Eight Detectives
The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month
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3.4 • 9 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
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
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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 . . .
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'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
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
When it comes to murder, does art imitate life or vice versa? In this delightfully meta mystery novel, eccentric math professor Grant McAllister writes a book of short stories that demonstrate his theories about crafting the perfect whodunit based on mathematical rules. Thirty years later, editor Julia Hart seeks to republish the long out-of-print collection—but every time she sits down with the reclusive author, she discovers something new about Grant’s rules that doesn’t add up. First-time author Alex Pavesi is clearly a big Agatha Christie fan, scattering subtle references to the grande dame’s works like so many Easter eggs. The Eighth Detective is a delight: We marvelled at Pavesi’s cleverness as a mystery author and his enthusiasm for the genre.
Customer Reviews
Pieces of eight
Author
British. Former software engineer with a PhD in mathematics. Worked as a part-time bookseller while at uni. Now he writes full time. This is his first novel.
Plot
Thirty years ago, a mathematician with a love for murder mysteries (sounds like Mr Pavesi) sat down and worked out all the necessary ingredients for a perfect mystery, which he used to create a collection of seven short stories in support of his hypothesis. Now he lives on an unnamed Mediterranean island, waiting for God rather than Godot to take him. A keen-as-mustard young female book editor lobs up. She wants to republish his stories, but has noted mistakes or inconsistencies in his theory, which might also be clues. She doesn't know, but wants to, which means she has a mystery of her own to solve. Stuff happens.
Narrative
Third person from protagonists' POV in the main.
Characters
This is a plot based novel. The characters are of lesser importance, but serve their purpose.
Prose
Well crafted in the style of early to mid-20th century English crime novels (Christie, Sayers, Creasey etc). One of the original stories read like a direct steal from Dame Agatha.
Bottom line
Very clever, probably too clever, and not really my cup of arsenic laced tea. However, full marks for originality, by which I mean making what's old new again.