Eight Perfect Murders

A Novel

By: Peter Swanson

Narrated by: Graham Halstead

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

"Fiendish good fun." (Anthony Horowitz)

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 ABC 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. There is 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.

©2020 Peter Swanson (P)2020 HarperAudio

Really good!!

I sincerely enjoyed the premise the narration the story everything was really good. I recommend this for people who like a good mystery.

First person

Interesting, but has few clues to develop hypotheses. has several missed opportunities for character interaction.

Cringey

Had potential but it requires you to abandon all common sense. Kind of feels like it was written by a high schooler who doesn’t know how anything works in law enforcement, in life

Blown away!

This pairs well with Peter Swanson's 'The Kind Worth Killing'. I love that the story used other mystery works by some of my favorite authors. Narrator did a great job with the shift between characters. Highly recommend!

Great plot twist

The story starts off a bit slow but stick with it and enjoy the roller coaster

Well done!

I loved this book! It was a delicious twisty tale with beautiful narration. It seems to have gotten some 3 star reviews which I do not understand at all! Great read, well developed plot, interesting characters, and some very cool surprises. If you are not an avid mystery reader maybe you won’t appreciate the depth and width of this book. I thought it was fantastic. Give it a shot!

8 perfect murders.

I liked this story because the reference to specific books and how they intertwined with the story. A great listen.

It was ok...

This wasn’t a bad book, I just can’t say that it was a particularly good book either. I don’t know if Swanson will ever write another book as phenomenal as The Kind Worth Killing bit I expected so much more than this book. It did not hold my attention and a few times I had to go back and relisten to parts as my mind was wandering.
I don’t recommend this book.
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Not My Favorite

I love Peter Swanson but this one wasn’t a winner for me. It was well written as usual, but I personally didn’t find it as captivating as all his others.

10/10

Loved this book. Narrator definitely brought the story to life. Twists and murder and mind f**ks who could ask for more.