Peter Swanson's EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS

 

                                      

By Margaret S. Hamilton

 

The Red House Mystery, A.A. Milne

Malice Aforethought, A.B.Cox

The A.B.C. Murders, Agatha Christie

Double Indemnity, J.M. Cain

Strangers on a Train, P. Highsmith

The Drowner, J.D. MacDonald

Deathtrap, Ira Levin

The Secret History, D. Tartt

 

Peter Swanson’s 2020 amateur sleuth mystery is set in the Old Devils Bookstore on Beacon Hill, complete with a ginger cat named Nero. The narrator is Malcolm “Mal” Kershaw, co-owner of the bookstore, and author of a blog discussing the perfect fictional murders in the books listed above.

 

FBI agent Gwen Mulvey tells Mal several real-life New England murders resemble fictional “impossible to solve” murders. Mal reluctantly joins her off-the-books investigation, assuming his assistance will be limited to his knowledge of the mystery genre. With bodies piling up, Mal is drawn into a race to the finish to identify the murderer(s).

 

Swanson’s book is written for crime fiction readers. A detailed knowledge of the books on Mal’s perfect fictional murders list enhances a reader’s enjoyment of the book; avoiding nine spoilers for this book and the eight on the list is a challenge.

 

Mal’s internal dialogue shapes the plot of what should be the ninth perfect murder. We learn the circumstances of his wife’s death. We see his rage and envy. Mal comments:

 

“I don’t trust narrators any more than I trust the actual people in my life. We never get the whole truth, not from anybody. When we first meet someone, before words are ever spoken, there are already lies and half-truths. The clothes we wear cover the truth of our bodies, but they also present who we want to be to the world.” (p.81)

 

Mal’s bookstore employees are stock secondary characters with no impact on the plot. The FBI agent has a larger role, but Mal is on his own for much of the book. Mal’s few friends aren’t what they seem. A mysterious stranger wearing a fedora stalks Mal through the bitter winter weather…or is it just Mal’s fevered imagination? He states:

 

“Life is neither mysterious nor adventurous. Of course, I came to these conclusions before I became a murderer. Not that my criminal career satisfied the fantasy life I had as a kid. In my fantasies, I was never the murderer. I was the good guy, the detective…who solved the crime. I was never the villain.” (p.107)

 

Readers, have you read the eight perfect fictional murder books from Mal’s blog? Writers, have you ever created a perfect, unsolvable murder?