The plot is complex, with many layers to it and nothing is what it seems so you are kept on the edge of your seat throughout. Each murder takes its modus operandi from one of these books, so if you haven’t read them beware for spoilers. Peter Swanson has created an intelligent and cleverly plotted crime book, that pays homage to some of the best crime thrillers ever written, including The A B C Murders by Agatha Christie, Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith and one of my favourites The Secret History by Donna Tartt. What starts as a slow burner soon picks up pace with multiple twists and turns, that make this such a fantastic and thrilling read. As Malcolm revisits his posts and the books, he finds himself helping Gwen find an intelligent but twisted killer. He is taken by surprise when FBI agent Gwen Mulvey visits him about a series of murders that she thinks is linked to a blog post he wrote ‘My Eight Favourite Murders’. Malcolm Kershaw is the owner of Old Devils bookshop, selling crime and mystery books. Reading Rules For Perfect Murders is like reading a love letter to some of the best crime thrillers ever written, and Peter Swanson has used these books as the premise for a killing spree. Owner Malcolm Kershaw had once posted online an article titled ‘My Eight Favourite Murders,’ and there seems to be a deadly link between the deaths and his list – which includes Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.Ĭan the killer be stopped before all eight of these perfect murders have been re-enacted? The deaths lead FBI Agent Gwen Mulvey to mystery bookshop Old Devils.

2020)Ī 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. Publisher: Faber & Faber Main edition (5 Mar.

Peter swanson rules for perfect murders