Rules for Perfect Murders: The 'fiendishly good' Richard and Judy Book Club pick

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Malcolm, owner of an old school bookstore, has a story to tell. The FBI wants to interview him because of some murders and their possible connection to a blog post he made, listing the eight perfect murders in literature. Even if I hadn't read all the books, I'd at least seen the old movies that were made from the books so the plot of this story was interesting to me. Peter Swanson’s books are so psychologically smart. Gosh! It would be easiest to tell you that I loved it all, and I pretty much did. Malcolm’s love for books was pretty darn special. Eight Perfect Murders often felt like a classic murder mystery, and I loved every bit of that. It was like a story within a story. The ending was extremely satisfactory, and overall, I just plain loved it. If not, then enjoy Peter Swanson’s homage to crime writers past and present, in this, his latest novel, most reminiscent of the book that made him, famous, “The Kind Worth Killing”.

Let me put it this way: if any one tells you that Rules for Perfect Murders– otherwise known as Eight Perfect Murders – has a brilliant twist you won’t see coming blah blah blah – don’t buy it. It’s so much better than that. Because mysteries are an addicting diversion, because they challenge my mind while I try to work out all the angles. Because mysteries make my heart race, as the suspense mounts and the twists leave me breathless and stunned! This was a buddy read with my friend, Marialyce, and we enjoyed our discussion, especially of the ending.Like this? You might also like England’s Finest, by Christopher Fowler or The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda. So, I was snuggled up on my couch reading and then there was a twist, a revelation, another twist, another revelation and once again, Peter Swanson reminded me why I am such a fan. His plots are well thought out, perfectly paced and intelligent. He knows how to keep a reader engaged and had me glued to my seat. I love trying to figure a book out (the whole whodunit) and had my super sleuth hat on while reading this one (I did not figure anything out) in this book. Needless, to say, I love that he had me guessing until pretty much the end. Plus, now he had me intrigued and wanting to read and re-read some of the books on the "Perfect Murder list". Plus, those who have been to Boston or live in Boston, will enjoy being able to say "I know that place!" or "I'm familiar with that street!" as Mal walks around the city.

It has a satisfactory ending which is a little predictable but ties up all the loose ends. Some of the male characters are a little too good to be true but that doesn’t spoil any part of the story. The author switches between the two time periods effortlessly and easily which doesn’t always happen in these kinds of books. Each storyline had a richness that was only strengthened by the comparison and contrast to the other. Mal is very matter-of-fact in his telling of this narrative, I thought. I imagined him to have a dry tone even as he relates everything going on because he is beginning to realise he’s not where he wants to be. It’s when he talks about Claire, about their life together tha t I can feel the anger and love in his words. Once the FBI made the connection between Malcolm’s blog and the murders, the investigation naturally draws Malcolm into the center of it.And as we continue to read about the facts Malcolm also the narrator of the story presents us, we realize he keeps secrets to himself and slowly when we get inside of his mind and learn more about his traumatized love story with his ex-wife who died in the car accident, we pity on him but also start to get suspicious about him. Why a killer is obsessed with his article? Could Malcolm get involved with one of the murders? Did FBI agent tell him the truth? Could the killer also be a vigilante who brings the justice by punishing very notorious people because as far as we realize the victims are not angels, they have their own crimes and dirty secrets!

I was recently asked if I’d keep a really foolproof idea for a murder to myself. I was unsure of the implication. Did the interviewer want to know if I’d keep it out of the hands of a potential real-life criminal, or would I be keeping it to myself for possible practical application in the future (a particularly harsh book critic, maybe)? Regardless, my answer is a resounding no. There are modern masters of misdirection, as well. Gillian Flynn created an iconic villain (or hero, depending on your point of view) with Amy Dunne, the star of Gone Girl. The brilliance of Amy was that she’d had a lifetime of duplicity behind her. Not just as a child, starring in her parents’ series of Amazing Amy girl-empowerment books, but as a young woman in the dating arena, transforming herself into the mythical “cool girl”. So when it comes to framing her husband for her own murder, she is able to mislead an entire nation. Fake news as a spurned wife’s revenge.Peter Swanson’s latest release Rules for Perfect Murders (also released elsewhere as Eight Perfect Murders) is a very clever novel. I notice Anthony Horowitz has offered up a recommendation quote for the cover, which makes sense as it’s reminiscent of his (more traditional crime fiction) work as well. In Rebecca Fleet’s The Second Wife, Alex is walking home along the seafront one evening when he smells smoke and realises his house is on fire. His wife, Natalie, has escaped, but his daughter, Jade, is still inside. She is rescued by a firefighter, but when she wakes, she tells her father that she was hiding when the fire began, because there was a man in their house. A series of unsolved murders with one thing in common: each of the deaths bears an eerie resemblance to the crimes depicted in classic mystery novels. Very atmospheric, and if this book were a movie, I could picture it being made in “Autochrome Lumiere” (that muted color) as Boston was experiencing a very, snowy Winter throughout this story, and I could picture the cold nights and see the warm glow of lamps, as Mal, And Gwen reread the books on the list, and tried to figure out who the murderer could be...