A review by whpltab
Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

The main character of Eight Perfect Murders is a middle aged man named Mal who owns a bookstore primarily for murder mystery books. Mal had always been fascinated with murder mysteries, and they were practically the only books he ever read, though he started avoiding them after the death of his wife. The book is about a series of murders going on that seems to be based off of a list of eight perfect murders that Mal came up with a long time ago, which was about several murder mysteries in books that Mal felt would have been the most impossible to solve in real life. It wasn’t a list Mal had really cared about. It had been for a blog that he hadn’t posted on in a really long time, and he hadn’t even thought about the list in a while.

However, while the murders aren’t exactly the same as in the books, the idea behind them is always fulfilled, and almost all the victims are people Mal is acquainted with.

As Mal starts to suspect everyone around him, unsure who he can trust, and unwilling to show his true hand to FBI agent Gwen Mulvey, secrets about Mal himself, his past, and the deeds he has committed are brought to the light as the killer draws out old cases as he creates new ones.

As Mal’s acquaintances are killed, the book flashes back to the past, showing Mal’s addict wife, and his complex relationship with her. I really enjoyed how Mal and his wife’s marriage was portrayed. They loved each other from the beginning, and told each other everything, and Mal always knew when she was out doing drugs, or with other men. She would always come home and promise not to do it again, and he knew he would always forgive her, and he would always wait for her, until the day he decided that he couldn’t live like that, always waiting for her at home as she made mistakes over and over again, and forgiving her time and time again.

I love how this book has so many twists and turns, and how none of them were what I expected. This book managed to surprise me at every turn, and I couldn’t put it down. It’s a great book for anyone that enjoys reading.