Eight Perfect Murders - Book review
Eight Perfect Murders is a psychological suspense thriller that was written by Peter Swanson and was published in 2020.
Who of you thought I read anything else aside from (Fantasy) Romance and Self-help books?
Surprise! I do try to read books outside of my comfort zone as well - you never know what gems you find and this book certainly was one!
I listened to the audiobook version on Libby, borrowed through one of my local libraries. As per usual, glory to libraries and the way they have been saving me from financial ruin!
Trigger warnings: The book mentions murder, blood, sexual assault and drug abuse.
The blurb
A chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.
Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack—which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders”—chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin’s Death Trap, A. A. Milne's Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox's Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain's Double Indemnity, John D. Macdonald's The Drowner, and Donna Tartt's A Secret History.
But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She’s looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. The killer is out there, watching his every move—a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife.
To protect himself, Mal begins looking into possible suspects . . . and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn’t count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly, a series of shocking twists leaves more victims dead—and the noose around Mal’s neck grows so tight he might never escape.
(source: Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson | Goodreads)
Thoughts on the book
Eight Perfect Murders is such a cleverly written book! Perhaps I have not read enough Mystery/Thriller books yet to not get surprised by any of the plot twists, but I really was not able to tell in advance who had been the culprit until it was revealed. I was also surprised by how fast I was able to get into the story and follow along.
I believe that this book could be the perfect “Whodunit” to grab if you would like to dip your toes into suspenseful reads. The graphics are not too gory, yet as a reader you will be kept on your toes of wanting to be the more clever detective in this story.
I also appreciated the meta aspect of the story, referencing other Thrillers that exist in our real world. For those who had read any of the 8 book murders mentioned, I imagine it must have been a delight to find them mentioned in this story!
Pacing and plot
I would say that the story progressed at a moderate speed. No part in the story felt rushed so as a reader (or listener in this case) I had enough time to settle into this world of Malcolm “Mal” Kershaw’s.
Though I usually struggle with too many characters being introduced into the plot and thus not remembering any names or distinct character traits, I found that the author did a great job of describing each character so well, not only by what they looked like but how they acted. Therefore as soon as a side character’s name was mentioned, I was still able to follow along with the story quite well.
I mentioned that I found the plot to be clever and I stand by that! Every time I thought “Ah, this must be it now”, I was surprised yet again by another plot twist of the best sort! Just as Mal, I started suspecting everyone to be the actual murderer.
Characters and character development
This section will include spoilers of the book. You have been warned :)
Mal
We meet Mal as an ordinary book shop and cat owner who is dragged into a mess and also his past. I did not expect him to have any role other than that during the investigations and genuinely believed that he will be an aid to Gwen in finding out who was crazy enough to follow his list.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that he had also been a murderer all along! Shock, gasp, mild disappointment - how could you, Malcolm!
The fact that he felt like he lost the spark whenever a connection was starting to form between him and another person, added a great touch to who he had been a murderer - somewhat detached yet conscious enough to feel mild guilt.
I also found it fascinating to follow someone’s POV (point of view) who was not entirely innocent. Mal seemed almost dull sometimes, but given who he was in this story and what role he finally played, it made total sense!
Gwen
I genuinely thought that she was the actual murderer at some point, getting closer to Mal as an alibi of trying to solve the murder cases, but also using him as the expert to stage the perfect murders.
In my head, having Gwen be the villain would have made sense! It would have also been so interesting to have a woman be the villain, since the book always referred to a “he” (the murderer was given the code name “Charlie”).
I missed having a bit more background information as to why she was pulled from the case ultimately. Yes, she did take a non-authorized person to a crime scene…you know what, it probably would have taken less to be rid of a case in the justice department.
Another reason why I suspected Gwen was because I could never quite read her, and neither could Mal. The reveal that her father was a scumbag himself made me wonder if Gwen had any similar intentions or a thirst for inflicting pain on others.
Somehow I was both relieved and disappointed to find her innocent of murder.
Memorable parts of the book
This section will include spoilers of the book. You have been warned :)
Here are the parts of the book I did not see coming (basically each time a truth was revealed)
When Mal was roaming the dark web to have his deceased wife’s lover and drug dealer murdered
That Gwen, the FBI agent actually wasn’t the murderer - I don’t know, somehow I thought she would have fit with her father’s death as a motive.
Gwen’s father was the rapist of Mal’s deceased wife
The reveal of who had been the true murderer
Mal probably having killed Gwen’s father in a hit and run
Verdict
4/5 stars
Thrillers are still a fairly new terrain for me. So finding one to ease into the genre without being hit with immediate gore and brutality is not as easy. However, Eight Perfect Murders was a great book to dip my toes into the icy waters and thus, a new realm has been unlocked for me. I am looking forward to reading more Thrillers in the future!
Thank you for making it this far and reading through my review! I would love to read about your thoughts or feedback :)
Lead your dreams,
Soso
