Eight Detectives: The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month
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- Create Date：2021-06-24 07:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Alex Pavesi
- ISBN：1405944978
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Summary
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'Alex Pavesi knows the genre inside out。 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， bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
'An elegantly structured， intellectually challenging and completely unique thriller that grips like a vice' SOPHIE HANNAH
All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules。 Grant McAllister， an author of crime fiction and professor of mathematics， once sat down and worked them all out。
But that was thirty years ago。 Now he's living a life of seclusion on a quiet Mediterranean island - until Julia Hart， a sharp， ambitious editor， knocks on his door。 His early work is being republished and together the two of them must revisit those old stories: an author， hiding from his past， and an editor， keen to understand it。
But as she reads， Julia is unsettled to realise that there are things in the stories that don't make sense。 Intricate clues that seem to reference a real murder， one that's remained unsolved for thirty years。
If Julia wants answers， she must triumph in a battle of wits with a dangerously clever adversary。 But she must tread carefully: she knows there's a mystery， but she doesn't yet realise there's already been a murder 。 。 。
'Alex Pavesi knows the genre inside out。 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， bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
'An elegantly structured， intellectually challenging and completely unique thriller that grips like a vice' SOPHIE HANNAH
All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules。 Grant McAllister， an author of crime fiction and professor of mathematics， once sat down and worked them all out。
But that was thirty years ago。 Now he's living a life of seclusion on a quiet Mediterranean island - until Julia Hart， a sharp， ambitious editor， knocks on his door。 His early work is being republished and together the two of them must revisit those old stories: an author， hiding from his past， and an editor， keen to understand it。
But as she reads， Julia is unsettled to realise that there are things in the stories that don't make sense。 Intricate clues that seem to reference a real murder， one that's remained unsolved for thirty years。
If Julia wants answers， she must triumph in a battle of wits with a dangerously clever adversary。 But she must tread carefully: she knows there's a mystery， but she doesn't yet realise there's already been a murder 。 。 。
Reviews
Kelly Ronayne
，
Clever。 Anthony Horowitz—they are coming for you。 I liked the framed narratives， but the back and forth—especially as she explicated her edits gets tedious and structurally so repetitive。 The story struggles in the weight of the artifice。 Quick read， but ultimately the denouement for the last 3 characters is too fast…like falling off a cliff with no splash。
Richard Jackson
，
A unique approach that didn't quite work for me。 I guess I require a more straight forward story。 I can see， though， why others have rated it higher than I did。 A unique approach that didn't quite work for me。 I guess I require a more straight forward story。 I can see， though， why others have rated it higher than I did。 。。。more
Lea
，
A clever book， consisting of a group of stories reminiscent of Agatha Christie， with an overlying narrative and commentary on the structure of mystery stories to tie it all together。Very enjoyable read。
Andy Plonka
，
Equating the solving of mysteries with Mathematics and logic， an interesting way of crime solving。
Suzi
，
I liked each of the short stories but there were too many details and paths to follow the farther I read。
Indy
，
An extraordinary detective novel which consists of 7 detective stories in the main plot， with an extra one as background story。 These detective stories cover a variety of characters and settings， but each one demonstrates a different permutation of detective fiction which can be conceptualized with mathematical theories。 It was quite interesting to see how these mathematical theories in work to twist the plots and endings a bit to create a different story with the same setting。 Novel angle。 It's An extraordinary detective novel which consists of 7 detective stories in the main plot， with an extra one as background story。 These detective stories cover a variety of characters and settings， but each one demonstrates a different permutation of detective fiction which can be conceptualized with mathematical theories。 It was quite interesting to see how these mathematical theories in work to twist the plots and endings a bit to create a different story with the same setting。 Novel angle。 It's a shame that the book seems to be a bit underrated on Goodreads。 。。。more
Amanda McCormick
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Fun twist to traditional mystery format
Kathy
，
a clever mystery
Shorty
，
