Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Eight Perfect Murders

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

41 reviews

letyreadsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

4.25/5

In this book, we get to read about Malcolm, who co-owns a bookstore in Boston. Some time before the story began, Malcolm wrote a blog about the perfect eight murders (based on classic mystery books). The story begins with a FBI officer in his business questioning him about the blog post as there have been some murders similar to the ones posted in his blog.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story; the story had great twists while others were easily predictable. Can't wait to read more books written by Peter Swanson.

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mrs_faith_owens's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a fantastically convoluted book with a questionably reliable narrator. It read like an Agatha Christie mystery but was a treasure trove of references to other books.

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sandysmith's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not my favourite Peter Swanson read but it's likeable enough. It's based on a blog, written by book shop owner Malcom (Mal) Kersha, whereby he chooses 8 book "perfect murders". This book does contain spoilers for these 8 books if you haven't read them, but this is necessary for the storyline as it appears that there is a person copying these books and murdering. So, the ABC murders is used, but the killer uses bird themes as an example. Mal is not particularly likeable, but how the story develops is interesting. It's great,
cleverly plotted murder mystery, but unfortunately, not one of Swansons' finest.

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anissawren's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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leahlovesloslibros's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a quick, compelling read. I kept trying to figure out who "Charlie" was, and while there were some red herrings, the culprit did make sense. There were some good twists in the book, and they were appropriately spaced apart, making the story believable.

On a related note, I liked that the narrator became less reliable as the story went on and unraveled.

I would recommend this book, especially to book lovers.

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kateea7536's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Wow. Totally different to anything I’ve read before. Full of the most unexpected twists and turns and based on an interesting premise. Really enjoyed the read and raced through it, eager to find out where it went. It was packed with such unexpected and gripping twists. Lots of characters to keep track of, but very impactful.

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julieyael's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Nicely written, with a lot of plot twists. The tension builds up and each new element made me want to read further.
Though, without spoiling, I would say that the last chapters with the « big reveal » where a bit underwhelming for me.
I did not find out the explanation, and was surprised, but I was expecting something a little bit more impressive.
A good read, which makes me want to read more from this author.

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