Eight Detectives: The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month
Aug 2020 · Penguin UK
3.8star
12 reviewsreport
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THE BIGGEST MYSTERY CAN BE MURDER TO SOLVE . . . DISCOVER THE YEAR'S MOST ORIGINAL CRIME NOVEL
'One of the year's most entertaining crime novels' SUNDAY TIMES, CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
'When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over' A. J. FINN
'An elegantly structured, intellectually challenging and completely unique thriller that grips like a vice' SOPHIE HANNAH
_______
All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules.
In the 1930s, Grant McAllister, a mathematics professor turned author, worked them out, hiding their secrets in a book of crime stories.
Then Grant disappeared.
Julia Hart has finally tracked him down. She wants to know what happened to him.
But she's about to discover that a good mystery can be murder to solve . . .
_______
'One of the most creative detective novels of the year . . . If not of all time' Samantha Downing
'Intelligent and inventive . . . It's the most fun I've had in ages' Cathy Rentzenbrink
'So, so clever . . . Agatha Christie would take her hat off to this one - bravo!' Sarah Pinborough
**Winner of the Capital Crimes Reader Award for Debut Book of the Year**
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GLASS BELL AWARD AND THE BARRY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
'One of the year's most entertaining crime novels' SUNDAY TIMES, CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
'When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over' A. J. FINN
'An elegantly structured, intellectually challenging and completely unique thriller that grips like a vice' SOPHIE HANNAH
_______
All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules.
In the 1930s, Grant McAllister, a mathematics professor turned author, worked them out, hiding their secrets in a book of crime stories.
Then Grant disappeared.
Julia Hart has finally tracked him down. She wants to know what happened to him.
But she's about to discover that a good mystery can be murder to solve . . .
_______
'One of the most creative detective novels of the year . . . If not of all time' Samantha Downing
'Intelligent and inventive . . . It's the most fun I've had in ages' Cathy Rentzenbrink
'So, so clever . . . Agatha Christie would take her hat off to this one - bravo!' Sarah Pinborough
**Winner of the Capital Crimes Reader Award for Debut Book of the Year**
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GLASS BELL AWARD AND THE BARRY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
Ratings and reviews
3.8
12 reviews
Alison Robinson
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August 20, 2020
Thirty years ago mathematician Grant McAllister devised a set of rules which defined all murder mystery stories, eg there must be at least one victim. He then also self-published a book of short stories called the White Murders which explored the way in which these rules interact eg if there are only two suspects. Now Julia Hart, a book editor, has come to visit Grant and persuade him to republish the book. Like Scheherazade, Julia reads each short story aloud to Grant (and the reader) but then points out inconsistencies with each story, she also draws out references to an unsolved murder of a woman thirty years ago which the newspapers referred to as The White Murder. Did Grant have something to do with that murder? I can only liken this to the film The Usual Suspects because of the way you think you are reading one thing, then Julia exposes the issues with the short story which makes you think something else. And then there are further twists and turns which throw everything into disarray. I think it is fair to say that this book contains pretty much every possible murder plot variation and keeps the reader confounded right up to the end. I started off reading this and not being very interested but by the end I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the next rollercoaster twist and turn. Dark, twisty, intellectual, challenging and deeply satisfying. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
2 people found this review helpful
Madab Brahma
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November 6, 2022
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About the author
Alex Pavesi lives in Surrey, where he writes full time. He previously worked as a software engineer and before that obtained a PhD in Mathematics. He enjoys puzzles, long walks and recreational lock picking. His debut novel Eight Detectives has been published in more than twenty languages, and was picked by the Sunday Times and the New York Times as one of their books of the year.
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