Megan paused, her face as pristine and unreadable as it was in her publicity photos. She was an actor, by profession. ‘Do you know what he’s going to say to us?’ All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules. There must be two or more suspects. One or more victims. Eventually, one of the suspects must be revealed as the killer…

But Julia soon realises that something's not right. Grant's stories seem to reference a real murder - one that's remained unsolved for thirty years. Second in the military crime series featuring Special Agents Scott Brodie and Magnolia "Maggie" Taylor, after The Deserter (2019). Julia Hart is an editor who is charged with interviewing Grant for the purpose of re-publishing his book with a new introduction. She meets him on a remote island where he has been living like a recluse.Yes,’ she said. She sat down on the edge of the bed, ignoring the spreading blood. ‘Henry, do you know what this means?’ To illustrate his ideas, McAllister wrote seven detective stories, and published them in a book called 'The White Murders.' Alex Pavesi has written one of the most creative detective novels of the year...if not of all time. Sharp writing, crisp dialogue, and the end will leave you reeling. An incredible debut novel! Samantha Downing, bestselling author of My Lovely Wife It’s a good setup, but not a unique one. Instead, the first thing that sets The Eighth Detective apart is the structure of the novel. The chapters alternate between the collection’s seven short stories and the conversations between Grant and Julia following each story. The seven stories are clever, old school murder mysteries, and the book only work because each story stands up on its own merits as an entertaining mystery. More importantly, The Eighth Detective is quite unusual because it’s incredibly subversive about the murder mystery/detective genre. Little is as it seems in this novel, and the final third contains numerous earned twists, and no less than two endings that nicely illustrate the book’s theme.

In the 1930s, Grant McAllister, a mathematics professor turned author, worked them out, hiding their secrets in a book of crime stories. This is a case of a blurb promising more than the book delivers. It certainly isn’t “thrilling” (it isn’t even trying to be thrilling) and I also wouldn’t call it “wildly inventive”. The short stories are Agatha Christie-esque, particularly “Trouble on Blue Pearl Island” which is intended as an homage to Christie’s “And Then There Were None”. That was my favorite story because of its diabolical ending. My problem was that the stories weren’t great. Late in the book there is a twist that presents an alternative ending for each story. The new ending didn’t improve any story. Then there is a second twist, and a third one. I think the plot actually had the potential to be clever if the characters had more bite to them. This is not a battle of wits. The characters are more likely to curl up into a fetal position than they are to engage. Also, the short stories could have been better. 3.5 stars At each session with the author, Julia reads one story aloud, and then she and McAllister discuss it in detail.If you like old school detective stories meet complex/twisty/ whodunit plays, this is amazing combination for your needs. Please read it and send me thank you notes and cupcakes for showing your appreciation to my recommendation. It only took my four hours to finish it and even though I cannot feel my legs and I’m starving, it is worth for the pain. I truly enjoyed it! For me, this was a clunky, poorly written book. It is possible that the short stories are written badly on purpose. I hope so because they’re distasteful on the whole and full of dreadful metaphors. Having said that, I don’t think the rest of the book is well written either. It’s clear that the intention was to write a clever variable on classic murder / detective mysteries from The Golden Age but, in my opinion, it fails on all counts. It didn’t give me any pleasure whatsoever. I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It promised a clever twist on the classic murder mystery genre, a mind-bending story of books and mysteries within mysteries. The short story format probably doesn’t help – I’m not a fan of short stories, but I thought because there’s an underlying story running through all of them it would make for an interesting format. Unfortunately there’s really not enough of the main story between Julia and Grant here for me, and I didn’t feel able to connect with these characters aside from a vague sense of intrigue as to where it was all leading. Many years ago Grant McAllister, a professor of Mathematics, came up with rules applying to murder fiction. He then wrote seven stories that were perfect examples of this to him. The book had little interest and he now lives on a Mediterranean island in peace and seclusion. His peace is disturbed by the arrival of Julia Hart, an editor, whose publisher wants to reprint the book. Julia reads each story to Grant and then asks him about them. There are some inconsistencies in the stories and his answers to questions. Thirty years later he's retired in a Mediterranean island until Julia Hart, an editor, shows interest in republishing his book, and while revising his stories she discovers certain inconsistencies that point to a bigger mystery.