The Eighth Detective

A Novel

By: Alex Pavesi

Narrated by: Emilia Fox

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Dizzying, dazzling.... When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over." (A.J. Finn, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Woman in the Window)

There are rules for murder mysteries. There must be a victim. A suspect. A detective.

Grant McAllister, a professor of mathematics, once sat down and worked all the rules out - and wrote seven perfect detective stories to demonstrate. But that was 30 years ago. Now Grant lives in seclusion on a remote Mediterranean island, counting the rest of his days.

Until Julia Hart, a brilliant, ambitious editor knocks on his door. Julia wishes to republish his book, and together they must revisit those old stories: an author hiding from his past and an editor keen to understand it.

But there are things in the stories that don’t add up. Inconsistencies left by Grant that a sharp-eyed editor begins to suspect are more than mistakes. They may be clues, and Julia finds herself with a mystery of her own to solve.

Alex Pavesi's The Eighth Detective is a love letter to classic detective stories with a modern twist, where nothing is as it seems, and proof that the best mysteries break all the rules.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company 

©2020 Alex Pavesi (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

"[Narrator Emilia] Fox's warm, calm British accent is reminiscent of an Agatha Christie production, which fits perfectly with the mid-century setting" (Booklist)

GOING IN MY TOP 10!!

I loved this everything about it! I don't regret pre ordering it - it's got great twists and turns great ending great narration, great everything. I liked it much better then Peter Swanson's 'Eight Perfect Murders' (which I thought was going to be more like this one and was excited for as well- and was disappointed.) This went beyond my expectations & as a diehard Christie fan I can say fellow Agatha lovers will most likely enjoy this treaure!

As good as Advertised

I wasn't going to buy this book, so many Agatha Christie promises have turned out to be duds. Since I could not find anything that interested me, buying so many books to avoid listening to the news these days, decided to give this one a try. Audibles generous exchange program makes it worth while. So glad I did. The publishers summary says it all, just believe you will enjoy it, definitely wroth a credit and Emilia Fox gave a lovely performance.

Very disappointing

I am at a loss to understand the rave reviews. Modestly clever in a self-referential way, but nothing of real interest here. No compelling narrative. Tiresome and gimmicky.

WHAT A TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT

I wanted to like this book. I really did. The reviews and the premise made it sound really interesting and fresh. Man, what a mistake. This is one of those things that is trying so hard to be clever that it ends up just being a total bore. The gig here is that a savvy, very observant, young editor goes off to an unnamed Mediterranean island to work with a reclusive writer, who is also a mathematician, and whose books of 'murder mystery' short stories is being reissued by her publishing house. She reads each of the stories out loud, and we get to listen to them. In between, she and the writer discuss each one, dissecting, supposedly, a sort of mathematical equation of murder, and suspects and....you know what? By about the third one, Who Cares? The writer is so mysterious that it is almost impossible to get any handle on him at all, and by the time you might, if you're anything like me anyway, you no longer care. Ditto for editor. The stories keep coming in between, breaking any momentum or chance to get emotionally involved with the two main characters. And to add insult to injury, the stories themselves are pretty boring, verging on dumb, with a strong whiff of smug. Even poor old Emilia Fox sounds bored reading this. Save your credit.

Yes! Yes! Yes! This Book!

I enjoy the characters- and do not like them all. I was surprised at some of the amazing twists, and not surprised by them all.

As close to a perfect detective murder mystery book as there is.

Brilliant.

Good Premise Not Realized

I started out really excited about and enjoying this book because of the ostensible connections to mathematics (how unique and interesting to think about mathematically quantifying elements of crime solving). But after awhile it became so tedious that it took me weeks to finish. There was so much focus on the logistics of committing a crime that it felt like it was written by a technocrat. There was little or no character development, sense of place, or connections that might make you care for what was going on in the story.

Worst mystery

Do not download this book - it is unimaginative, boring, repetitive, and derivative to say the least.

The author's first book is a good one

I had been looking forward to this book since the synopsis intrigued me so i pre-ordered it. I wasn't disappointed. I was glad to see a fresh take on the genre.

Clever premise

Very clever premise and construction. I enjoyed trying to piece together the puzzles. Excellent narration as well.

So much more than meets the eye.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. How the overall story unfolds is different than anything else I have read. The back and forth between individual written mysteries and the publisher/author discussions was well crafted. I certainly enjoyed the short stories more than the overall total book. Each mystery was incredibly well thought-out and important to the "math" structure alluded to throughout. The story of the two detectives in the orphanage was easily my favorite. There certainly are more than 8 mysteries that unfold in this tale. Not a happy Hallmark ending though so don't expect it. The narration by Emilia Fox was wonderful. bravo Ms. Fox!