Peter Swanson's Perfectly Murderous Tale

Is there such a thing as a “perfect” murder? In Peter Swanson’s novel, Eight Perfect Murders, the answer appears to be yes; at least, in the literary sense. Malcolm Kershaw is a widower who co-owns and runs Old Devils, an independent bookstore in Boston, which specializes in mysteries. He’s approached by Gwen Mulvey, an FBI agent, who asks him about a post he’d written for the store’s blog several years ago about “Eight Perfect Murders” in fiction. The list includes works by Agatha Christie, James M. Cain, and Ira Levin. It turns out that someone is using the lethal methods from the books featured in Malcom’s blog post to commit several real-life murders. Gwen wants to know if Malcolm has any insights regarding the crimes, and if he has a connection to any of the victims.  That’s the initial setup of this deliciously twisty tale by Swanson, the author of The Kind Worth Killing, Before She Knew Him and Every Vow You Break.

The story is narrated by Malcom, and it’s notable that he admits from the outset that not all narrators in fiction are reliable. We’re seeing and hearing the story from his perspective, and he might not be giving us all the facts. While he helps investigates the killings, Malcolm reveals to us that he knows a bit more about what’s going on than he initially admitted to Gwen. As the story continues, there will be several twists and turns in the tale. Secrets will be revealed, and some dark truths about Malcolm’s past will come to light. Malcolm is a complex character. It’s no accident that one of the books on his list is Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a novel which features an unreliable narrator. That’s one of a number of literary in-jokes and Easter eggs which are peppered throughout the novel by Swanson. Old school mystery fans will have a lot of fun catching all the meta-textual references to classic novels and films.

The supporting characters, including Malcolm’s co-workers at the Old Devils bookstore, are enjoyably quirky, and Swanson’s in depth descriptions of the Boston area locations featured in the story add color and atmosphere to the novel. There’s even a femme fatale of sorts lurking within these pages, which is one of several noir-ish touches in the story. This is a fast-paced, entertaining read that will keep you turning the pages, and there’s one last twist to the proceedings which comes after you think the story has ended. Eight Perfect Murderswill enthrall mystery aficionados, independent bookstore mavens and cat lovers. Yes, there’s a cat named Nero who inhabits the bookstore, a lovable feline who has a backstory which fits into the framework of the novel. This was my first book by Peter Swanson, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will be definitely be checking out some of his other novels. Eight Perfect Murders is available online and in old-fashioned brick and mortar bookstores as well.