Book Review - Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

Title: Eight Perfect Murders
Series: -
Author: Eight Perfect Murders
 
Description: 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.
 
But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBO agent comes knocking on his door on 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.
 
Review: A book about books, I always love that. I was hooked from the first page. The premise really intrigued me: someone who kills people based on murders in a book, that were on a list compiled by bookseller Mal as having depicted the eight perfect murders.
 
Beware, the books that they talk about in here will all be spoiled, Mal talks about them in detail and gives away the ending of all of them. Because, otherwise we wouldn’t know why these murders are so perfect. Books like “The ABC Murders” by Agatha Christie, “A Secret History” by Donna Tart and “Strangers On the Train” by Patricia Highsmith, among others, are being discussed.
 
I think the fact that it’s about books, was what got my attention in the first place (besides the author of course). I really loved the start of the book. And in the beginning the book had some really cool twists that I didn’t see coming. Later in the book everything became a bit more predictable. The conclusion to who was killing all those people was not really surprising to me. And I found this the obvious choice as well.
 
“Eight Perfect Murders” had me in its grip for the first half. I couldn’t put it down. That kind of faded after I passed the mid-way point. I wasn’t as invested anymore.
 
I still did enjoy “Eight Perfect Murders”, a great concept with some surprising and less surprising twists. And this felt a bit different from other Peter Swanson novels for some reason. If you have loved Swanson’s other work, I don’t think you will automatically love this as well.
 
Rating: 3,5/ 5