This is a truly phenomenal novel。 Brilliant writing， and I adore how the stories within stories are constantly changing。 You think you know what’s going on here？ Nope， you don’t！ Pavesi goes and pulls the rug right out from underneath you…！This novel may seem quite slow at the beginning， but please stick with it！ You will be rewarded at the end。Emilia Fox is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel， and she is absolutely perfect for this job。 I enjoyed Fox’ work before， and I hope Ma This is a truly phenomenal novel。 Brilliant writing， and I adore how the stories within stories are constantly changing。 You think you know what’s going on here？ Nope， you don’t！ Pavesi goes and pulls the rug right out from underneath you…！This novel may seem quite slow at the beginning， but please stick with it！ You will be rewarded at the end。Emilia Fox is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel， and she is absolutely perfect for this job。 I enjoyed Fox’ work before， and I hope Macmillan audio uses her skills a lot more。Here is a much better review that mine:https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。4。5 stars， and highly recommended！ 。。。more
Hannah Elliotte
，
This may be the most boring mystery book I’ve ever read。 The structure moves between short mystery stories and conversations between the stories’ author and an editor。 The short stories are supposed to be homages to Golden Age detective stories but they are full of stereotyped characters and just fall flat。 I eventually started skipping them because they were discussed so thoroughly in the conversation chapters alongside some equally boring mystery mathematics。Neither the author or editor is flu This may be the most boring mystery book I’ve ever read。 The structure moves between short mystery stories and conversations between the stories’ author and an editor。 The short stories are supposed to be homages to Golden Age detective stories but they are full of stereotyped characters and just fall flat。 I eventually started skipping them because they were discussed so thoroughly in the conversation chapters alongside some equally boring mystery mathematics。Neither the author or editor is flushed out as a character so there is no real connection to be had to either one。 The book hints so heavily at there being a twist that the suspense is almost spoiled。 Just skip this one。 。。。more
Allison
，
"And that's what differentiates a murder mystery from any other story with a surprise at the end。 The possibilities are presented to the reader up front。 The ending just comes back and points to one of them。"This book applies an intriguing framework to the murder mystery formula。 In alternating chapters， we follow an editor discussing seven short stories with the author。 He wrote a mathematical thesis about the basic requirements of a murder mystery story and their possible permutations。 His sto "And that's what differentiates a murder mystery from any other story with a surprise at the end。 The possibilities are presented to the reader up front。 The ending just comes back and points to one of them。"This book applies an intriguing framework to the murder mystery formula。 In alternating chapters， we follow an editor discussing seven short stories with the author。 He wrote a mathematical thesis about the basic requirements of a murder mystery story and their possible permutations。 His stories exemplify some of the weirder combinations of ingredients。 These seven stories provide the other half of the book。 After each， the editor points out a curious discrepancy she noticed in the story。 Part of the game for the reader is seeing if you can guess the permutation before the reveal or notice the discrepancy yourself。 It adds layers to the usual fun of trying to uncover the details of the mystery before the detective。This was a cleverly done book with some good twists and plenty to think about。 I actually liked the short format of each mystery。 Each had its own tone and intent。 The problem for me was that really only my intellect engaged with this story。 I wasn't particularly curious， excited， or attached to any characters。 So when twists happened or the worst was revealed， my reaction was kind of a *shrug。* It didn't generate enthusiasm even though I was interested。I think if you're looking for a mental puzzle or like short-form murder mysteries， this book will appeal to you。 。。。more
Lily
，
3。5 ⭐
Ruqaiyah Khan
，
I absolutely adored this book。 It took me a while to finish it but it was so creative and the plot twists were insane！！！ Def recommend！！
Svetlana
，
Originalno， matematički složeno， jednostavno genijalno。。。"Permutacije detektivske proze" kakve bi se sigurno svidele i slavnoj Agati Kristi。。。Priče i roman u jednom， svaka priča sa više mogućih raspleta i roman sa dva potencijalna završetka， mada ne sumnjam da ćete se po završenom čitanju i Vi， kao i ja， zabaviti i napisati svoj sopstveni kraj。。。 Originalno， matematički složeno， jednostavno genijalno。。。"Permutacije detektivske proze" kakve bi se sigurno svidele i slavnoj Agati Kristi。。。Priče i roman u jednom， svaka priča sa više mogućih raspleta i roman sa dva potencijalna završetka， mada ne sumnjam da ćete se po završenom čitanju i Vi， kao i ja， zabaviti i napisati svoj sopstveni kraj。。。 。。。more
Sheena
，
