The Eighth Detective

A Novel

By: Alex Pavesi

Narrated by: Emilia Fox

A New York Times Top Ten Thriller of the Year

"One of the most innovative mysteries in recent memory." - The Wall Street Journal

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.

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 thirty 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.

"Dizzying, dazzling… When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over."—A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company

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

Murders mysterious

Prepare for one Mystery on top of another in this cleverly constructed casebook of murders. I particularly enjoyed the new endings to the original stories and the multiple endings to the overall tale. Some of the murders were a bit too grisly but always interesting.

I couldn’t listen to the Narrator

Maybe this would be better read book not a listen book. The story was good, but the narrator was not. Personally, I will not listen to another book she reads. Too dry and slow paced for me.

Trying too hard to be clever

Great premise, and the story reinforces my subversive view that editors do want to rewrite our books! :)
I thought this sounded interesting, but the enclosed mystery stories were, for me, rather tedious, and they're repeated. Two of the stories are (and acknowledged as) homages to Agatha Christie stories, but not as well-plotted. At every point, the plot and characters seemed like "stretches"-- not actually as deep or tricky as promised.


I just didn't find the overall stories and the 'inside' stories very thrilling or mysterious. There were some technical glitches, mostly in point of view, that detracted from the coherence of the scenes.

But I love books about writers and editors, so that part was fun. And the narrator was very good.

Loved It - Hated It

Go up. Go down. Go right left. Go left. It’s this It’s that. Shake it up. Lay it down. Should be good right? Dunno. I felt manipulated by an author who wants to show how many tricks he can jam into one book. Ta dah! The big reveal. Not that. This. It became tedious. A great idea by someone who really wants to impress you with how many plot devices he can cram into one space. But I give him credit - I kept listening. Emilia Fox narration was excellent but I suspect this is a much better read than listen.

A rubix cube mystery!

Loved it! So many fun twists and turns in this unique mystery. The story is unique and complex and still believable. Fantastic narration.