Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

Eight Perfect Murders

by Peter Swanson

From the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes 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.

Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on

4 of 5 stars

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I love bookstore settings, murder-mysteries, and twisted serial killers. In Eight Perfect Murders, Swanson delivers it all. The premise is simple, an FBI Agent questions Malcolm Kershaw, the proprietor of Old Devils Bookshop in Boston about a series of murders. It turns out she believes someone is killing people in the manner of the books Mal compiled in a blog post featuring eight perfect murders. Creepy right?

The Old Devils Bookshop sells used, and rare books in the murder-mystery and thriller genres. Mal himself is a collector of murder-mysteries. I loved the setting from the old books to the bookstore cat.

The investigation involves the books on Mal’s lis. It was eerie and fascinating discusses popular and classic murder-mysteries. It was interesting to see which I read, and I may have added one or two to my list!

Twisted and well paced, I was quickly pulled into the narrative. This was my first soiree with author Peter Swanson, but it won’t be my last. Like Ruth Ware, his story quickly pulled me in and set me on edge as we investigated the clues and learn about our peculiar protagonist.

Graham Halstead was perfect as the narrator for this thriller. He captured Mal, the atmospheric moments and gave voice to secondary characters. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 March, 2020: Finished reading
  • 22 March, 2020: Reviewed