August 31

Eight Detectives – Alex Pavesi

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, probing inside it.

But as she reads the stories, Julia is unsettled to realise that there are parts 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 . . .

 

My thanks to publishers, Michael Joseph, for the review copy which I received through Netgalley

 

Visiting a Mediterranean Island to meet reclusive author Grant McAllister is editor Julia Hart. Julia’s employers want to publish a collection of stories by McAllister which have been out of print and largely ignored for many years but Julia believes there is now a market for these clever tales.  McAllister was a professor of mathematics and he devised a formula or a set of rules into which all crime fiction will fit – his collection of stories will be used to demonstrate each of these rules. One story per rule.

Julia and McAllister sit together, Julia reads a story and the pair discuss the rule or classification which that story fulfills.  Julia also highlights some inconsistencies in each of the stories (there are always one or two) and challenges McAllister why he allowed them to creep into the text.  Some are very subtle and I confess I missed virtually all of them – even when I knew to look out for them as the book progressed.

As a novel, Eight Detectives gives the reader a collection of short stories to enjoy – each a tale of Golden Age crime which are being hailed as Christie-esk in their execution.  Indeed one of the stories is very much penned in homage to one of Dame Agatha’s finest novels and this is noted in the book. The stories are all quite different as each needs to conform to one of McAllisters rules and we only know the rule at the end of each tale. This ensures a reader can be surprised at the outcome of each story.

As with any short story collection (which Eight Detectives technically is not) there are some stories which are more enjoyable than others.  So I found there were periods of the book where my attention waned. The story of Julia and McAllister between the short stories links the whole book and suggests there is a further untold tale developing; but that is a possible encroachment to spoiler territory and you need to read for yourself to learn about their conversations.

I found Eight Detectives a tricky book to review.  I am very much a fan of the concept of the rules which McAllister devised.  I liked Julia and though I cannot talk about her analysis of each tale and her ‘error spotting (because spoilers) this was also very well executed by the author.  However I am not a great fan of short stories and I wasn’t gripped by some of the tales.  To compare my reading experience to a train journey…there were times I was excited by the view, some bits felt comforting and familiar but at the end of the experience I felt a bit flat.

So a quandary – should I review it on the blog?  Well as you are reading this…YES.  It is a clever, clever premise. I am seeing a lot of love for it from other reviewers and for fans of Golden Age crime and “cozy” crime I would highly recommend it.   Is it a page turning thriller?  NO.  I struggled to see it to the end as it just didn’t hit the mark with me.  We can’t love them all.

 

Eight Detectives is published by Michael Joseph and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B081R2MWFG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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March 27

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

While I am aware that my ‘to read’ pile is extensive (happy days) I would like to assure you that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has not been on hold since 1926 waiting for me to find time to get around to it.  Sometimes when I finish reading a book I just want the comfort of an old favourite  before I start something new. Part of this is driven by the sheer volume opoirotf books I get through – I read quickly, I skim read and I recognise that I sometimes miss things. By reading some books more than once I will pick up on things I may have missed (or forgotten) from my first read through.

The books of Agatha Christie were my transitional reads from what I perceived to be ‘kids books’ towards stories written for adults. I was twice blessed in this regard – my Aunt had an extensive collection of Dame Agatha’s works which I was able to plunder when we visited. Then, when I was 14, I was lucky enough to gain weekend/summer work in my local bookshop – say ‘Hello’ to the Staff Discount and goodbye to my wages.

For 12 months I could not get enough of Poirot and Marple, always feeling a little disappointed if the story I chose was Tommy and Tuppence or (worse) had no recognisable characters. Then suddenly they were all gone and I had read the entire Agatha Christie back catalogue. Next up was Stephen King but that is for another day…

25 years later I have found that I can return to the world of Marple and Poirot and rediscover the magic that Ms Christie wove. In the case of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd I remember the shock I experienced when I first read the story and how my jaw dropped when the murderer was revealed. For that reason alone it remains one of my favourite Agatha Christie books.

On a second read through I can now appreciate the story in a new light. I know how it ends so I can spot the clues that are left for me, yet I could not remember the circumstances of the murder or the supporting characters so it was almost like reading a new book. Almost.

To those who may not have read this book I would implore you to do so. For everyone else, grab a copy and retreat into familiar comfort of Poirot at his finest.

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