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Thursday, October 14, 2021

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson


 Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson is the October Rogue (AKA FLICKS) Book Club pick for October.  Our meeting is next week.  I’ve been seeing a lot of great things about Peter Swanson, but this was the first book I’ve read by them.

Malcolm Kershaw wrote a blog post years ago with a list of “eight perfect murders” in fiction.  They include such classic tales as The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie, Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith, Death Trap by Ira Levin, Double Indemnity by James M. McCain etc.  He co-owns the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston that specializes in mystery and thriller novels.  He is surprised when an FBI agent contacts him and looks for information from him as it appears that a killer is using his old list to stage murders to be like the fictional murders on the list.  As Mal helps out the agent, he soon realizes that the murderer must have a personal connection to him.  Who is the murderer and how can he stop the rampage?

I don’t want to ruin the surprise of this thriller, so I won’t go any further into the plot.  Once I started reading this novel, I couldn’t put it down.  I had only read a few of the books referenced (or watched the movies), and that increased my enjoyment.  I want to go out and read the rest of them.  One novel he talks about specifically is an Agatha Christie novel that I read earlier this year.  This clued me in on what direction that ending may take, but it was a wild ride all of the way until the end.  This was a great book for October.  I’m interested to see what my book club thinks about this book.  

I also loved the bookstore cat – Nero.  I would love a book from his point of view.

Favorite Quote:

“Books are time travel.  True readers all know this.  But books don’t just take you back to the time in which they are written; they can take you back to a different version of yourself.”  - I loved that this book was a love letter to readers.

Overall, Eight Perfect Murders is a great thriller and perfect fall read.

Book Source:  Purchased at Barnes & Nobles.


2 comments:

  1. I've seen this book around and all reviews were very positive. Thanks for this review as well.

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  2. This was a good one. I really liked it, except that very last twist at the end left me feeling a bit cold. But I'd definitely read Peter Swanson again. :)

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