A very promising structure that just didn't work for me。 I think I prefer my thriller books to focus on one story！ The end was also blatantly obvious :（ Me and my overactive imagination were disappointed。 A very promising structure that just didn't work for me。 I think I prefer my thriller books to focus on one story！ The end was also blatantly obvious :（ Me and my overactive imagination were disappointed。 。。。more
Steve Wilkerson
，
This is an intriquing and intricate construction。 The premise is straightforward: Julia Hart， an editor， visits Grant McAllister to review seven short stories he published privately 20 years before with an eye to republishing them。 McAllister is a mathematician who published an article in 1937 entitled "The Permutations of Detective Fiction，" and the volume of stories followed soon thereafter。 The main story line is that their conversations about the theory of detective fiction are interspersed This is an intriquing and intricate construction。 The premise is straightforward: Julia Hart， an editor， visits Grant McAllister to review seven short stories he published privately 20 years before with an eye to republishing them。 McAllister is a mathematician who published an article in 1937 entitled "The Permutations of Detective Fiction，" and the volume of stories followed soon thereafter。 The main story line is that their conversations about the theory of detective fiction are interspersed with the seven stories， which are interesting in their own right， as are the discussions。 After each story， Hart questions 。the inconsistencies in the story。 The reader has no idea where the plot is going as he enjoys McAllister's mystery stories。 In their conversation following the seventh story， Hart accuses McAllister of lying to her， and the twists and turns of the story begin here， and there are twists to the twists。 If I reveal those twists， I will spoil the story。 I was impressed at how well they worked smoothly into the main story line and， in fact， are really the main plot。 I enjoyed the novel and was surprised by the main twist。 。。。more
Bobby Blackwell
，
Not my favorite。 Perhaps I just didn't get it， but it never really grabbed me。 Not my favorite。 Perhaps I just didn't get it， but it never really grabbed me。 。。。more
Say
，
Very clever but somehow I struggled to stay engaged。 There’s almost no opportunity to connect with the main characters because so much time was spent on the “short stories” within the story 。。。 and by the end I found myself just reading to finish。
Jackie Bradman
，
Really liked the premise & enjoyed the layout of the book - 7 murder mysteries to prove the equation， but then it became more about the author & publicist which I didn’t like so much。 The twists at the end lacked some punch
Cheri
，
Up from 3。5 due to its cleverness
Janis
，
Clever but not compelling。
Kathryn
，
2。5★I listened to this as an audiobook， and it's possible that this wasn't the best book to choose for an audiobook。 I found I easily missed things。 2。5★I listened to this as an audiobook， and it's possible that this wasn't the best book to choose for an audiobook。 I found I easily missed things。 。。。more
Joe Lucia
，
This incredibly ambitious book interested me a great deal， and seemed right up my alley。 If the author could nail the format and stick the landing， it would be a classic。Unfortunately， he did neither， and what positive work he did create， he upended with the final 20% or so （if you read， you know where I’m talking about）。For me， the format got quite old by the fourth or so detective story， and I realized I just didn’t care about spotting errors or the two main characters。When we finally got to t This incredibly ambitious book interested me a great deal， and seemed right up my alley。 If the author could nail the format and stick the landing， it would be a classic。Unfortunately， he did neither， and what positive work he did create， he upended with the final 20% or so （if you read， you know where I’m talking about）。For me， the format got quite old by the fourth or so detective story， and I realized I just didn’t care about spotting errors or the two main characters。When we finally got to the big reveal（s）， I was wholly underwhelmed。 It felt like all that reading I had done was a complete waste of time。I try not to overreact too negatively to books， but I was less and less interested in this one as I went， and got downright angry after reading everything that came after the final detective story。 。。。more
Mary
，
3。5 stars ⭐️
John Haydon
，
A clever book but some of the stories are gritty and disturbing which detracts from the cleverness of the story。
HB
，
TL;DR:Book editor Julia goes to a remote Mediterranean island to meet with Grant， the former mathematics professor / current hermit / author of a murder mystery collection that Julia's company wants to reprint after decades of obscurity。 Grant's failing eyesight drives Julia to read each of his seven stories aloud to him， the better to capture his reactions and thoughts after a long separation， to aid her in writing an introductory piece to stand in for the tedious， technical mathematics paper t TL;DR:Book editor Julia goes to a remote Mediterranean island to meet with Grant， the former mathematics professor / current hermit / author of a murder mystery collection that Julia's company wants to reprint after decades of obscurity。 