Peter Swanson | EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS

Plot (via Goodreads):

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 Bookshop 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.

Review:

I am a huge Peter Swanson fan and I think his writing is incredibly addictive. His ability to tell a story is stunning and his characters are always wickedly entertaining. There's something about each one of his thrillers that are obviously unique enough that you know it's a Peter Swanson novel, but they all have different pacing and feels to them. Some are wickedly fast-paced, some are more psychological thrillers, and then there's Eight Perfect Murders and this one is in my opinion, one of his most complex reads yet.

What I liked about this one was how it correlates to some rather widely-known thrillers that everyone knows about and if you've read them, then there are these smaller details in the story that you may enjoy more. If you haven't read them, there's obviously spoilers connected to this story, but in the same sense, it kind of made me want to consider diving into some of these as they clearly left their mark with one of my favorite authors, so I'm looking forward to enjoying a few of them. This one starts off in a way that brings in the atmospheric aspect rather quickly that makes me enjoy Peter Swanson so much. His reads are so immersive and atmospheric that I almost consider them cozier reads because you feel like you're in that season and when there are Bostonian winter storms blowing throughout the pages, you need to cuddle up and devour this read.

Once I started this one, I couldn't stop and I read it in one night. Pulling an all nighter with a Peter Swanson novel is my favorite Saturday night vibe. This one began in a way that immediately made me invested and yet at the same time, I was so curious to know more. With a novel by this man, it's hard not to pay attention to and be suspicious of every single detail - you know they will come back in the end to haunt you - and this story is a great mystery with a slow and steady pacing. I was intrigued enough to keep guessing and want to read more and I enjoyed the slower pace with this one. Again, Swanson killed it with the characters and I found them to be so vivid and as the novel progressed, I could pinpoint so many different things with their personalities.

I have nothing more to say about this one because I think this is the kind of novel that you should really go into blindly or with little knowledge for a great reading experience. The characters are great, the atmospheric aspect is prominent and strong, and the twists and reveals were enjoyable and flirtatious with my imagination. This one definitely had an older mystery feel with some modern aspects sprinkled throughout and I think anyone who is a fan of the eight books mentioned in this story will really enjoy this novel as well.

Special thanks to William Morrow for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5