Rules for Perfect Murders: The 'fiendishly good' Richard and Judy Book Club pick

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He has made us care about a character who, if not actively dislikeable, has nothing to commend him. The protagonist makes a point of telling us that he finds it easy enough to make someone’s surface acquaintance but almost impossible to move beyond that to real friendship, and that is exactly the way the reader feels about him Kershaw playing amateur detective made for an interesting read, pulling in favours and following the clues. I liked the way he went about the investigation, particularly with his wariness of Mulvey. Kershaw knows he’s involved and the more I read, the more I understood why he didn’t want to incriminate himself and stay one step ahead of the FBI agent.

He posted them on his blog, and now, FBI agent Gwen Mulvey has arrived at the bookstore, one cold, snowy night because she thinks there might be a killer out there, recreating the Murders from his list: I’m not gonna talk more about the story because it’s so hard to write more about without giving spoilers and I’m not the most trustworthy person who likes to write the murderers’ identities in the middle of each Christie books and send them to my loved ones (You may guess I’m not the most lovable person!) This is a fiendishly good slice of crime fiction from Swanson, who goes from strength to strength. Layered and clever, Rules for Perfect Murders is an ode to the genre of mystery writing, with its obsessive protagonist Kershaw, a man who wonders what Ian Fleming would have his hero do in times of crisis – and who bemoans the fact that being an avid reader of mysteries is no preparation for real life. The Familiar DarkThis book seemed to repeat itself over and over again. I was very disappointed. I didn't feel like the characters were well developed and there were a lot of characters. This book lost the thrill for me. It didn't have enough suspense for me. I put this book down many times. I did love the ending. I loved his books, The Kind Worth Killing and his book Before She Knew Him. I love this author and still can't wait to read his next book. I am in the minority of this book. Lots of others loved it.

Unless you read a lot of Agatha Christi and older mysteries and love them, I think you will get very tired of the mention over and over again about the books that the killer was basing his method of murder on. There was a lot of needless repetition, and I feel I no longer need to read those books as he has told me the plot and the way the murderer committed the crimes for each of these books. The next logical question he must ask himself...is he on the killer’s list? Can he prove who the killer is before the killer makes him a statistic? Very atmospheric, and if this book were a movie, I could picture it being made in “Autochrome Lumiere” (that muted color) as Boston was experiencing a very, snowy Winter throughout this story, and I could picture the cold nights and see the warm glow of lamps, as Mal, And Gwen reread the books on the list, and tried to figure out who the murderer could be... Not only did I love the physical setting of this book (predominantly a crime-fiction focussed bookshop) but I loved the ‘world’ in which this book is set: with Malcolm’s crime novel-loving staff members; obsessive readers; and references to author talks and signings etc. The thing that makes this story work, is the same thing that makes all mysteries work. My appetite for a good mystery never wanes. I can never go too long without reading some form of crime fiction.If I came up with a good juicy murder idea (and I like to think I’ve managed a few), then I would most certainly include it in a book. Because the truth is that the vast majority of us, readers and writers alike, know the difference between fiction and reality. It’s a truth that Edgar Allan Poe was well aware of when he wrote one of the first examples of a perfect murder in The Tell-Tale Heart. No matter how well you plan your murder, how perfect you make it, a human heart has stopped beating. If the police don’t find you, something else – guilt, karma, madness – almost certainly will. Nothing’s perfect. The protagonist, Malcolm Kershaw, is the co-owner of the Old Devils Bookstore, a place specializing in mysteries. One day, an FBI agent enters the store and begins to question him about several murders, which may or may not be related. What has brought Malcolm to her attention is a blog post he wrote when he was first hired at Old Devils: "Eight Perfect Murders." It's a list of eight mystery/thriller novels that contain, in Malcolm's opinion, the most "perfect", unsolvable, uncatchably brilliant murders. Thing is, some of the recent murders seem oddly similar to several of the "perfect" murders in the novels listed. Gwen and Malcolm realise that the killer may not be killing victims in the exact same manner as the author wrote the original murders in the books and the victim themselves may not be targets, but it’s the intent that’s important. But still….