely wrapped up in the story. I listened to in just over a day because I found it hard to turn it off! Told from the POV of Mal, a bookstore co-owner who is just plugging away at his days selling books, chatting books and buying books. He also occasionally posts on a blog. He's surprised when, out of the blue, an FBI agent contacts him about his very first blog post - about book with 8 perfect murders. It would seem that, possibly, someone read that blog post and is now killing people in the same ways as the murders in the books - and getting away show more with it.

I loved the mood of the story. It flowed easily, Mal is an interesting narrator, and I kept wanting to know the next thing. I loved the addition of the bookstore cat and how each piece of the puzzle was revealed slowly. Although I'd guessed early on, it was such a fun ride to see how it all played out. Such a good read. show less

This is a mystery/suspense novel that is calculated to appeal not only to fans of the genre but to bibliophiles and those who love fiction set in a literary context. Oh, and its narrator and protagonist is a fabulously unreliable one, though in ways I don't want to disclose here...

That protagonist is a bookseller, Malcolm Kershaw, who has found himself running a mystery bookstore in Boston's Beacon Hill. One snowy day, just as he's about to close up shop and leave the resident feline to its own devices, a woman who identifies herself as an FBI agent walks in. It seems as if she has identified a pattern to a series of odd murders -- murders that don't even seem to be a "series" in the strict term -- and it all has to do with Kershaw's show more favorite mystery plots, summarized in a blog post dating back several years...

Now, you might think that this is the starting point for a reasonably entertaining mystery as the duo go off in quest of the culprit. In reality? This is simply the surface: the bit of the iceberg sticking above the waterline. What lies below is far more intriguing, chilling and dangerous. And that includes not only the killer, but Kershaw himself. This is a dark, twisting and compelling yarn, and by far the best written (yet) by this author. Read it this winter, during a snowstorm, for the full effect... show less