Grant's failing eyesight drives Julia to read each of his seven stories aloud to him， the better to capture his reactions and thoughts after a long separation， to aid her in writing an introductory piece to stand in for the tedious， technical mathematics paper that spawned the stories。 Full stars for plot， enjoyment， and technique; partial for character development， because I wanted to read more about some of the short story characters， but I ultimately don't care about Julia or Grant。 Or Francis。Why I Read This BookIt was on a "Great Murder Mystery Books with a Twist" list or some such， and I was looking for that exact thing。 Serendipity！ Why I Almost Didn't Read This BookIt was on that list ^ along with a truly worthless one that I have elected to call "The Book that Shall Not Be Named， but Is Also Super Meta and Has 'Eight' in the Title"。 Come to think of it， that list could have been "Meta Murder Mystery Novels About Writing Murder Mystery Novels"。What I LikedPavesi's twisty writing seems to progress and mature noticeably from the first embedded story to the second and from the second to the third， and then does a magic trick of continuing to get better so well that you don't even notice how exquisitely the multiple meta twists are woven together， until you do， because [spoiler redacted]。 It's pretty masterful， allowing each step of the final complete reveal to revel in its own moment。 And that's not even the final final twist！What I LovedThe book begins， as it were， in medias res: directly into one of Grant's decades-old short stories。 Chapter 2 brings the reader up to speed immediately， laying out the format of the book by showing first and telling second: it's a subtle but important misdirect。 Even without a framework， I vaguely realized that something was deliberately overwrought and fundamentally off in the first chapter; it felt like a written version of the Spot-The-Difference photo game。 What I DislikedJulia and Grant's dialogue is stilted to the point of distraction， especially compared to the interactions in the embedded short stories。 Given the ending， I understand， to a degree， why that's the case; it still qualifies as a Dislike because it feels more like unintentional and ultimately fruitless misdirection， which doesn't jive with the rest of the story。I also disliked that I read The Book That Shall Not Be Named first， and it deterred me from reading this one sooner， but I digress。Should You Read This？ tYes， if you like: murder mysteries， detective novels， multiple plot twists， being vaguely aware that something is off but not having it smack you in the facetAbsolutely， if: you read That Book That Shall Not Be Named （spoiler， Eight Perfect Murders） and want proof that you don't need to hate murder mystery books about writing murder mystery bookstNo， if you don’t like: occasional medical gore， uncomfortable relationships 。。。more
Audrey Knutson
，
I thought the concept was really unique and I love the format of murder stories within stories！ And I loved the twist at the end with what Julia was doing with the stories！ However， I thought the ending（s） were kind of lame and felt like Pavesi just kind of gave up at the end and let us choose our own adventure with the ending and what we wanted to take from the novel。 Tons of build up for not a lot of payoff。
Ruthiella
，
Perhaps a detective story can be boiled down to a Venn diagram of detectives/suspects/victims but in my opinion， there are other important aspects of a story that are needed to make reading it enjoyable to me。 One thing that I appreciate in any novel， not just detective fiction， are characters that act believably。 Another thing that is important to me in detective fiction is plot。 A clever mystery still has to make sense within the larger story。 For my personal tastes， this book delivered on nei Perhaps a detective story can be boiled down to a Venn diagram of detectives/suspects/victims but in my opinion， there are other important aspects of a story that are needed to make reading it enjoyable to me。 One thing that I appreciate in any novel， not just detective fiction， are characters that act believably。 Another thing that is important to me in detective fiction is plot。 A clever mystery still has to make sense within the larger story。 For my personal tastes， this book delivered on neither plot nor character and I found the overarching meta aspects of the book uninteresting。 Not for me。 。。。more
Mary
，
It's been twenty-five years since Grant McAllister wrote The White Murders based on his work about the mathematical permutations of murder mysteries。 Julia Hart， a book editor， goes to a sparsely populated island to interview him about his collection of short stories based on his theories。 The stories are fascinating examples of the genre but they also contain clues to events in Grant's past。 A hard to put down mystery that will be especially enjoyed by those who appreciate the genre。 It's been twenty-five years since Grant McAllister wrote The White Murders based on his work about the mathematical permutations of murder mysteries。 Julia Hart， a book editor， goes to a sparsely populated island to interview him about his collection of short stories based on his theories。 The stories are fascinating examples of the genre but they also contain clues to events in Grant's past。 A hard to put down mystery that will be especially enjoyed by those who appreciate the genre。 。。。more
Robin
，